IS CYBERSPACE THE NEW DEMOCRACY’S PANACE?

Abstract

It is common to find in papers about democracy, especially in Political Science and Sociology, internet as a possible weapon to overcome the dilemmas of representative democracy. The purpose of this article is to go towards opposite direction, that is, in a contemporary context marked by the defense of a digital democracy, we will reinforce the idea that democracy is made primarily in the materiality of political spaces, especially on a local scale. It will be demonstrated, from the case study of Juazeiro do Norte (CE), how democracy is built in geographic spaces that physically exist in the world without which the democratic system would be strongly affected. The article uses information compiled on the coverage of the mobile network and electoral participation and, later, primary and secondary data about Associations in Juazeiro. Based on Dalton's (2017) discussion of what he calls “sizeable socio-economic status participation gap” and contemporary discussions of Political Geography on political space, the article reveals the illusion of digital democracy in an extremely unequal territory and suggests that the existing gap in political participation among citizens in Brazil will not decrease by prioritizing cyberspace, but rather, political spaces should be strengthened and revalued at different scales, respecting the socio-spatial differences existing in Brazilian territory.

Keywords:
Political Space; Democracy; Cyberspace; Inequality In Participation; Juazeiro do Norte