This essay aims to contribute to the debate on political participation in the experience of the Brazilian Unified Health System. It discusses the space reserved for its effective exercise, trying to reflect on the actions of different actors involved in the production of health policies. The analysis supports the hypothesis that health institutions remain attached in the objectification of the political dimension inherent to the human life, what derives in significant limits to the achievement of a health system based on democratic and universal values. The text theoretically articulates the relationship between politics, everyday life and language, using concepts of Hannah Arendt, Antonio Negri and Bakhtin's Circle. Then it discusses the problem of political culture present in health institutions, considering that the training focused on skills and the strategies of interest representation has not been effective in solving it. In this perspective, it analyzes the potential formation of institutional relationships, using as reference the Permanent Education Policy. In conclusion, the essay seeks to highlight that a new policy for participation in health system must discuss what is and what is expected from participation. Without this reflection, it will be very difficult for institutionalized spaces to reproduce the power relations which are historically experienced in daily health care system.
political participation; health management; public health