LA PARTICIPACIÓN CIUDADANA Y LA POLITICA CULTURAL CHILENA EN DEMOCRACIA. LA CREACION DEL CONSEJO NACIONAL DE LA CULTURA Y LAS ARTES

This article analyses the people's contribution in design of cultural policy allowing the creation of the concept cultural citizenship in Chile and in Latin America, which has rarely been studied. The research covered the objectives and criteria belonging to the cultural policy of two programs: Cabildos Culturales (1999-2002) and Creando Chile En Mi Barrio (2007-2010). These programs were created as a response to a different context of cultural institutionality: the return to democracy and the creation of an Art and Cultural National Council (Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y de las Artes). As a general idea, it can be said that the cultural policy encourages politic participation and the empowerment of people in the public scenario. However, from the analysis of these cultural programs in Chile, it was found that there is a difference between what the citizens discuss and their actual participation in the cultural life. In addition, in two ocurrences the citizen participation in cultural activities was prevented: once for the Cabildos Culturales program by circumstances related to the dictatorship and once in Creando Chile en Mi Barrio due to the institutional bureaucracy.