O instituto da gestão democrática da cidade ocupa lugar central nos debates e nas reflexões acerca do Direito da Cidade e do Estatuto da Cidade. Especificamente no que se refere ao conteúdo dessas reflexões, a gestão democrática alcança impressionante consenso, não sendo coisa fácil encontrar razões no sentido de negar a validade da construção de uma cidadania ativa para gestão dos negócios urbanos. Este trabalho quer entender, concretamente, a razão do citado consenso, ancorado em uma concepção crítica que tenta chamar atenção para aspectos do social que não costumam ser contemplados pela análise realizada entre os juristas que se dedicam ao tema. Neste sentido, questões como a da alienação do trabalho e sua relação com a alienação política e a situação real das cidades a partir da categoria de análise da FES (formação econômica e social) não devem ser ignoradas quando das discussões sobre as possibilidades de efetivação de atuação citadina ativa nas cidades brasileiras. Em tempo, é necessário, a partir das categorias destacadas, analisar criticamente os instrumentos do Estatuto da Cidade para que não se permitam maiores ilusões acerca do estado de coisas aqui discutido. / The concept of city democratic management is in the core of debates and reflections on the Law of the City and the Statute of the City. Specifically in regard to the content of these reflections, the democratic management is object of an amazing consensus, being not an easy task to point out reasons in the sense of denying the validity of the construction of an active citizenship for the management of the urban matters. This work intends to understand the reason for the above-mentioned consensus based in a critique conception which aims to draw attention to social aspects which are not usually taken into account on the analysis made by jurists dedicated to this topic. In this sense, issues such as the alienation of the work and its relationship with the political alienation and the real situation of the cities from the perspective of the analytical category of the ESF (economic and social formation) should not be ignored by the debates about the possibilities of effectiveness of citizen performance in the Brazilian cities. It is necessary to critically analyze the instruments of the Statute of the City using the underlined categories in order to prevent greater illusions about the state of the issues here discussed.

O instituto da gestão democrática da cidade ocupa lugar central nos debates e nas reflexões acerca do Direito da Cidade e do Estatuto da Cidade. Especificamente no que se refere ao conteúdo dessas reflexões, a gestão democrática alcança impressionante consenso, não sendo coisa fácil encontrar razões no sentido de negar a validade da construção de uma cidadania ativa para gestão dos negócios urbanos. Este trabalho quer entender, concretamente, a razão do citado consenso, ancorado em uma concepção crítica que tenta chamar atenção para aspectos do social que não costumam ser contemplados pela análise realizada entre os juristas que se dedicam ao tema. Neste sentido, questões como a da alienação do trabalho e sua relação com a alienação política e a situação real das cidades a partir da categoria de análise da FES (formação econômica e social) não devem ser ignoradas quando das discussões sobre as possibilidades de efetivação de atuação citadina ativa nas cidades brasileiras. Em tempo, é necessário, a partir das categorias destacadas, analisar criticamente os instrumentos do Estatuto da Cidade para que não se permitam maiores ilusões acerca do estado de coisas aqui discutido. / The concept of city democratic management is in the core of debates and reflections on the Law of the City and the Statute of the City. Specifically in regard to the content of these reflections, the democratic management is object of an amazing consensus, being not an easy task to point out reasons in the sense of denying the validity of the construction of an active citizenship for the management of the urban matters. This work intends to understand the reason for the above-mentioned consensus based in a critique conception which aims to draw attention to social aspects which are not usually taken into account on the analysis made by jurists dedicated to this topic. In this sense, issues such as the alienation of the work and its relationship with the political alienation and the real situation of the cities from the perspective of the analytical category of the ESF (economic and social formation) should not be ignored by the debates about the possibilities of effectiveness of citizen performance in the Brazilian cities. It is necessary to critically analyze the instruments of the Statute of the City using the underlined categories in order to prevent greater illusions about the state of the issues here discussed.

This dissertation examines how a group of street vendors in Yogyakarta City, Indonesia, experienced a government-organized relocation from Mangkubumi Street to a newly renovated marketplace. In particular, I explore the strategies taken by the leaders of a street vendor organization called Pethikbumi to refuse the relocation and claim their right to the street. Contestations over streets, street vending and street vendor relocations constitute important moments during which citizenship, democracy and belonging are negotiated in the city. I argue that the conflict over belonging and democracy took the form of a social drama and was shaped and structured by specific moral appeals, public performances, and processes of imitation (cf. Turner 1974). The study begins with an exploration of the history of street vending and the pedagang kaki lima (street vendor) in Indonesia. I outline how the pedagang kaki lima were viewed as “dirty”, a simplified code for the transgression of social, spatial and legal boundaries. I move on to explore the way the street vendors of Pethikbumi drew on ideas of “the people” (rakyat), democracy and transparency in claiming their rights. I analyze the ways that Pethikbumi drew on important moments in Indonesia’s past and present, situating this relocation conflict as significant and as part of “history”. The relocation was also rooted in an epistemology of “skepticism” derived from an awareness of the ambiguity and tension between appearances and realities (cf. Anderson 1990). Pethikbumi engaged in tactics to both reveal and conceal the “unseen powers” that were imagined as working behind the scenes to generate conflict. The conflict over the relocation to a marketplace was not only a fight over who had access to the street but also a struggle over what constitutes democracy, how to achieve transparency, and who belongs in post-Suharto Indonesia.