Including immigrant voices in local mechanisms of citizen participation? Insights from the crucial case of Barcelona

Abstract

The deliberative democracy and governance literature indicates that the challenge of participatory mechanisms (e.g., participatory budgeting, citizen assemblies) is to be inclusive of all citizens, especially marginalized ones from the political system. Immigrants as a marginalized group are a target of inclusion. Asking the circumstances under which these mechanisms promote immigrants' effective inclusion is still a pending question. This article proposes a theoretical model centered on their inclusion in these mechanisms. We apply our model to the incorporation of immigrants into Barcelona's Neighborhood Council Meetings, revamped under the radical-left Barcelona en Comú-led government (2015–2023). Findings show that opening participatory mechanisms for immigrants did not build de facto inclusionary dynamics in Barcelona. We explained such findings on the mismatch between the political quest to deepen democracy and promote social justice through participatory mechanisms and the limitations to implement practices leading to a pluralist engagement with immigrants.