Citizen participation articulated in municipal participatory budgets in a province of Ecuador 2026
Keywords:
citizen participation; participatory budgets; sports governance; municipal management; transparency; EcuadorAbstract
The research analyzes the influence of citizen participation on municipal participatory budgets in the province of Santa Elena, Ecuador, during 2026, with the purpose of drawing implications for local sports governance. The study is based on a quantitative, basic-type approach with a correlational scope and a non-experimental cross-sectional design. A structured 40-item questionnaire with a Likert scale was applied to a sample of 358 citizens residing in the cantons of Santa Elena, La Libertad, and Salinas. Data were processed using ordinal logistic regression in SPSS. The results show that citizen participation explains 78.6 % of the variability in the levels of participatory budgets (Nagelkerke = 0.786; p < 0.001), with a positive coefficient of 0.276. However, the mean scores for both variables are below the midpoint of the scale (2.34 and 2.26, respectively), and 62.3 % of respondents rate access to financial information unfavorably. These findings reveal a statistically significant association that coexists with widespread citizen dissatisfaction. The discussion links this scenario with the literature on municipal sports governance, arguing that weaknesses in transparency and deliberation mechanisms limit citizens’ capacity to influence the allocation of resources for sports infrastructure, physical activity programs, and recreational services. It is concluded that strengthening participatory budgets is a necessary condition for more equitable, transparent, and co-responsible local sports governance.
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