Digital participatory democracy has been significantly stimulated in Brazil for the last decade and plays a key role in the outcomes of electronic government strategies. Created in 2009, the initiative called e-Democracy was developed by the Chamber of Deputies of the National Congress of Brazil. It is intended to engage citizens in the process of elaborating legislative projects. This engagement happens in the virtual legislative communities which constitute virtual spaces created to approximate citizens and government through the discussion of legislative projects. The main goal of this article is to present the results of a research regarding a specific virtual legislative community of e-Democracy developed to discuss topics to be included in the Brazilian Proposition on Civil Rights Framework for Internet in Brazil. Quantitative and qualitative methods were applied and a questionnaire was send to the citizens who joined the community and made a significant contribution. Based on the characteristics of the tool and its users, the results discuss into what extent the Project is fulfilling its purposes. The initiative is analyzed as a possible mechanism to stimulate digital participatory democratic practices.
Digital Political Participation; Participatory Democracy; e-Democracy; Collaborative Production of Law Bills