The participatory simulacrum: a review of the Master Plan of São José dos Campos

Abstract This paper approaches conflicts and disputes in participatory spaces during the review of the Master Plan of the city of São José dos Campos, state of São Paulo, Brazil. In this context, we detected a municipal ideological view committed to the creation of territorial support for attracting capital, which should be legitimized during the review of the Master Plan. Therefore, we analyze the formation of the institutional participatory space, the discretionary action of the municipal government to approve the Master Plan in 2018, and the settings of resistance to the implemented order through actions of the organized civil society.