Digital citizen participation and local democracy in rural territories: A critical analysis from the Punilla Province, Ñuble Region

This article critically examines digital citizen participation and its relationship with local democracy in rural territories, focusing on the case of Punilla Province in the Ñuble Region. Drawing on the perspectives of e-governance and the digital divide, the study analyzes the municipal websites of San Carlos, Ñiquén, San Fabián, Coihueco, and San Nicolás to assess the scope and limitations of local digitalization processes. The findings show that while progress has been made in active transparency and online administrative services, digital participation mechanisms remain largely informational and transactional, with limited deliberative or binding features. In highly rural contexts, these constraints tend to reinforce inequalities in access, use, and impact. The article concludes that digitalization alone, without institutional and cultural transformation, is insufficient to strengthen local democratic participation.