Abstract   The 1988 Federal Constitution highlighted management councils as resources vital to the sedimentation of decentralization and participation principles in public policies' systems. According to the participatory ideal, it is necessary to balance the relationships between citizens and governments. From democracy and public administration paradigms perspective, this means to promote deliberative and societal forms. Starting from these considerations, it was searched, in this article, to understand the role of councils in the development of two principles of societal administration: the political-institutional reinvention and participative-deliberative democracy. After observing twelve councils in Lavras, MG, it was concluded that these are consistent sources of political and institutional innovation. However, its efficacy is limited regarding the sedimentation of the local deliberative democracy. Deficits of information, the social non-association, the fragile connection between representatives and represented and the government opportunism work for this.   Key words:  Public administration, Management councils, Societal administration, Deliberative democracy, Public deliberation