Advocacy, as practiced by the Chamber, means raising issues in public forums and offering information to a wide range of opinion formers and decision makers, who may include lawmakers. The goal is to generate understanding of an issue. Lobbying can be part of advocacy but it is much narrower specifically the process of trying to convince a target audience, normally lawmakers, to support or oppose a specific course of action. When used in the Brazilian context, lobby takes on sinister overtones. It conjures up suggestions of influence peddling and corruption to subvert the democratic process.
Democracy implies a government that responds to popular anxieties, needs and desires.
It cannot respond to them all, for the simple reason that they frequently conflict with each other. But equally, to ignore popular demands would be the antithesis of democracy itself. The hope is that responsible law-makers and Brazil has a goodly number will listen to as many points of view as possible and then make up their own minds, taking into account the constituency that elected them. Law-makers receive popular pressure in many ways, first and foremost through the ballot box, and then to a lesser degree through opinion polls, the media, individual contacts and collective contacts. All are valid when exercised openly, honestly and without ulterior motive.