This study aims to present a research on the family farmers’ representation  process at institutional social participation spaces. Data were obtained from City Council for Rural Development of Itapejara d’Oeste and Vitorino and also from Management Group of Southwest Territory of Paraná, which are institutional spaces originated from decentralization process in an effort to develop civil society participation in state management. Such spaces determine an unusual representation process where protagonists represent several social groups. Representation is analysed considering two dimensions: the representatives representativeness and the representatives ability to intervene in the several spaces. This study has demonstrated that different configurations of space change the representation process related to the following topics: 1) profile distinction among representatives; 2) forms of relationship among the representatives and the represented people; and 3) the way that occur identification between institutional spaces and local family farmer associative conformity. The diversity related to representatives histories, also change the representation process, according their formation; 5) associative local history; and 6) the way the representatives experience their rural communities. Finally, the local associative history has influence on family farmers’ representation process, emphasizing this representation. The existence of a dense associative tissue means that there is more hability to intervene in the institutional participation spaces deliberations besides the opportunity for more accountability process. Therefore the family farmers’ representation process is not determined by the ratio of these institutional spaces at social relationship but it is determined by the correlation between this ratio and the local associative arrangements.