Participation of the people and the delegation of public responsibilities to the people

The local level in particular is the appropriate level to promote the participation of the people and the community not only in solving their own problems, but also in controlling the authorities to achieve the highest level of transparency of political processes.

Juan Del Granado

The current situation in La Paz is still characterised by great social problems. These led to conflicts and a change of government in October 2003, which should be mentioned because national level politicians very much influence the local level. Especially in Latin America, the neo-liberal free market models have not been able to solve the great economic problems. We have been trying to continue the process of decentralisation, but in the middle of an economic crisis this meant that not only competence and responsibilities but also the problems were shifted to local level. Also, Latin America in general has been suffering from great loss of credibility in the political system, with highly bureaucratised political parties and corruption. Unfortunately, this is also reflected in the local governments.

Nevertheless, this experience at the local level also helps us to find new ways for new solutions. The local level in particular is the appropriate level to promote the participation of the people and the community not only in solving their own problems, but also in controlling the authorities to achieve the highest level of transparency of political processes.

We are convinced that we are living in the era of cities, which is important to note for two reasons. The universal phenomenon of urbanisation leads to common problems for everybody, but at the same time offers the opportunity to find common solutions, thus making capacity building a lot easier by drawing on the experience from other countries or cities and communities. But the second and even more important element is that cooperation between cities is an excellent mechanism which ensures multilateralism and helps to overcome the danger of a monopolar globalised world. It is fundamental for us that the relationships between cities are characterised by equality and are truly horizontal because we do not represent the entire state but the people of the communities. Therefore, it is vital for us to deepen our relationships and encourage further exchange of experience. We, the cities of the South, have also a lot to offer to the cities of the North, which reflects this basic principle of a horizontal relationship.

I have been the Mayor of La Paz for four years, and during that time I have had to face a lot of economic problems, disorder and corruption. I am convinced that this modest but nevertheless important experience can be of great interest to the northern cities, which may also have problems with corruption and bad governance. Moreover, we have gained a lot of experience in the field of decentralisation, seeing it as an opportunity to create better spaces for the participation of the people in decision making.

We have come to the conclusion that this participation of the people and the delegation of public responsibilities to the people is a very efficient way to deal with the problems that concern the people themselves, and this expertise is another contribution we can offer to our partner cities in the North. City-to-City cooperation is therefore very important for us as it reflects the possibility of a new world order in the fight against common problems like crime, corruption, and the violation of human rights.

* Presentation Mayor of La Paz, Bolivia; Bonn Policy Forum, New Directions in Local Development: “Challenges and Perspectives for City-to-City-Cooperation”. Old Town Hall, Bonn, 12–13 December, 2003. Del Granado gave his presentation in spanish, this text is not a literal translation but a summary of his ideas expressed. Source: http://www.service-eine-welt.de/home/_download.php?type=text_material&id=247