USAID/OTI Bolivia Field Report
December 2004
Program Description
The OTI/Bolivia program promotes peaceful participation in El Alto and other marginalized communities and increases access to balanced information on issues of national importance. Specifically, the program supports peaceful dialogue and civic education through mass media, theatre, discussion groups for youth, and other forums, providing balanced information and opportunities for dialogue on issues of national concern and civic education training. It also expands economic opportunity by supporting short-term, community-based activities in distressed areas, such as El Alto and the altiplano, which are designed to increase self-reliance. Issues affecting youth and indigenous groups are cross-cutting themes in all of OTI/Bolivia's work. OTI's implementing partner is Casals and Associates and the FY 2004 budget was $6.3 million, and FY 2005 is $5.5 million.
Country Situation
Municipal Elections – The December 5 municipal elections were considered a successful example of participatory democracy. The electoral process was peaceful and without major incident. Sixty-three percent of eligible voters participated in the 327 municipalities, more than the turnout for last summer's gas referendum (60 percent) or the 2002 presidential elections.
These were the first elections held where representatives of NGOs or indigenous groups could run without an official affiliation to a political party. Some politicians abandoned their party affiliations, at least temporarily, in an attempt to be politically pragmatic following the events of October 2003 and the subsequent popular rejection of established parties. Many of these individuals won their races, raising questions about the strength of traditional political parties. However, since many of those who did win had prior party affiliations, the results may more likely signal the first step to a re-composition of the party system. For example, in El Alto and La Paz, the mayoral incumbents Jose Luis Paredes and Juan del Granado - both of whom changed their party affiliations - won based primarily on their experience and track record.
The Movement Towards Socialism Party (MAS), led by Evo Morales, won 18.4 percent of the overall vote, including a number of key city council and mayoral positions. MAS has thus established itself as a major force, especially given the poor showings of more established parties like AND, MIR, NFR and MNR. However, MAS did not win a mayoral position in any of the major cities and its vote totals were significantly lower than the party had predicted.
The Politics of the Hydrocarbons Law – Congress did not make progress on the hydrocarbons law this month. The draft version approved in November, which contains a number of controversial provisions regarding taxation and contractual changes, will be debated again upon the resumption of Congressional sessions in January.
Congress Makes Judicial Appointments for 17 Vacancies – In mid-December, the political parties in Congress reached agreement on nominations for the long-standing vacancies in the judicial branch. The agreement came a month before the mid-January deadline set to approve new appointment following the November decision that President Mesa's interim appointments were unconstitutional. Based on what many considered a quota system among the parties, Congress chose its nominees from a list of career judges and lawyers. The new Attorney General, Pedro Gareca, was favored by the MAS party. A number of analysts see MAS's willingness to engage in inter-party negotiations, which it had originally disdained, as an indication that the party has become part of the established system.
OTI Highlights
A. Narrative Summary
Following the municipal elections on December 5, OTI focused on closing numerous grants and designing several large scale projects to begin in January. The design of new projects was informed by an evaluation and planning session in which OTI reviewed its activities since inception and discussed strategies for achieving its priorities. These include:
Natural gas conversion and consumption – OTI is reluctant to support a large scale government gas conversion program, vehicular or other, given uncertainties in the government's own plans. OTI will continue to focus on small scale projects that emphasize education on natural gas, pilot vehicular conversions and gas connections at public schools.
Economic opportunity – OTI will continue to fund small grants to engage youth and other at risk sectors in productive activities. In addition, OTI will increase its commitment to the Buy Bolivia campaign. The Buy Bolivia decree (which requires the state to prefer doing business with Bolivian producers and service providers) is an unprecedented opportunity for the government to demonstrate its responsiveness to social demands and for small and micro enterprises, a very conflictive sector, to profit from the state generated economic benefits.
Constituent Assembly – Many see the Constituent Assembly as a panacea which will address the wide-ranging demands regarding constitutional reform. However, there is a lack of information on possible consequences of these changes. OTI can help manage expectations by providing forum for informed and peaceful debate on the Constituent Assembly. While OTI's involvement will evolve depending on the political and legal framework, OTI will seek to help the Government reach out marginalized sectors, provide educational materials and encourage informed debate. A primary partner will be the government body UCAC, the Coordinating Committee for the Constituent Assembly.
Legal Status – Building on its pilot projects, OTI will support larger scale initiatives to help Bolivians obtain documentation to participate in society. The Government can also gain legitimacy by addressing the basic rights of its citizens. OTI will focus in the department of La Paz, but may expand its efforts.
Government Communication – OTI will continue to support the Mesa Government's efforts to communicate in indigenous groups in their languages, solicit public input in policymaking and preempt social conflict.
In addition, OTI will continue rehabilitating classrooms, providing computers and supporting alternative education through the development assistance funds being programmed for the USAID Bolivia Mission.
B. Grants Activity Summary
Four grants were approved this month totaling $439,650. The first will assist the UCAC's work with indigenous groups in getting information to key groups of people in the 133 municipalities of La Paz and Oruro. In addition to providing information, UCAC will conduct discussions that will help union members, transport workers, indigenous groups and others channel their demands into constructive recommendations and proposals. The second grant, also with the UCAC, will support the publication and dissemination of information on the implications of key political reform issues.
In the economic opportunity sector, OTI is providing a $168,400 grant to a local NGO that will provide training and technical assistance to business sector representatives and municipal authorities on how to organize demand driven trade fairs. The NGO designed the methodology for the organization of the first ferias a la inversa, which have become the primary instrument for promoting the Buy Bolivia legislation. The first fairs generated contracts for millions of dollars of goods and services, and the Government of Bolivia has requested assistance in organizing fairs at the national and municipal level. This project will work with ten mancomunidades (associations of municipalities) to provide hands-on training and help the newly elected governments incorporate plans for these fairs into their annual calendars.
Lastly, OTI approved a school reconstruction project in El Alto to provide new desks and a computer center to a long-neglected public school in El Alto.
| 1. Municipal Elections |
|
|
21 |
$814,657 |
| 2. Civic Education |
|
|
16 |
$283,209 |
| 3. Communications GOB |
|
|
15 |
$578,541 |
| 4. Community Social Services |
|
|
5 |
$87,010 |
| 5. Constituent Assembly |
2 |
$258,100 |
14 |
$687,944 |
| 6. Economic Information |
1 |
$168,400 |
10 |
$275,604 |
| 7. Job Creation/Income Generation |
|
|
10 |
$156,134 |
| 8. Legal Identity (Documentation) |
|
|
4 |
$38,137 |
| 9. Natural Gas Conversion/Consumption |
|
|
4 |
$93,894 |
| 10. Other Political |
|
|
1 |
$42,490 |
| 11. Professional Skills Training |
|
|
4 |
$66,041 |
| 12. Referendum |
|
|
17 |
$526,233 |
| 13. School Reconstruction and Education |
1 |
$13,150 |
17 |
$309,618 |
| Total |
4 |
$439,650 |
138 |
$3,959,512 |
C. Indicators of Success
Municipal Elections – The 68 percent voter turn-out in the Department of La Paz was the highest of all the departments in Bolivia. While one cannot directly link turn out with OTI's activities to promote participation and an informed vote, OTI supported projects (90 percent of which were in the department of La Paz) may have contributed to high participation rates. OTI produced and distributed over 600,000 copies of education documents and trained several hundred facilitators from 20 organizations. These grass roots, indigenous and youth groups reached approximately 94,000 direct beneficiaries in the 1,200 events they organized throughout the Department of La Paz.
With OTI support the Ministry of Popular Participation (MPP) organized candidate debates in 144 municipalities. In addition to the expected signing of transparent handover agreements in 136 of the municipalities, these events also resulted in electoral conflict resolution in a number of municipalities. Throughout the departments of La Paz and Oruro, MPP coordinators, who had helped the communities establish transition committees, were called upon to bring grievances to the electoral court, map out handover agreements and assist the local oversight committees follow the electoral process.
Economic Development – OTI grantee was invited to participate in a series of high level national dialogues on economic development (dialogo productivo nacional) that brought together government and sector representatives. The Association, as one of the emerging cooperatives of indigenous communities in the altiplano region, used this opportunity to share its recommendations for assisting other indigenous economic associations.
Next Steps/Immediate Priorities
As described in the grant activity section, OTI will be focusing on the Buy Bolivia campaign and conflict resolution related to the Constituent Assembly.
For further information, please contact:
In Washington, D.C: Amy Frumin, LAC Program Manager, 202-712-4231, afrumin@usaid.gov
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