Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy

Decentralization (political, administrative and fiscal) of State functions to local governments needs to abide in a climate of governability at the local level in order to render in the public’s view tangible and effective results: this advocates a multi-sectoral and multi-institutional approach to the local policymaking process, creating consciousness in local actors on the realities of local politics, parting from the capabilities and functions the State and societal and political actors have in influencing the policy system in favour of local development. This puts emphasis on the shared responsibilities each have.

Context and challenges for decentralization in Guatemala

The Guatemalan State promoted a large scale system for national decentralization of its political, fiscal and administrative structures, creating the legal framework in 2002 in the form of the national law on decentralization, the law of development councils (installing a system for citizen participation in the definitions of local, regional and national development policy), and a Municipal Code regulating municipal autonomy, known together as the ‘trilogy of laws’. In order for the municipalities to effectively be able to exercise their municipal autonomy, and for decentralization to work, sufficient resources have to be assigned.

Even though the municipal budget is fixed constitutionally (10% of the national budget), local governments are faced with a reduced space for political manoeuvring in the municipal budget due to inherited debts and a high demand on public expenditures that exceeds the capacity of local government to ‘problem solve’ the existing demands during their term. Therefore, national cooperation of official institutions and international cooperation is gearing towards municipal governments in strengthening planning and budgetary capacities.

These obstacles to public investment combined with occasional secrecy on public spending, creates an explosive mix in the public’s awareness of the realities of local politics.

Key to the vision of the work of NIMD in Guatemala are the capabilities of Political Parties to perform as institutional channels for citizen representation and political intermediation, in translating local necessities into coherent development agendas on the local, departmental and national levels, and recognising the strategic role that regional Congressmen have as intermediaries in consolidating local demands into national policy proposals. Within the programme, the inclusion and participation of Women, Youth and Indigenous Peoples is central for full representative and participatory democracy.

NIMDs work regarding decentralization in Guatemala

NIMD has given support within its Guatemala programme to the development of Shared Municipal Agendas in 27 municipalities in 9 departments between Political Parties at the local level and Civil Society Organisations. These agendas contain a shared vision on the themes for local development and the main proposals for their solution.

The ‘Shared Governability’ project focuses on empowering the capacities for democratic dialogue of representatives of Political Parties, Civil Society Organisations and representatives of the State, the Legislative power and the municipal government in order to establish together the priorities contained in the local development Agendas. The dialogue with local political authorities is important to understand State programmes and harmonize the sectoral policies contained in the agendas. Dialogue makes possible prioritization of investment by local political authorities according to citizen’s needs, and, inversely, from the citizen point of view, an insights into the municipal budget.

NIMD’s activities strengthen the local actors’ capabilities to participate in the decentralized organs, with specific technical and political knowledge of its functioning and cycles, so as to increase the effectiveness of the decentralized system and contribute to enhanced levels of governability at local level. The promotion of participation of local media by NIMD in the project is essential to provide a balanced coverage and inform wider sectors of society on these efforts towards local governability and development planning.

The ‘Shared Governability’ project is part of a specialized field of cooperation of technical and political assistance to the national decentralization system, in an effort to strengthen the democratic institutionality of the State and the political culture and practice of local actors that makes the system operable. Capacity building of local actors (those that function from within the State as those working from outside influencing it) is cornerstone to NIMD’s work for creating a new political culture of participation, transparency and ownership in the exercise of democracy in Guatemala.