Decentralisation and NGO–municipal government collaboration in Ecuador

Abstract

Decentralisation, or the transfer of decision-making power and funds from central to local governments, is one of the most important reform movements in Latin America. Recent constitutional changes in Ecuador have contributed to the democratisation and empowerment of municipal governments. Case studies of three municipalities in highland Ecuador examine new opportunities for NGO–municipal government collaboration. NGOs have considerable experience of working locally and can help municipalities with planning and capacity building. Municipalities offer NGOs the legitimacy and local accountability they may lack, as well as the means both to extend project activities beyond isolated communities and to maintain the results once NGO assistance ends.

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the following professionals in Ecuador who gave valuable input and insights for this paper. Dr Sussana Aguilar (Municipalidad de Chordeleg), Eulalia Alvarado (Municipalidad de Chordeleg), Magdalena Vicenta Alvarez (AME), María Andrade (Municipalidad de Suscal), Raúl Cadena (CARE), Patricio and Rommel Carpio (OFIS), Faviola Carvajal (Plan Internacional), Manuel Castro Mayancela (Mayor, Municipalidad de Suscal), Jorge Coello González (Mayor, Municipalidad de Chordeleg), Ernesto Delgado (CONAM), José María Egas (Municipalidad de Cuenca), Amelia Erráez (Mayor, Municipalidad de Nabón), María Falconí (OFIS), Jaime Gárate (PROMUSTA-CARE), Orlando Guillén (UNICEF), Luís Heredia (COSUDE), Ana María Larrea (IEE), Jaime Paguay (Plan Internacional), Helder Solís (SENDAS), Luis Terán (INNFA), René Unda (COSUDE, Proyecto Nabón), Juan Vásconez (UNICEF), Edmundo Villavicencio (Municipalidad de Chordeleg). We would also like to thank William Preston for his thoughtful comments and Inne Choi for her help with the maps.

Notes

1. James Manor (1999:65) defines clientelism as ‘the tendency of leaders to get themselves elected by using networks of clients to whom they then show inordinate favouritism once in office’.

2. The term civil society, sometimes called the third sector, refers to the sphere of associations and social movements distinct from government and business. A strong civil society broadens public participation in civic life and contributes to democracy.

3. In this paper, the terms local government and municipal government will be used interchangeably, though in Ecuador the focus is on municipal governments. A municipal government or municipality is the governing unit of a canton (county), which generally encompasses an urban centre and a surrounding rural region.

4. The geographer James Keese has studied the work of international NGOs (especially CARE and Plan International) in Cañar province since 1994, focusing on sustainable agriculture and participatory development in indigenous communities. Marco Freire is a medical doctor and anthropologist and is from the study region (Cuenca). He has worked since 1993 as a health programmes coordinator in the regional and national offices of Plan International, an international child-sponsorship NGO and the second largest NGO in Ecuador.

5. The indigenous political movement is unified under CONAIE (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador). From 2002 to late 2003, the indigenous Pachakutik party, whose roots are decentralised, was a partner in a national coalition government.

6. The number of council members ranges from five to15, depending on the population of the canton. Council members are elected to four-year terms.

7. Seventy per cent of the transfers are designated for the municipalities. Funds are distributed based on a formula that takes into account population differences and poverty.

8. Research by Brad Jokisch of Ohio University (personal communication) indicates that as many as 500,000 Ecuadorians, many from the case-study locations in this paper, send approximately US$1.5 billion in remittances annually, representing the second highest source of foreign earnings for Ecuador after petroleum.

9. The term mestizo refers to people of mixed indigenous and European ancestry, who in Ecuador, tend to live a more urban and ‘Western’ lifestyle.

10. Principal organisations were Plan International (international NGO), Habitierra and Instituto de Estudios Ecuatorianos (Ecuadorian NGOs), donor government agencies (Canadian and Norwegian), and UNICEF.

11. Manor (1999:5–6) discusses three types of decentralisation–deconcentration, fiscal decentralisation, and devolution or democratic decentralisation.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

James R. Keese

James R. Keese is an Assistant Professor of Geography at California Polytechnic State University and has studied the work of NGOs in Ecuador since 1994.

Marco Freire Argudo

Macro Freire Argudo is a medical doctor and anthropologist, and has worked since 1993 with Plan International in Ecuador, where he is currently its National Health Adviser.