Bittersweet Lessons and Promising Vistas

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Instituto del Perú de la Universidad de San Martín de Porres

Agosto, 2009
Alexander Dadok

44 páginas

International development literature has extensively documented how poor governance in Latin America inhibits economic growth and improved distribution. To help remedy these problems and promote accountability, some NGOs and academics have urged creation of official institutions for citizen participation. A wealth of high-quality comparative research has sought to isolate the conditions under which these types of institutions function best.

In contrast, this paper seeks to answer how well these institutions are functioning for promoting accountability and what lessons should be drawn from these experiences. Three municipalities in Peru are evaluated through surveys, in-depth interviews, budget analyses, and personal observations. The study finds that, in Peru, these institutions have not improved accountability. Given such a finding, it recommends that additional research examine participatory reforms in the greater institutional context to determine which institutions and approaches should receive scarce resources in order to best strengthen democracy.

Español:

Lecciones amargas y un panorama prometedor

Este trabajo analiza cómo las organizaciones no gubernamentales (ONGs), han impulsado la creación de instituciones para la participación ciudadana, cómo funcionaron para promover la responsabilidad y qué lecciones dejaron estas experiencias. El autor estudió el caso de tres municipalidades, y a través de entrevistas, encuestas, análisis de los presupuestos y observaciones personales concluyó que dichas instituciones no han aumentado la participación ciudadana o la transparencia del gobierno.