An Introduction to the Study Area: Six Municipalities in the Department of Chuquisaca
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4 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY AREA: SIX MUNICIPALITIES IN THE DEPARTMENT OF CHUQUISACA This chapter provides an overview of the socio-economic characteristics and the institutional context of the study area, which comprises six rural municipalities in the department of Chuquisaca. As such, it serves as an introduction to the research results presented in Chapters 5, 6 and 7. In the first section, we focus on the selection of the research municipalities. Next, we deal with the spatial context of the study area by presenting some features related to the location and accessibility of the municipalities. We then present the main characteristics of the municipalities’ population, with special attention to their access to such services as health and education. After that, we focus on the economic structure of the municipalities, describing the main economic sectors and employment opportunities. Subsequently, we discuss the institutional context by presenting the main actors, successively the local government, OTBs, other social organisations, the Comité de Vigilancia, the private sector and NGOs. The variables used to describe these actors indicate the potential for good governance, such as the stability of local government, the way local government is organised, the number of NGOs working in the municipalities and the character of their presence. 4.1 The selection of the research municipalities The department of Chuquisaca is situated in South-east Bolivia (see Figure 4.1). This department developed in the nineteenth century as a food supplier to the mining sector in the department of Potosí. Because the climate of the capital Sucre is somewhat milder than that of the rest of Potosí, many tin barons decided to settle in Sucre or its surroundings and to build a huge country house there. Sucre was the administrative and judicial centre of Potosí and was one the most important cities in Latin America in the nineteenth century (Langer 1989, p. 12-35). The transfer of the Congress to La Paz, followed by the mining sector’s move towards the northern part of the departments of Oruro and Potosí, reduced the role of Sucre at the national level. Although Sucre is still the national capital and houses the High Court, today it has the feel of a calm, provincial town. The department is located outside the La Paz-Cochabamba-Santa Cruz axis, and as such is not part of the country’s economic core region. In 1995, the share of Chuquisaca in the national GDP was only 5.7%. In contrast to other departments, Chuquisaca has experienced only a slight increase in GDP: 0.7% since 1988 (Jetté and Rojas 1998). Agriculture is the main source of employment in the department. In 1992, 60% of the economically active population aged seven years or older was involved in this sector. The majority of the farming population are minifundistas producing for auto- consumption. The three main reasons for selecting Chuquisaca for this study were the spatial and socio- economic diversity within the department, the fact that it is one of the poorest departments in Bolivia and therefore very much in need of new development options, and the experiments with decentralisation carried out there prior to 1994. Each of these matters will be addressed below. 65 Figure 4.1 Bolivia and the department of Chuquisaca 66 Figure 4.2 The six research municipalities 67 The department encompasses various agro-ecological zones ranging from the puna (altitude 3,500-4,000 m) and the valleys (1,000-3,000 m) to the subtropical lowlands in the eastern parts of the department (300-900 m). The department represents a large socio- cultural diversity: the urban settlements are mainly occupied by mestizos, who are of mixed descent. In the higher, rural zones of the department a large part of the population consists of small farmers with a Quechua background, and with several subcultures. In the lower parts in the east of the department live the Guaraní, an indigenous group. The different position of these groups in the power structure makes this department interesting for the purpose of this study. Chuquisaca is one of the country’s poorest departments, as illustrated by its relatively low score on the Human Development Index (HDI) and its limited potential for economic development. The HDI of Bolivia is 0.531, while that of Chuquisaca is 0.389 (UDAPSO- PNUD 1997, p. 24) – the lowest in the country with exception of the department of Potosí. There are large differences in HDI scores between the city of Sucre and the rest of the department: the city has a medium score of 0.558, whilst the other municipalities all have a very low HDI score of less than 0.399. Although the department is a backward area from an economic perspective, in the implementation of decentralisation it has been quite progressive. Even before the implementation of the Law on Popular Participation (LPP) in 1994, it had experiments with decentralisation through the establishment of the Departmental Council for Social Development (see also Box 3.1 in Chapter 3). The expectations concerning the implementation of the LPP in the department of Chuquisaca were high (Nicod 1996, p. 61; Archondo 1998; Arias 1996). This expectation was based on the promising experiences with the dialogue between the state and civil organisations, structured in the model of the Consejo Departemental de Desarrollo Social. Through the introduction of the LPP, 28 municipalities were created in the department of Chuquisaca (see Figure 4.1), the majority being relatively small, rural municipalities. Six of these municipalities were selected for the realisation of this study. In selecting them, several criteria that influence the potential for good governance and local development (as discussed in Chapter 2) were taken into consideration, leading to a diverse sample of research municipalities rather than a representative one. First of all, the three different agro-ecological zones in the department were taken into consideration. In each of these zones, two municipalities were selected, based on criteria such as physical accessibility, population size, type of mayor, number and type of OTBs (Organizaciones Territoriales de Base – Territorial Base Organisations), and the presence of NGOs and character of this presence. This resulted in the selection of Yotala, Poroma, Sopachuy, Presto, Monteagudo and Huacareta. 4.2 The spatial context: location and accessibility The six research municipalities are situated in four different provinces. Yotala and Poroma are located in Oropeza (see Figure 4.1 and 4.2), Presto is in Zudañez, and Sopachuy is in Tomina. Together, the municipalities of Monteagudo and Huacareta form the province of Hernando Siles. These four provinces represent a wide range of agro-ecological zones. Roughly, three zones can be distinguished: the higher valleys (represented by the municipalities of Yotala and Poroma), the lower valleys (represented by Sopachuy and Presto) and the 68 subtropical lowlands (represented by Monteagudo and Huacareta). The main geographical characteristics of the six municipalities are presented in Table 4.1. Table 4.1 Main geographical characteristics of the research municipalities by zone Municipality Altitude in m. Accessibility Hours from Sucreª High valley Yotala 2,200 – 3,600 Good 0.5 Poroma 1,500 – 3,800 Bad 8 Low valley Sopachuy 1,600 – 2,500 Moderate 6 Presto 1,000 – 3,000 Bad 3 Subtropical Monteagudo 900 – 2,200 Moderate 9 Huacareta 620 – 1,900 Bad 12 Source: PDMs municipalities 1996-9. ªHours from Sucre to municipal capital by motorised transport in dry season The municipalities of Yotala – the smallest in area of the six municipalities – and Poroma represent the higher valley-zone, situated in the north-western part of the department at an elevation of 1,500-3,800 metres. The average daily temperature is 16º C, but in winter the temperature at night drops to -6º C, causing damage to crops. There is a sharp distinction between the seasons, with a dry and cold winter season and a humid summer season. Of the average yearly precipitation of 650 mm, 90% falls in the rainy season (November-March). In winter, hailstorms are common and the higher parts of these municipalities experience frost. Natural vegetation consists of forest. Soil degradation is very common, particularly in the areas used for agriculture (Molina Barron 1995). When the fertility of the soil is exhausted, the farmers move on to new ground, leaving the former agricultural land without vegetation, hence more susceptible to erosion by wind and water. Soil degradation is further aggravated by excessive grazing. An increasing share of agricultural land is being contaminated by the rivers crossing the municipalities. The Pilcomayo river is highly contaminated with minerals washed down from the mining areas in Potosí, while the Rio Yotala is heavily contaminated by sewage from the city of Sucre. Sopachuy and Presto represent the lower valley-zone, at an altitude of between 1,000 and 3,000 m. The average daily temperature is 17° C, and average annual precipitation is 850 mm. There is a clear distinction between the dry season (November and December) and the rainy season. The main climatological hazards experienced in both areas are the occurrence of frost in the period June-August, hail storms in October and November, droughts from November to February and excessive rainfall from November to April. These climatological factors are a serious threat to agricultural production in these municipalities. The subtropical lowlands are represented by the municipalities of Monteagudo and Huacareta, which together form the province of Hernando Siles. These municipalities are also the largest (in area) in the study area (Figure 4.1). The municipality of Monteagudo is situated at an altitude ranging from 900 to 2,200 metres, whilst Huacareta is somewhat lower (620-1,900 metres). Both municipalities enjoy a relatively mild climate with an 69 average temperature of around 20° C.