Perspectiva Geográfca ISSN: 0123-3769 Vol. 20 No. 1 de 2015 Enero - Junio pp. 37-70 Departmental Institutions and Decentralised Cooperation in Boyacá Instituciones departamentales y cooperación decentralizada en Boyacá José L. Niño Amezquita1 Para citar este artículo, utilice el nombre completo así: Niño, J. L. (2015). Departmental Institutions and Decentralised Cooperation in Boyacá. Perspectiva Geográfca, 20(1), 37-70. Abstract The Colombian reality shows how subnational entities have been affected by a process of recentralisation since the beginning of the XXI century, and the weakening of intermediate entities in the decentralisation of the last century. However, these entities are seen as the linkage for territorial internationalization, an empty space that few municipalities have adopted and within which departments have hardly acted. Boyacá, a territory in the middle of the Andes, faces challenges that, until now, it has been unable to answer in the right way. The current document is based on primary data which analyses the cooperation from the department as well as the municipalities. Therefore, the internal dynamics and realities suggest that the solution may lie on the integration that Boyacá and its municipalities might have with inter-subnational peers. However, this is still a long path to walk for the Colombian territorial entities, especially in the Department of Boyacá. 1 Doctor en Instituciones, Administraciones y Políticas Regionales del Centro de Investigación Regional Lombardo: Eupolis (consorcio de las Universidades de Pavía, Milán, Católica y el Politécnico de Milán). Economista de la Universidad de Los Andes con maestrías en Geografía Humana del Instituto de Geografía de París y Gobernanza y Políticas de Desarrollo de la Escuela de Altos Estudios Internacionales y Políticos. [email protected] Keywords: Boyacá, descentralized cooperation, internationalization of territories, intersubnational relations, multilevel governance, paradiplomacy, territorial development. Resumen En Colombia, las entidades sub-nacionales se vieron afectadas por la recentralización desde comienzos del siglo XXI y con el debilitamiento de las entidades intermedias durante la descentralización del siglo pasado. Sin embargo, estas entidades se observan como el articulador de la internacionalización territorial, espacio vacío que pocas municipalidades han adoptado y donde los departamentos han tenido un nulo accionar. Boyacá, territorio inmerso en los andes colombianos, enfrenta retos que hasta hoy no ha afrontado correctamente. El presente documento, se basa en información primaria que contribuye al análisis departamental y municipal de cooperación. Por ello, las dinámicas y realidades internas; sugieren que la solución estaría en la integración que Boyacá, y sus municipalidades, pueda tener con pares inter-subnacionales. Sin embargo, este es un largo camino que falta por caminar para las entidades territoriales colombianas, especialmente del departamento de Boyacá. Palabras clave: Boyacá, cooperación descentralizada, internacionalización de territorios, relaciones intersubnacionales, gobernanza multinivel, paradiplomacia, desarrollo territorial. 38 José L. Niño Amezquita Rationale municipalities. Within the context of breaking down of national The problems of territorial borders, strengthening of supra- organisation have led to a new national blocs and the infuence topic of study, offering a tool for of multilateral actors in southern any kind of development policy countries, this text aims to revalue applied in the southern countries. how Boyacá’s government and As territorial internationalisation its institutions play the role of and decentralised cooperation take coordinator and bridge for these on more importance, Colombia is new public policies. not exempt from these processes. However, up until now, studies To approach this issue, the and practices have focused on current paper tries to understand well-known cities and regions, the municipal perspective, mainly on Bogota, Medellin and its departmental aggregate of its surroundings. This has resulted decentralised cooperation, and in a widening of the gap between the institutional action of Boyacá territories, leaving other zones House; searching to develop the lagging and without political Department as well as its territories options or any form of theoretical within. To analyse this behaviour research. the research uses primary data, collected with a survey made by This is the case in the department the author to the local mayor or the of Boyacá, which has had to municipal planning secretary. The live with and depend upon the survey is based primarily on closed country’s large economic centres questions, and two open questions and national redistribution that approximate the perceptions policies. After the implementation of each participant. The survey of decentralising policies and was carried out without prior the distribution of functions, the conceptual explanation, avoiding department found it diffcult to a conceptual bias and allowing take over responsibilities like the concept defnition be based on relationships with external actors. the realities that each territorial The situation was now much more leader lives. Later, because the complex, due to the redistribution data is based on closed forms, it is of fnancial resources in favour of shown on the document with maps, Perspect. geogr. Vol. 20 No. 1. Año 2015 enero - junio, pp. 37-70 39 showing if there is any central- one of their main priorities, but periphery behaviour or any shared none have been able to achieve provincial actions. it. What follows is an explanation of the diffculties faced in the In addition, this article contextua- construction of the Colombian lises the Colombian reality and the Nation from its independence in impact that territorial legislation, the early 19th century. The second coupled with policies aimed to- part of this section will focus on the wards institutional strengthening, internationalisation of Colombian has had on new relations between departments and the existing sub- territories and international actors. national units. It is here that one The frst part tries as well to un- can observe the diffculties it has derstand the National perspective experienced in the process. This build since the departmental reali- is a result of historic (the confict) ty. Then, the case of Boyacá and its and geographic (the mountains) municipalities will be presented. dynamics that each of the The study will aim to explain how, departments has to contend with, under the framework set out in establishing relationships outside the previous section and given the the national borders becomes more scarce municipal capacities, the de- complex, given that they do not partment emerges as a central fg- even have strong links with the ure in the use of new decentralised nation or with national peers. cooperation and internationalisa- tion tools, impacting in a real way 1.1 The Colombian territorial its territory and population. reality 1. Colombian Instability and Colombia’s territory has undergone fragmentation huge changes over the course of the two centuries following Colombia has always been independence, which in part led characterised by its fragmented to the 1991 constitution, a result territory, which as well as providing of Colombia’s numerous peace for a diverse cultural make-up, also processes. The new millennium brings with it problems. Over the marked a restructuring of the years, governments have made the central and peripheral perspectives, integration of the national territory resulting in a restructuring of 40 José L. Niño Amezquita powers, a process still under viable option in the face of the construction. Now a historic existing territorial fragmentation. viewpoint of Colombian territories The result was, as Planas explains will be presented. In order to do (1997), six constitutions in less this, three time periods will be than six decades (1832, 1843, considered: the instability of the 1853, 1858,1863 y 1886), each 19th century, the strengthening of depending on the president of the the unitary state which is later put time. in doubt, and the construction of a social state that came with the All of this instability on national 1991 constitution. borders, as well as the question of what would be the best type In the second decade of the 19th of state for the territory, would century, Colombia emerged as an be put to rest by the 1886 magna extensive territory which occupied carta which defned Colombia as a large part of northern South a central unitary state. However, America. From the creation of Gran although this would create Colombia in the post-independence constitutional stability, it would period, the discussion between not be the solution to Colombia’s unitary or federal state would territorial reality. frame 60 years of constitutional instability, which frst began when The second period, which began to- Socorro’s 1810 constitution was not wards the end of the 19th century, adopted (Velandia, 1971). After the would bring about two interesting disintegration of Gran Colombia aspects: constant territorial recla- in 1831 and the creation of a less mation and a delegitimisation of extensive national territory, the central entities by illegal groups. opportunity to impose a central During this period, territories took model emerged. As with so many on a greater degree of autonomy, to others, this would be based on the the extent that Panama was granted French system. However,