CIVIL SOCIETY INDEX REPORT Bolivia
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CIVIL SOCIETY INDEX REPORT Civil Society in Bolivia: From mobilization to impact Bolivia Country Report 1 FOREWORD This study responds to the need to better understand Bolivia, as a diverse society with its own needs and interests, ways of organising and ways of working towards joint action. The Civil Society Index (CSI) project and methodology were developed by CIVICUS, an international NGO as an instrument to assess the state of civil society around the world. The CIVICUS Civil Society Index (CSI) for Bolivia is the result of pooling resources involving the Centro de Investigación y Promoción del Campesinado (CIPCA) and Catholic Relief Services - Bolivia (CRS Bolivia). 1 These local and international non-governmental institutions work, in the case of CIPCA, directly with CSOs and the general population, and in the case of CRS with local partners working on social development. The CSI project was carried out between December 2004 and January 2006 and is part of a project coordinated by CIVICUS in over 50 countries. It should be pointed out that while this report was designed for comparative purposes, it nonetheless explores the specific characteristics of Bolivian civil society, particularly regarding the indigenous population. The CSI is an action – research project that involves various stakeholders, who reflect on the current state of civil society in order to jointly propose an action plan to strengthen civil society in the country. The project aimed to contribute to Bolivian civil society’s self-understanding in order to develop a list of actions to address civil society’s deficiencies. Thus, problems related to corruption within civil society and the limitations of civil society’s values regarding gender equity, or respect for sexual minorities, were addressed in this project. Central to this analysis was measuring the limited success that Bolivian civil society has had in influencing public policy, despite its powerful mobilisation capacities. It is important to also highlight that some of the data, on which this report is based, was obtained through surveys and interviews held during the period of social conflict from May to June 2005. This context allowed for high levels of participation of civil society organizations (CSOs) throughout the CSI implementation. The participation of men and women and organisation leaders, has enriched the study and generated rich discussions among civil society participants. We hope that the CSI presented the opportunity to broaden the perspectives of the diverse social actors involved in the project. The publication of this report at the beginning of 2006 is of special significance, due to the landslide victory in late 2005 of a political party headed by the social leader, Evo Morales, indicating the strength of social movements and civil society’s capacity to mobilise. Finally, it is important to note that the Bolivian study identified a strong civil society within a weak state. It would therefore be interesting for future studies to explore how state-civil society relations develop over time, as many organisations now directly participate in the national, departmental and municipal governments. Oscar Bazoberry Chali National Director CIPCA 1 Center for Peasant Research and Development, CIPCA CIVICUS Civil Society Index Report for Bolivia 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research would not have been possible without the support and contributions of civil society actors, organisations and academia. The members of the National Advisory Group (NAG) included eminent personalities, such as Xavier Albó, Oscar Bazoberry, Enrique Camargo, Ignacio Faldín, Ivonne Farah, Zulema Lehm, Fernando Mayorga, Juan Carlos Núñez, Julia Ramos, Gonzalo Rojas-Ortuste and Luis Tapia. The NAG’s contribution to this research was used to develop a highly valuable document which will be used to discuss and reflect on issues concerning civil society, particularly those which have not been previously discussed. Many thanks to the National Index Team (NIT): Bertha Camacho, the project coordinator; Cecilia Salazar, the civil society expert and Alcira Córdova, the research assistant, all of whom worked intensively for a year, in the implementation of the project. CIVICUS as a partner organisation and DFID as a co-donor supported the team in this endeavour. In order to adapt the methodology proposed by CIVICUS to the Bolivian context, PhD. Susana Rance reviewed the methodology, interpretation and scientific direction of the study; and PhD. Luis Tapia analyzed the concept of civil society, which, along with the input from the NAG, made the research distinctly Bolivian. Likewise, we are grateful for the support given by Encuestas & Estudios for the community and stakeholders’ surveys and Multimedia, Group & Entertainment, MGE , for their support on the analysis of the media’s perception of civil society. Luisa López, Khantuta Muruchi, Nicolás Laguna, Andrea Velasco and Jorge Bedregal, university interns; and Eulogio Nuñez and Omar Quiroga, researchers, worked for six weeks on the different case studies that contributed to the analysis of the impact of Bolivian civil society. CIPCA and CRS Bolivia, as the national organisations coordinating the research, refined the methodology, fundraised, implemented the project’s components and reviewed the reports. They also contributed with their experience acquired from their own research and practical work. We would also like to highlight the valuable support of Juan Carlos Rojas, Head of the CIPCA Political Action Unit. Finally, a special thanks to all of those who were patient enough to answer the community survey, the stakeholders and all of those who took part in the discussion workshops held throughout the country. Miriam Orellana Civil Society Manager Catholic Relief Services - Bolivia CIVICUS Civil Society Index Report for Bolivia 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD………………………………………….………………………………………………...1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………………………..2 TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………….……………………………………….3 TABLES AND FIGURES………………………………………………………………………………4 LIST OF ACRONYMS………………………………………………….……………………………...6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY……………………………………………………….…………………….8 INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………….………….12 I CIVIL SOCIETY INDEX PROJECT & APPROACH ……………………………………….13 1. PROJECT BACKGROUND ……………………………………………………………………….13 2. PROJECT APPROACH ……………………………………………………………………….14 II CIVIL SOCIETY IN BOLIVIA. ……………………………………………………………...19 1. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND FOR CIVIL SOCIETY IN BOLIVIA ……………………………..19 2. THE CURRENT SOCIO -POLITICAL CONTEXT IN BOLIVIA ……………………………………….22 3. THE CONCEPT OF CIVIL SOCIETY …………………………….....................................................23 III ANALYSIS OF CIVIL SOCIETY . …………………………………………………………...25 1. STRUCTURE . ……………………………………………………………………………….................... 25 1.1 The Breadth of Citizen Participation in Civil Society…….................................................25 1.2 Depth of Citizen Participation in Civil Society…………………………………………...28 1.3 Diversity of Civil Society Participants……..……………………………………………..29 1.4 Level of Organization……………………………………………………………………..31 1.5 Inter-Relations within Civil Society………………………………………………………32 1.6 Civil Society Resources…………………………………………………………………...33 2. ENVIRONMENT ………………………………………………………………………………..................35 2.1 Political Context…………………………………………………………………………..36 2.2 Basic Rights and Freedoms………………………………………………………...……..38 2.3 Socio-economic Context…………............……………………………………………….38 2.4 Socio-cultural Context…………..……………………………………………….....……..40 2.5 Legal Environment………………………………………………………………………..40 2.6 State-civil Society Relations…………………....................................................................42 2.7 Private Sector - Civil Society Relations…………………………………………………..43 3. VALUES ……………………………………………………………………………….............................44 3.1.Democracy………………………………………………………………………………...45 3.2 Transparency………………………………………………………………………………46 3.3 Respecting Differences……………………………………………………………………47 3.4 Non-violence………………………………………………………………………………48 3.5 Gender Equity…………………………………………………………………………….49 3.6 Poverty Eradication……………………………………………………………………….50 3.7 Environmental Sustainability……………………………………………………………...50 3.8. Ethnic Equity……………………………………………………………………………..51 4. IMPACT ......................................................................................................................................52 4.1 Influencing Public Policy ………………………………………………………………53 4.2 Holding the State and Private Corporations Accountable………………………………...55 4.3 Responding to Social Interests………………………………………….............................57 4.4 Empowering Citizens……………………………………………………………………...58 4.5 Meeting Societal Needs…………………………………………………………………...60 IV STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF BOLOVIAN CIVIL SOCIETY ….............................63 V RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................................................65 VI CONCLUSION .………………………….……………………………………………..................66 APPENDICES …………………………………………………………………………………................69 BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………………………………………………............. 107 CIVICUS Civil Society Index Report for Bolivia 4 LIST OF TABLE AND FIGURES Tables Table I.1.1 Countries participating in the CSI implementation phase 2003-2005 13 Table II.1.1 Country information 19 Table II.3.1 Types of CSOs included in the study 24 Table III.1.1 Indicators assessing the breadth of citizen participation 26 Table III.1.2 Membership in CSO types according to place of residence 27 Table III.1.3