SITUATION BEFORE THE START OF THE INITIATIVE
Montufar Canton, had a large difference in povertylevels between urban (43% of the urban population was under the poverty line)and the rural sector (84% of the rural population living below the poverty line) there was low coverage of basic services, only halfof the population was connected to the network of water and wastewater. Until 2001 we were coming from local governments thathad created distrust of rulers, by clientelistic and paternalistic practices,and apparent corruption, SOCAP by state control agencies, whose practices arerepeated throughout the country, which are a true reflection of the various political crises in the past 20 yearsthat are known worldwide, with the permanent change of presidents andlegislators, and generating from it new from a local citizens' initiatives forchange of power structures between direct democracy and participatory , and their complementarity.
SETTING PRIORITIES
Socialization local actors resulted in the developmentof "Participatory Strategic Plan Montúfar Canton" with theprioritization of the following areas:
1 .- Axis of Culture, education andsports.
2 .- Axis ofOrganization and participation.
3 .- AxisModernization of local governments.
4 .- Axis ofEnvironment and Natural Resources.
5 .- AxisInfrastructure and social development.
6 .- Transport Hub,production and health.
And as keystones.
7 .- Gender and generational axis.
8 .- Children andadolescents shaft.
9 .- Youth Hub.
Heritage 10 .- Axis
In each of the axesare given priority policies and actions identified in the Annual Meetings, andevery two years are designated civil society volunteers from rural and urban,that gender criteria are chosen to integrate the Intersectoral Committee depending on the axles, to help in themanagement.
FORMULATION OF OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES
OBJECTIVES
1. Training citizens in the exercise of their rights andresponsibilities, including and under the criteria of gender equality.
2. Disseminate andempower the rules of the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuadoroncitizenship consolidating local democracy.
3. To contribute,streamline and strengthen the quality of life in Canton Montúfar withco-management and direct participation of social actors to local development.
4 Consolidation ofdemocracy, creating balance between participatory and representative on thebasis of effective and equitable distribution of public budgets.
5 Promoting selfdetermination, self and identity of the town, linking local to global and viceversa.
STRATEGY
1.1 Strengthen the Organization neighborhood,community and parish
Integrated
1.2 10 alternatelyIntersectoral Committees and gender equity
2.1 Implement toolsof social control (oversight committees, accountability, participatorybudgeting)
2.2 To influencethe City Council makes decisions (Empty Chair)
3.1 Strengtheningthe integrated management of solid waste by Montúfar responsibility ofcitizenship
3.2 Plan and manage the distribution of cooking gas to citizenship
4.1 supportsinitiatives to strengthen the cultural, natural and historic linked to localdevelopment
4.2 Organize andagree with the authorities the distribution of resources according topriorities, depending on the needs
5.1 To influence decision-making, both nationally aboutthe legal framework in the National Assembly Secondary
5.2 To become amodel of participative management and in the north of Ecuador
Source of funds:
The Assembly of Cantonal Unit astonishing, afterevaluation and planning by the Council for Development and Management at AnnualMeeting which sets out general guidelines according to Canton ParticipatoryStrategic Plan, and approves the annual operating plan and budget with theirrespective counterparts.
The Municipal Government of Montufar, 27.27%co-financing the Annual Operating Plan, background is used as complementary totheir commitments to local and international agencies.
Ministries (Ministry of Economic and Social Inclusion), with whom they aresubsidized or complement the activities prioritized in the Annual OperatingPlan.
Other LocalGovernments (Municipalities), governmental and nongovernmental organizations,national and international: The articulated or co-finance the Annual OperatingPlan of the Assembly, according to their institutional interests.
Contribution oforganized social actors in Canton, contributors from different households,community, church, neighborhood, community organizations and productive, humanand financial resources, taking into account the unsatisfied basic needs (NBI),the latter a lesser extent, to comply with the actions detailedin the Plan.
PROCESS
Citizen Participation process in Canton began with themomentum from the Local Government, which reduced the participation of someleaders and women leaders in the initiative with suspicion as they thought itwould be a partisan political initiative and are trying to co-opt theparticipation , just as there was no integration of all socialsectors despite performing Canton by ancestral tradition and Minguero communitywork.
According as wassocializing and developing the existing organizations process were included,were formed or legalizing other kinds of different organizations thatpreviously existed as a fact, just as their leaders went into a trainingprocess at local, national andeven internationally, more so when it was determined that the participatoryprocess is autonomous and Local Government initiative will support only as aright the exercise of democracy and public access to what is in everyone; andit was also developing CantonalParticipatory Strategic Plan, with the determination of plans, programs andprojects that emerged from the needs of the / these people, this in turnenabled the incidence for the development of processes such as theParticipatory Budget, in which the rural andurban, through the districts, communes and parishes annually decide andprioritize the work and activities that enable the development of the humanbeing taking into account the gender and generational lines, an activity whichis carried out for 5 years.
Also a product ofthis process has been implemented using the empty chair, since 2007, where arepresentative of civil society organizations and depending on the issue underdiscussion is present in the meetings conducted by the Municipal LocalGovernment, with voice for makingdecisions on behalf of the population, being the only county in the countrythat uses this tool of social control that is being strengthened to be includedin the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador today and with the expressdetermination of the CitizenParticipation Law, passed near the National Assembly, which states that theexercise responsible and vote.
In addition therehave been some oversight committees of social control, as a model, public workscarried out from the town and prioritized on participatory budgeting, andultimately to other public institutions as covered by the Constitution of theRepublic of Ecuador.
This process is always underconstruction, with the voluntary and active participation of social actors(about 80 rural and urban social actors), and style of our country atEcuador,to achieve equality in sustainable development peoples from their own organizationand initiative, with local identity, with planning and ongoing self-assessment
RESULTS ACHIEVED
RESULTS, OUTLOOK AUCM
· An area of continuing citizen participation, whichhas allowed the strengthening organizational partner at the parish, communityand neighborhood.
· The implementation of tools of social control as a model byMontúfar Township, with participatory budgeting, systems of accountability,citizen oversight, civil society participation in meetings of the MunicipalCouncil (empty chair) and representatives of the civil society.
· Inclusion of the transverse axis of childhood andadolescence, gender and generational and youth at all levels of management andother lines intended in the Canton Participatory Strategic Plan since itsadoption in 2003.
· Exchange of experiences with other participatoryprocesses at national level and be part of the National COORDINACION part ofthe National Network PARTICIPATORY PROCESS OF ECUADOR "MINGA CITIZEN."
· Despite the dispersion of social work in the locality, theprocess has made several strategic alliances with local, provincial andnational, and international cooperation and projects have been strengtheningand empowerment through a Plan AnnualOperating, banded Provincial Development Plans and National, according to theAnnual Meetings, joint managing various plans and projects at the local, asBUILDING PROJECT ORGANIZATION AND PARTICIPATION OF YOUTH IN THE PROVINCE OFCarchi which still stands.
· Through the Agenda for Development and Peace - NorthernBorder of the Office of the Resident Coordinator of UN System in Ecuador andthe Joint Programme, UNDP Regional Network in the province of Carchi, are madevisible to the Assembly of Cantonal Unit , as the space of civil society that, despite theColombian conflict affecting the border area adjacent to Ecuador, has developeda highly participatory process of the hand of the public, on a permanent basisand serve as a model for beginning of other processes in the Province and theNorthern Region of Ecuador.
SUSTAINABILITY
There are social and economic sustainability ofthe process because there is the inclusion of social sectors, strengtheninggender equality and generational, and even individuals in need of internationalprotection and special abilities. On the economic side thelocal government, strategic partner in this process, providing basic financialsupport, as well as local, office equipment, provision of internet, a vehiclefor the performance of PAN ANNUAL OPERATING Assembly.
The new legal framework both constitutional and secondary rules now ensure therecognition and funding for these spaces from the state for the management oftechnical and financial resources, including additional, giving great value tothe self that is done from the Cantonal Assembly through public and private institutions, national andinternational, with the participation and contribution of the public.
Cultural sustainability in ourCounty has been characterized by maintaining a broad cultural legacy wasdeclared as Cultural Heritage, Natural and Historical of Ecuador and aredriving some activities to strengthen and regain some traditions that aredisappearing, being part of the planning forthe year 2010.
At the environmental level process takes a few years performing andpromoting projects with the Production Department of Environment and Tourism ofthe Municipality of our county which has strengthened the care and rescue ofour natural resources and their conservation by having ourhe Andean plateauthat is part of Parque Nacional El Angel, and the eyebrow of primary forest inthe eastern mountains that must be followed with broad processes for care andmaintenance, because they are also safe water sources that even favor of thisvital fluid other counties in theprovince of Carchi.
Something that is essential is the institutionalsustainability because, as we noted previously created an ordinance legalizingour organization but only at the local level and since 2008 we have beeninvolved in proposals for national laws which are legally recognized in the Constitution and related lawsthe existence of such civil society organizations in the public-privatepartnership that we have a complete sustainability recognized by all branchesof government.
LESSONS LEARNED
Of the most important lessons is that the municipal role is essential,however, is part of the whole and another member of the process, for autonomyand self-determination of participation were guaranteed space since itsinception and now recognized in the Constitution Republic of Ecuador.
The focus of the process in the Assembly of Cantonal United Montufar, isparticipatory, inclusive, but the weakness of communication with rural areaslimited the process to be greater empowerment, just as some committees do notmeet as planned at the Annual Meeting thereis economic dependence on the resources of the municipality, however, we knowthat is a relatively new and that the range of possibilities offered by the newConstitution and secondary laws, this process and all existing national, have agreater opportunities,partnerships, advocacy capacity and autonomy.
The political will is not sufficient to achieve greater empowerment ofsocial actors, it is necessary to make a feedback process with the aim of involvingpeople in planning and decision making in public administration, and secondly,strengthening the social actori all sectors of the canton, mobilizedin opposition to the old traditional political practices that contrast inpolitical terms in ideological terms, but in a democracy these contrasts arekey to locate its permanent building.
CitizenParticipation recipes no application of lessons, are for reference only as eachplace has to apply that knowledge in accordance with the social dynamics of itsterritory.
The Assembly is a model for citizenparticipation in the north of the country, promoting and continuouslystrengthen democratic processes, inclusion, decision, planning, coordination,social control and the fight against corruption among public and privatestakeholders in society.
Finally, with the new cantonal and national political context the proposal forcitizen participation tends to become stronger, since it is not necessarily aprocess that raises the divorce between representative democracy andparticipatory democracy, where one exclude the other by theInstead the aim isto promote complementarity, and configure and consolidate a democratic system,which allows action to bring representatives and stakeholders of public andprivate county.
TRANSFERS
a) Transferability:
Citizen Participation process started in Ecuador in 1992 in 2 countieswith local differences, hence the beginning of the process were carried outinternships with some of our County stakeholders to understand the processesand adapt them to our Canton respectingthe local dynamics, cultural diversity, idiosyncrasy, etc.
Culturally, the population of Montufar has been characterized bycommunity work, expressed through the Minga, an activity that has allowed theconstruction of roads, irrigation canals and water for human consumption. And the category of "Pasto",now is one of the leading names of the cultural identity of the canton, as theyrelate to practices, traditions and symbols of "Pasto Culture," whichhas allowed our process is strengthened andas regards other cantons in the country, the same as we visit with delegatesfrom civil society to meet and share our experience and to replicate it intheir territories, and likewise we are visiting other areas of our countrywhere civil society meetings organizedand in some cases on an individual share our experience from a critical andself-criticism through RED PARTICIPATORY PROCESS OF ECUADOR.
Moreover since 2008 which adopted the new Constitutionof the Republic of Ecuador, which requires all autonomous governments toinitiate processes for Citizen Participation, Participatory Budgeting andSocial Control in all levels of government, insure without aquestions that need to rethink theauthorities and mainly the general public on ways to manage public andachieving equitable development benefits, promoting and institutionalizingparticipatory spaces and the fundamental guarantee that will be necessary toindicate these spaces FIVE peoplesheltered by the state power which is called for transparency and socialcontrol, and in which participations COUNCIL OF CIVIC AND SOCIAL CONTROL,technical and financial support, apart from the Local Government so that theseprocesses are or strengthen, respect theirautonomy and self-determination in a continuous process of construction ofpublic power to achieve the good life (sumak kawsay) or the equivalent from theoutside to sustainable development and equal.
RELATED POLICIES OR LEGISLATION:
In the year 2003 by an ordinance as part of municipal law wasinstitutionalized Canton Assembly of Cantonal Unit Montufar, and since 2008 inthe new Constitution of Ecuador Citizen Participation permeating through about70 articles and date complementarylaws are under discussion, which likewise promotes the creation of suchprocesses and the strengthening of those already created by providing technicaland financial support, also the current Government is implementing policies tostrengthen this type of participatory and democratic practices , where citizens voluntarily seek their owndevelopment, setting aside the old partisan political practices of clientelismand paternalism, noting that anything public is bad, and we need to rethink itthrough these processes, building processes permanently democraticand deliberative, involving men and women on equal terms.
