Local government trends and performance : assessment of AID's involvement in Latin America

After a brief resume of the history of local government in Latin America, post-1960 trends toward municipal development and the obstacles to increased decentralization are reviewed. It is noted that the relative emphasis of the 1960's on rural development largely shifted during the 1970's to urban development as the pace of rural-to-urban migration accelerated and with it the need for greater urban infrastructure. At the same time, municipal development institutions were established or strengthened in such countries as Costa Rica, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Bolivia, Paraguay, Honduras, and Panama. The municipalista movement to push for autonomous local government also played a significant role during this period and is addressed likewise. A.I.D. evaluations of its municipal development activities in the 1970's - in the areas of local bank lending for infrastructure and social service subprojects, technical assistance and training, legal and legislative reform, and institutional planning and management - are then reviewed and A.I.D.'s involvement since 1980 assessed. The last and longest chapter summarizes the effects of the historical, sociocultural, ideological, legal/legislative, political, policy, and bureaucratic frameworks existing in Latin America on local government development and outlines a strategy for future A.I.D. involvement. The author concludes that A.I.D. should build on the potential for local government already established, focusing future efforts, where possible, at the municipal level in preference to other governmental levels. These efforts should target urban-rural linkages (especially food supply and non-farm employment), energy efficiency, planning in secondary cities experiencing rapid growth, and - to enable real and sustainable autonomy to emerge - financial planning, management, and administration. The scale of such interventions, it is noted, will depend on local conditions.