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Declining State of Democratic Institutions and the Implications for Governance
Another excellent way of sharing information within communities is
regular town hall meetings where citizens can discuss their concerns
in person with the mayor and his or her technical staff. A mayor
could also use new SMS technology to deliver short, timely messages
regarding information of concern to citizens. Finally, local leaders can
use social media such as Twitter and Facebook to maintain contact
with citizens. These social media tools have spread throughout Latin
America quickly where there is a population capable of accessing and
using communications equipment that is no longer prohibitively
expensive.
All these tools and strategies help in creating a link between those
governing and the governed. The fostering of a sense of citizen
ownership of their local leaders, their municipal government activities,
and the direction of their town creates a bond which can be used
by these leaders in the case of authoritarian reprisals against local
government. In Venezuela, the natural connection that Baruta’s mayor
Capriles Radonski developed with the inhabitants of the municipality
served to increase pressure on the central government of Venezuela to
release him after four months of illegal detention. Good governance
and a connection with the community has also allowed former mayor of
Chacao to create a movement to support him in taking the Venezuelan
government to the Inter-American Human Rights Court after he was
unconstitutionally declared ineligible to run as a candidate in the next
elections.
Citizen Participation and Security
The best way to empower local citizens to engage in the defense of
their democracy and security is by offering opportunities for them
to meaningfully participate in activities in support of municipal
governance. For those strict adherents of representative democracy,
the idea of citizen participation could be a difficult pill to swallow. In
the strictest sense of the word, citizens should participate in the act of
voting, paying taxes, attending jury duty and following the laws (and
conversely reporting on those who do not). For many people the idea
