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Declining State of Democratic Institutions and the Implications for Governance
In San Cristobal Totonicapán, Guatemala, IRI and the mayor worked
together to inaugurate that country’s first Municipal Office of Local
Economic Development (OMDEL) in 2009. This office was designed
to have a multifaceted role in promoting long term development
and small business growth through a variety of initiatives, including
providing trade and investment information to local farmers and
entrepreneurs, matching labor supply with producer demand,
promoting the formation of key public-private partnerships and
attracting local and outside investment to develop unrealized potential
in areas such as tourism. Three more OMDELs were opened in
Guatemala in 2009 and 2010 in the municipalities of San Cristobal
Acasaguastlan, Cantel and El Palmar. Importantly, IRI also worked
with the municipal governments to devise strategies through which to
effectively engage the private sector.
In each of the municipalities where IRI worked to develop the
OMDELs, local government leaders were quick to see the potential of
these offices and each has acted to institutionalize them. The offices
have seen concrete results beyond the expectations of the mayors
who worked with IRI to inaugurate them, including successes in
fostering employment, promoting job creation, encouraging tourism,
stimulating commerce, and attracting investment.
Conclusion
As can been seen by the examples above, there is sufficient experience
in the region to make the case that a deft municipal government can
overcome the challenges of anti-institutionalism. Strong, institutional
leaders committed to interacting with their constituents according to
the letter of the law are able to effectively guard against authoritarian
regimes. And commitment to transparency and accountability helps
them to convince drug dealers to find other places in which to carry
out their nefarious activities. Just as democrats and businessmen vote
with their feet, so do drug runners and criminals.
It is true that in countries with no commitment to national institutional
