Do Ortega's Citizen Power Councils Empower the Poor in Nicaragua? Benefits and Costs of Local Democracy
Do Ortega's Citizen Power Councils Empower the Poor in Nicaragua? Benefits and Costs of Local Democracy
复制标题
奥尔特加的公民权力委员会是否赋予尼加拉瓜穷人权力？
作者：
Kelly Bay
2007年1月，自1990年桑地诺革命结束以来，左派首次赢得尼加拉瓜总统选举。总统丹尼尔·奥尔特加（Daniel Ortega）宣称自己是穷人的捍卫者，并花费数百万美元补贴住房、食品、牲畜，并为妇女提供低息贷款。为了分配这些商品和服务，他创建了被称为公民权力委员会（CPCs）的民选社区和市政委员会。为了确定国别方案赋予穷人权力的程度，本文审查了在尼加拉瓜六个城市进行的为期十个月的实地调查中收集的人种学数据。该研究得出的结论是，尽管公民参与具有内在价值，但参与式治理体系由于腐败的可能性和党派竞争的激烈程度而构成风险。这些风险在高度两极化、政府能力薄弱的低收入国家尤为明显。
In January 2007, the Left won the elections for the Nicaraguan Presidency for the first time since the Sandinista Revolution ended in 1990. President Daniel Ortega proclaimed himself a champion of the poor and spent millions on subsidized housing, food, livestock, and low-interest loans for women. To distribute these goods and services, he created popularly elected neighborhood and municipal councils called Citizen Power Councils (CPCs). To determine the extent to which the CPCs empowered the poor, this article examines ethnographic data collected during ten months of fieldwork in six Nicaraguan municipalities. The study concludes that despite the intrinsic value of citizen participation, systems of participatory governance pose risks due to possibilities for corruption and the intensity of partisan rivalries. These risks are especially pronounced in highly polarized, low-income countries with weak state capacity.