Building citizenship in the context of the debate on the post-2015 agenda in Bolivia

Abstract

Appealing to official statistics, the Bolivian government's discourse affirms that significant progress has been made in achieving the millennium development goals (MDGs). It is argued that these achievements are the result of the economic policy implemented since 2006 that allowed the state to take ownership of the revenues generated by exploiting natural resources and channelling them into public investment with an emphasis on social policies. Yet for those urban and rural communities living in poverty, achievement of the MDGs does not necessarily reflect their own priorities. These priorities, or socio-political positions, were raised in the discussions around the challenges and priorities for the Bolivian State in the context of the Post-2015 development agenda. This article assesses the possibilities for these civil society positions to be included in policy discussions about the development model in Bolivia. It examines community-based citizenship practices and the political constraints they encountered when trying to access the resources allocated by the state. It highlights the predominant patron-client relationship whereby civil society organizations ensure loyalty to the governing party in exchange for resources. Finally, it describes the consequences of this situation for the discussion of the development model, and particularly for any attempt to construct alternative ways to integrate the poor and excluded. It will conclude by identifying the challenges for building citizenship based on the practices of civil society organizations, with reference to the government's socio-political discourse of symbolic inclusion of society's demands, and the dominant notion of well-being.