A previous post showcased the design and training I delivered of the World Bank’s Community Driven Development Scaling Up Framework to be applied to projects in various regions of the world. Here is the case study I conducted of scaling up CDD in Mexico that looks at two Decentralization and Regional Development projects [DRD I and II] over a ten year period. This study focuses on the Municipal Funds component of both projects as its evolution over the course of a decade is an interesting example of scaling up community driven development efforts, both by design as well as by fortuitous historical circumstances.
The findings of the present research support many of the elements set forth in the World Bank policy research working paper on “Scaling Up CDD: Theoretical Underpinnings and Program Design Implications”, such as:
Mexico’s Municipal Funds provided fungible grants to municipalities who then put money in the hands of communities as part of an overall social infrastructure development budget;
Community-based procurement and disbursement methods at the World Bank were pioneered during its implementation;
Decentralization was based on the principle of subsidiarity, devolving tasks to the lowest level which can effectively manage them;
Local governments and communities were empowered by an assured flow of funds from the central government;
Regulations under a reform of federal transfers to states and municipalities called Ramo 33 ensured national transparency by legally mandated formulas and allocations which are periodically published at federal and state levels;
These formulas have helped to equalize fiscal capacities and minimize disparities among states and regions;
Fiscal costs have been considerably reduced and local ownership enhanced through co-financing by communities;
Municipal Development Councils and other relevant committees to implement and oversee works were created in the context of participatory workshops which prioritized needs;
Technical assistance and facilitation were provided by the Ministry of Social Development and State level staff;
Field tested manuals and tools were used and periodically updated;
Municipalities and communities had access to replicable and adaptable technical designs;
Municipalities were provided funds to purchase technical inputs from different sources; and,
Continuous training and re-training of sector specialists took place via workshops and up-dated manuals as well as distance learning.
The scaling up of Mexico’s Municipal Funds innovations undoubtedly resulted in greater transparency, fiscal decentralization and devolution of power at the federal level. At subnational levels, it increased equity, accountability, and empowerment, particularly for local governments and communities. Now it is to be hoped that the necessary local capacity to fully reap the benefits of decentralization and regional development will soon catch up with the fast pace of change.
Below are some examples of local development and empowerment reported in this study:
The Best of CDD : “There was nothing here when we came”
The school complex (Unidad Escolar) in the outskirts of Tehuacan in Puebla consists of several well maintained buildings and is nestled against a steep hillside at the far end of the neighborhood. Outside a crew is busy paving a boulevard and inside children play and attend classes ranging from pre-school to a technical high school. This researcher heard community members recount how they had to send their children to far away schools because “there was nothing here when we came”. So they decided to start building one classroom at a time. The Parents’ Association not only built classrooms but was instrumental in getting electricity and water as well. Over the years, the complex grew thanks to Municipal Funds and dedicated parents and teachers who continue to work together. They determine needs and present proposals to municipal and educational authorities. Currently they have two active committees, one in charge of paving the boulevard and the other of establishing a computer lab. The community is contributing 25% of the cost of paving and the skilled labor for setting up the computer lab is offered pro bono by engineers and architects who teach at the school, as well as their alumni. The federal authorities gave them a fungible grant for technical education and they decided to apply it towards the purchase of 13 computers. They then received a matching grant of 13 additional computers from the municipal authorities. They are already adapting their technical high school modules to incorporate these newly acquired teaching tools and are now thinking about starting a computer college. They are proud to report that the impacts of their efforts are already being felt both culturally and economically: more families and businesses are moving to their neighborhood, they have access to better job opportunities, and student applications for next year have grown by 50% (from 400 to 600).
The phrase “There was nothing here when we came” was heard again in a sprawling neighborhood in the outskirts of Rio Grande in Zacatecas. Their Municipal Agent, a middle aged woman who has been repeatedly re-elected by the community to represent them [either as a Municipal Agent or as a Member of the CDM] reminisced about those early years. This had been farmland when she and the first settlers built their homes, so they sought assistance from the program. The Municipal Agent went door to door inviting all to community assemblies where, through the use of Participatory Planning, they prioritized their needs. With the help of Municipal Funds over the years they brought running water and electricity, built access bridges and a children’s playground, and paved the streets of their community. On a personal level, she recounted how she was trained to assume her responsibilities, how she overcame fear and set to work. Having done her duty now she feels fulfilled – they all do, and have a strong sense of ownership. “To get something you have to contribute your efforts, then you feel more secure, you appreciate it more, you own it more”. They remember searching for the best and cheapest materials, personally overseeing the quality of work being done, and in some instances, managing to do more than planned due to their careful use of resources. The Municipal Agent and others in the community are now acting as mentors to settlers who are starting an adjacent neighborhood with the help of funding from the government.
Women Accomplishing their Goals
The women of Ejido El Bordo in the outskirts of Guadalupe, Zacatecas visited by this researcher told stories of determination and success. Years ago, when the Ejido (communal lands) came into being as part of the Agrarian Reform, women were adjudicated 34 hectares of unproductive land to be used both for household consumption and marketing purposes. Their demands to improve this situation went unanswered due to males at the ejido who were intent on taking over that land. Frustrated at not being heard by the authorities, the women cornered the State governor in the streets and persuaded him to sign a document binding him to provide water under the condition that the women would clear the brush and prepare the ground. When these were accomplished, these determined women petitioned and obtained government funding for a deep irrigation well. Their contributions paid for the purchase of materials and for operating and maintenance costs. As a result, they have been able not only to feed their families but have abundant crops to sell. They now enjoy financial security, especially critical for those who had previously been landless. They report that ownership of these efforts brought them self-esteem and status in the eyes of men.
Having gained personal and collective confidence, they have organized themselves under as the Community Participation Committee to provide for their families’ health needs. Despite lack of support [mostly from males and a wealthier family in the community]. they solicited and were granted land by Ejido authorities to build a badly needed health centre on communal grounds. They requested and obtained contributions from 80% of community households to cover the costs of materials and successfully completed the building. The health centre now houses a clinic and a live-in female doctor who resides in their midst and is on call when they need her. They feel happy because they have contributed to the well-being not only of their families but of the community as a whole.
Indigenous Peoples’ share of the benefits of DRD II and Ramo 33
Indigenous peoples have been among the most benefited groups of DRD II and the governmental reform titled Ramo 33 due to the following:
The DRD II objective expressly stated that Bank financed investments were to be directed to poverty alleviation. This has been applied to all Ramo 33 investments.
DRD II strongly recommended the use of a pro-poor formula for budget allocation. The formula favors highly marginal and marginal municipalities in a three to one ratio over low marginality municipalities. Most indigenous communities are located in municipalities rates as high or very high in the marginality indicators.
Two states (Puebla and Veracruz) have strongly promoted investments in three “basic” areas: access to water, sewage, and electricity. These states add significant state counterpart investment in municipalities that adopt these priorities. By the nature of their household and community characteristics, these priorities usually result in larger investments in disadvantaged communities, among which indigenous communities are more than proportionally represented.
Recent changes in the Mexican political context [multiparty cabildos, overlapped multiparty executive and legislative powers at the federal, state, and municipal governments] and increased awareness of indigenous rights have resulted in increased transparency and accountability.
DRD III incorporated an Indigenous Peoples Development Plan to design and implement socio-cultural strategies to help communities make consistent use of municipal investments and programs to pursue their specific social, ethnic and cultural goals. The strategies will start with community self-assessments to identify ethnic, linguistic, and cultural traits and are to be translated into the main ethnic language. Once completed these self-assessments are to be used to formulate Municipal Development Plans specifying the actors responsible to carry out activities and stipulating sources of additional financing as needed.
Needless to say, the CDD design elements described in the study and listed above are at the core of the Municipal Funds success. Yet when we consider efforts to scale up CDD worldwide, though it is highly improbable that the same set of circumstances which affected the scaling up of the Municipal Funds in Mexico could be replicated in other countries, another important lesson seems to also shine through. A lesson that points to a long-term commitment by both Bank Staff and Government authorities to feel the real “pulse” of the country and adjust their actions accordingly.
Despite the fact that both DRD loans were hardly significant, a mere boutique when compared to the size of Mexico’s economy and its poverty reduction investments, the Bank’s most valuable contribution was in the realms of ideas and knowledge coupled with a strong willingness to innovate in response to local needs. The Mexican authorities, on the other hand, used the Bank’s knowledge, skills and financing to experiment with change within the limited confines of the loans before attempting nation-wide change. A very special, win-win relationship – an important replicable lesson.
With the benefit of hindsight, this researcher considers that the successful scaling up of the Municipal Funds may be attributed in part to the special relationship, resembling a dance, between the Bank and the Mexican government. An improvised, rather than a choreographed dance, where both parties had to be sensitive and responsive to their partner’s moves. Though not always in agreement, both parties managed to maintain the relationship alive and vibrant by combining flexibility with perseverance. The Mexican government knew that something had to be done, and done well, to quell the grass roots demands knocking at the gates of the governing party’s regime. The Bank, on the other hand, was ready to provide innovative ideas and the loans to finance them. As a result of diligent efforts coupled with auspicious coincidences, the Municipal Funds which had started as an exclusive boutique, over the decade evolved to national governmental reform sanctioned by law.
Violeta Manoukian
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