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YOUR VOICE
In this section:
Justice Project Helps Bolivians
Justice Project Helps Bolivians
BY BRAD BESSIRE
USAID/DCHA/DG
Democracy Fellow
![Photo of Bolivian indigenous women holding flags](images/bolivia1.jpg) |
Bolivian indigenous women hold up flags at the opening
of the Integrated Justice Center in El Alto, near the
Bolivian capital La Paz.
Brad Bessire, USAID |
Last September, I had the pleasure of serving in the Democracy
Office of USAID/Bolivia while their Democracy and Governance
officer was on home leave. It was my first TDY since joining
the NEP program.
The contrast between La Paz, Bolivia, and Washington, D.C.,
could not be greater. The ride from the airport makes it obvious
that one is working in a country that desperately needs developmental
assistance. The other immediately noticeable contrast is the
lack of oxygen. My thoughts about what it might be like to
live in El Alto on my way to La Paz were occasionally punctuated
by thoughts of what it might be like to be a fish flopping
around on land. Fortunately, La Paz is at a somewhat lower
altitude.
El Alto would prove to be more than the place I drove through
on my way to La Paz. As one of the poorest areas in Bolivia
and the poorest in La Paz, it was an area targeted by many
of USAIDs programs.
The purpose of my trip was to attend the inauguration of
the first Integrated Justice Center (IJC), which was opened
by Carlos Mesa, the president of Bolivia.
Although El Alto is quite poor, with a poverty rate of 70
percent, USAID would soon be opening up other centers in the
Yungus and Chapare, areas that had poverty rates of 80 percent
and higher.
The IJCs are being built in these areas to provide access
to justice for the poor and indigenous peoples. The lack of
access to justice is one of the biggest threats to maintaining
stability for the Bolivian government.
The government has been on precarious footing since the
last year, when political, social, and economic conditions
in Bolivia resulted in violent protests that included serious
confrontations with government forces and eventually culminated
with the ousting of the president in October 2003.
Confidence seems to have stabilized under the Mesa administration.
The IJCs are just one of a series of new programs that will
take advantage of the new political landscape and the changing
relationship between the government and its citizens.
Emboldened by their success at chasing out the previous
president and winning the first-ever rights for indigenous
people, Bolivians are increasingly aware of their power to
obtain government responses through collective protests.
In fact, USAID was closed the day I was meant to begin my
TDY due to blockades set up by people protesting the price
of gasoline. But they are unaware of the appropriate roles
that they should be playing in preventing social chaos.
The inauguration of the IJC September 15, 2004, came at
a perfect time, as the IJCs will provide formal and alternative
forms of justice and conflict resolution to the most vulnerable
citizens of Bolivia.
The IJCs will teach citizens about their rights and legal
procedures, provide instant conciliatory service, and work
closely with the formal justice system to address the needs
of their clients. Even more exciting is the component that
builds the capacity of the indigenous leaders who work in
the centers.
The indigenous leaders will implement and administer an
Alternative Dispute Resolution program that will be recognized
by the formal legal system. While the law decreeing this has
been on the books since 2001, this is the first time that
a mechanism has been created allowing indigenous people a
chance to use their own system.
By giving the indigenous people a system that they have
been used to and trust, USAID will defuse some of the conflict
and mistrust of the government.
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