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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 USAID’s 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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