Participatory municipal planning in Bolivia: an ambiguous experience
In accordance with the Law of Popular Participation, municipalities must elaborate five years Municipal Development Plans (MDP) in a participatory way. To institutionalise such process, the central government has introduced participatory planning (PP). The paper analyses both the concept and the practice of campesinos' (peasants) participation in PP and identifies some contradictions which throw doubts on the participatory nature of MDP. First, municipalities were not invited by the state to take part in the design of the Law and its PP methodology.