WORLD ASSEMBLY OF URBAN INHABITANTS

Make our voices heard
Rethinking the city from the grassroots

Mexico City, 2-6 October 2000

Workshop: Democratic City

Civil society and the social organizations have played a relevant role in the building of social democracy in our countries. They build their activity from the social base, broadening the spaces for participation. They achieve impact in the public sphere of social policies. They elaborate proposals to elevate the quality of life of the inhabitants and to positively resolve territorial development. They formulate their demands to the nation states to insist upon answers to problems. They use the communication media to disseminate their ideas and problems. In summary, they build democracy every day, with responsability. They struggle to convert democracy into opportunity for everyone.

The world of globalization is imposed over the particular experiences of our countries. Decision making is taken over by a few while the majority of the population is excluded from even basic necessities and participation spaces. In the name of democracy, a small number of persons decide in regards to the living conditions of billions of people in the entire planet.

We aspire to build a just, humane, open, friendly and inclusive society. We know that, to confront the global scenario, we must act and respond globally. Thus we promote the construction of the "globalization of the poeple," the other globalization.

But how can we achieve conditions of equality, equity, development and democracy? And in that sense, what are the challenges and expectations of the social movements? What should their function be? How should they link to produce alternatives capable of transforming society?

Furthermore, what relations can be established with the political parties and the legislative and governmental bodies that allow the guarantee of the autonomy and independence of the organizations without diluting their demands and their organizational forms? And, more generally speaking, what are the proposals that will lead us to a democratic society and thus to fully democratic cities?

The Concept of Democratic City

The democracy that we aspire to must emerge from the deep roots of the people. It is for all life, it respects cultural diversity, and it implies equity between genders and for persons with discapacities. It looks for happiness for all women and men.

Cities reproduce expressions of exclusion that affect in particular children, women, youth, the elderly, persons with discapacities and indigenous peoples. We must break with this inertia. While there is hunger, social inequality, unemployment, discrimination of any kind or any form of human exploitation, there will not be democracy in the world. The concepts of democracy and equity go together.

We must generate a new democratic reference, configurating a new order, since capitalism doesn't offer solutions. We must begin by:
· incorporating the excluded within the system (itself based on them).
· assuming our responsability in the resolution of the problems of our cities.
· returning to principles such as solidarity, from which we must commit ourselves to build.

1. Build a democratic culture

We are the product of an anti-democratic, authoritarian, paternalistic and exclusive culture. The challenge is to create a democratic culture. To advance in the dream of a democratic society is to begin to convince ourselves and commit to put democracy into practice, recovering principles such as solidarity, friendship, and trust among others.

From our neighborhoods, and from our organizations, we must begin to put the principle of democracy into practice. We must combat corruption and the lack of interest in political struggle, convinced that all issues are essencially political. The grassroots issues should be the basis of politics.

2. Build democratic organizations

From our organizations we commit ourselves to deepen democracy and to contribute so that society as a whole commits itself to this transformative task: social democracy.

We must strengthen the processes of education, political formation and communication of the grassroots sectors, generating a new democratic culture that allows us to achieve impact in decisions, be they at the local, regional or international levels.

We must also discuss the relation between social movements and political parties. It can be deceiving to propose dichotomy between politics and grassroots movements. The role of the social movements is to contribute elements for policies, especially urban policies.

We are building power from down-up, but unlinked and more sectoral than integral, with a paternalistic and charity-oriented vision. We must change the vision of the social and community movement. We must stop feeling sorry for ourselves, asking for help and developing actions which claim to be self-managed. We must work in popular organization at the local, national, regional and international levels, reclaiming the right of self-defense of the people and recognizing all the forms of struggle against the intolerance of the system.

3. Build a democratic State

In the context of globaliztion, power is taken away from even the national governments themselves. Grassroots participation is the expression of democracy.

We must rebuild popular power, from the smallest spaces, into State and government for all women and men. We must work locally with a global vision. We must strengthen the local spaces such as the municipalities, which are the power centers closest to the citizens. To achieve a democratic city we must begin from the municipality.

The principles must come from the people. Democracy is not created by decrees but by consensuses. The instruments and formal mechanisms of participation (such as popular consultations, plebiscites, referendums, and forms of representation) do not generate democracy by themselves. Experience tells us that they must not be abandoned, but yes improved. We must elaborate clear diagnoses, searching for and deepening tools that allow us to better choose and control our representatives, such as the revocation of mandates, the rotation of roles, and mechanisms of accountability.

At the same time, we must defend and broaden the rights acquired at the national as well as international levels (declarations and agreements of the UN, ILO, etc.).

We also agree on the need to guarantee formation, information, and communication and participation mechanisms for the population, so that they obtain direct influence in the definition and instrumentation of urban and social policies. We must aim to achieve impact in the decision-making centers while being congruent with the collective interests and at the service of the community. We the organizations must assume responsability for the most felt needs of the people.

We aspire to the creation of a government of the people, of the poor. The exercise of democracy isn't reduced to voting. We must involve ourselves in concientization; exchange isn't enough. We must reach the power of the people.

4. Other proposals

We insist that the theme of poverty must be particularly highlighted in order to achieve the democratic city. This is linked to the theme of vulnerable groups (women, children, elderly, persons with discapacities, indigenous).

To confront urban poverty, the informal economy must be recognized, as it constitutes approximately 60% of new employment. Our cities show great hostility towards these sectors, and they are not assigned any institutional support.

We must struggle against the privatization of services and demand that the State guarantee the fulfillment of the constitutional rights of all inhabitants (education, health, housing, work).

In our search for poverty alleviation strategies we should begin by recognizing the enormous amount of social, economic and cultural resources which we as organized inhabitants can count on. We must start by feeling ourselves strong, capable of resolving our problems and demanding that our voice be heard.

Drafting team: Bahram Gadhimi, Evaniza Rodrigues, Guillermo Rodríguez, Edna Vega.