2022 Award "Best Practice in Citizen Participation"
16th Edition
Participatory Process for the Revision of the “Friendly Agreement” border between the provinces of Guayas and Azuay, Molleturo Parish
The experience of the Participatory Process for the Review of the "Friendly Agreement" between the provinces of Guayas and Azuay, Molleturo Parish, began in 2015, the date on which the then Prefects of the provinces in question signed a "Friendly Agreement" to define their territorial limits.
From this signing, the social problems of the Molleturo parish increased, its inhabitants have conflicts to fully exercise their citizenship, this agreement violates their rights as citizens, as expressed by the inhabitants of the parish, they were not consulted for said process, for which they reject the legitimacy of said "agreement", graphic testimonies such as "we were deceived", "according to the agreement, the living room of my house is in Azuay and the kitchen in Guayas".
In 2019, the then Vice Prefect Soc. Cecilia Méndez received residents of the Molleturo area, who expressed their disagreement with the "Friendly Agreement" due to the inconsistencies in the drawing of the limits established in the official document, but mainly, for the problems it brought with it.
The main objective of this practice is to expand the rights of citizens related to political participation in order to strengthen the citizen participation of the population of Molleturo, guaranteeing the improvement of the quality of public decisions through the mechanisms of participatory democracy.
During the development of this process, this prefecture has prioritized meeting the request of the affected population, generating a space for continuous dialogue that allows for a solution to the latent problem in the territory. From this experience, the importance of the public hearings held in the territory that allowed listening to the needs of the inhabitants of Molleturo to provide immediate and definitive solutions to the problems presented is rescued.
During this process, a constant dialogue has been maintained with the representatives of the 23 affected communities; In addition, the delivery of information to the Azuaya citizens through the different written, digital and radio media.
As a result of this process, the GPA accompanied the Territorial Boundary Commission to deliver the request for "Action of Unconstitutionality of the Boundary Agreement between Guayas and Azuay of 2015" based on three elements:
- The Honorable Provincial Council of that time (2015) did not know the report that supported the "Friendly Agreement" through which the limits were drawn.
- To make the decision in January 2015, the Provincial Council did not know the Cartography that was finally approved by the then prefects in the Friendly Agreement.
- There was no active, decisive, conscientious participation of the population.
Taking into account that this practice is in force, the immediate and visible results and impacts are:
- Public and private institutions, representative people and civil society organizations that stand in solidarity and join the cause.
- A population for years affected that creates a new hope for the resolution of its conflict, the ultimate purpose being the "Popular Consultation".
- A territory that, through a provincial resolution, again acquires the right to be served with public works.
Gobierno Provincial del Azuay | GPA
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Basado en los tres errores u omisiones que se cometieron en el proceso para la suscripción del "Acuerdo Amistoso" referente a los límites de las dos provincias, es perfectamente valido y justificado todo lo que la actual administración responsablemente esta llevando a cabo para solucionar el tema de los límites provinciales. Felicitaciones.
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