ABSTRACT

Concepts emphasizing local control, decentralization of political power, citizen participation, revenue sharing, and a more equitable distribution of central government income began to enjoy wide currency. In the mid-1990s the government of President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada succeeded in passing two key critical pieces of legislation, notably the Ley de Participacion Popular and the Ley de Descentralizacion Administrativa which are intended to bring Bolivia a more democratic and participatory system of government. The chapter examines how these two laws have transformed the process of urban and regional planning and development in Bolivia, focusing particularly on the changing relationships between the central government and local governments. Bolivia's efforts to increase the participation of its citizens in local government affairs and to decentralize its governmental structure through the passage of the Ley de Participacion Popular and the Ley de Descentralizacion Administrativa have provided the means for dramatic changes in the process of regional planning and development.