ABSTRACT
In the summer of 1998, a group of neighborhood leaders from the squatter settlements of Pampas de Juan (southern Lima) visited their mayor. The mayor was running for a third consecutive term, and his election campaign was in full swing. For the neighborhood leaders, this was an ideal opportu nity to claim the political capital they had built up during their numerous visits to the municipality. They needed the support of the mayor in their demand making towards the water company. By making tremendous efforts, they had managed to get the drinking water and sewerage connections installed in their neighborhoods. For years they had been paying off their debt. Although the national government had recently announced that the debts of the poor to the public utilities would be written off, the debts of the poor in Pampas de San Juan to the water company seemed not to be consid ered in this debt-relief scheme. This was why the usually quarrelling neighborhood leaders had formed an ad-hoc coalition and were now visiting the mayor. They could organize the people in Pampas in order to give him more votes. The mayor in turn could use his influence, his contacts with congress members, and his friendships with the high echelons of the ruling party of President Fujimori to ensure that Pampas de San Juan would be included in the debt-reshuffling. Twenty-five neighborhood leaders from different political backgrounds joined in a meeting with the mayor to speak about this and other matters. Some reminded the mayor of his promises to construct a playground in their settlement, or to donate cooking utensils to
the communal kitchen. Others complained about the activities of the provincial government in their settlement. The governor of Lima Province was also up for re-election. Since he was a member of the opposition, his interventions were as antagonistic as possible to what the district mayor was trying to achieve. Considering the many overlapping responsibilities between district and provincial government, there was little the mayor could do. But he thankfully collected the cases of mismanagement of the provincial authorities to use in his campaign, and in order to sue the governor if possible.
