La participación ciudadana en el desarrollo comunitario de la parroquia Ecuador del cantón Huaquillas periodo 2020-2021

Abstract

The following research project is about citizen participation in the community development that took place in Ecuador parish, Canton Huaquillas 2020 - 2021. In this context, there is evidence of a low level of citizen participation due to a poor directive leadership, as well as a limited planning process by the municipal government to promote the parish development. It is also found a prevalent social disorganization in the society. In this sense, the general objective of this research is based on determining the incidence of citizen participation in the community development of the parish aforementioned, along with the description of the characteristics that participation adopts in the field of social management and the identification of strategies for citizen participation. The methodology has been designed taking into account the hypothetical-deductive epistemological approach; analytical-synthetic method, mixed methodological approach, all of them using research instruments such as literature review to develop the theoretical framework, survey directed to 353 families, interview to the different presidents, and structured observation for the analysis of the characteristics of community development in the Ecuador parish. Based on the surveys' results obtained, it is determined that 32.3% of the inhabitants are unaware of the existence of planning in the parish, which suggests that the community is not involved in public affairs and that the neighborhood directives do not communicate their plans to the community. This situation is reflected in 69.7% of respondents who are not involved in problem solving and decision making. Similarly, 55% do not make use of the mechanisms of social inclusion, thus generating a weak development in the different neighborhoods of the parish. In addition, the problems of the 3009 families are not adequately solved. In addition, it is evident that 56.6% of those surveyed do not use citizen participation mechanisms such as the empty chair, participatory budgeting, public hearings and advisory councils. The 64% of the population is not involved in social control mechanisms such as citizen oversight, citizen observatories, community defenders and user committees. Regarding the results of the interview, in terms of citizen participation, there is a low level of participation and little use of mechanisms in integration activities such as debates and meetings for decision making, both in the community and in the local government. When it comes to community issues, the population expresses that there is an inadequate development, for this reason, the neighborhood leaders state that it is necessary to organize meetings with local authorities, create spaces for public opinion, build organizations, among other strategies, in order to achieve adequate progress in the community. Therefore, the proposal is to strengthen social cohesion through the mechanisms of citizen participation in Ecuador parish creating spaces for educational workshops, in addition there is the need to strengthen community leadership in social organizations for the design and implementation of projects to promote community progress through social efforts. To conclude, the research and the solution strategy is of significant importance, since it will allow the population to integrate into the social organizations and with itself, also to strengthen citizen empowerment and community leadership to address social management, using the mechanisms of citizen participation.