JURÍDICAS)
The Bolivian government introduced in 2013 a new law, Law of Legal Entities No. 351 (Ley de Otorgación de Personalidades Jurídicas), which involves that NGOs and foundations, must state “their contributions to economic and social development” and only carry out activities listed in their bylaws. If these criteria are not followed, the government can revoke the organization’s permit to operate (Vivanco, 2015). According to Human Rights Watch, the law has power to restrict and dissolve NGOs and foundations, and therefore violates the right of free associations. Human Rights Watch has therefore requested a court review of the constitutionality of the law, and presidential decree that grant the Bolivian government the broad power to dissolve NGOs and foundations (PamAm Post, 2015). The law demonstrates how the Bolivian state has taken action against foreign NGOs, but also national NGOs receiving funding from foreign NGOs. Informants at the Norwegian NGOs stated that they understand and expected a law that in a more extant way looks into the actions of foreign NGOs working in Bolivia. There were some different responses to the law, one informant stated that
I understand it this way that there is a stronger control of the civil society and sector, and that the Bolivian state wishes to have more control over the different stations, what they do, where they are receiving funding from, and what they do with the funding. It is a part of the political process in Bolivia, and we have experienced during the years that there has been a political shift. There has been a larger focus on national awareness, which we welcome. It is a good thing that the Bolivian people can be proud of themselves and their culture and their products. The state has another approach towards foreign actors in their country, and we understand that (Informant, Mission Alliance, 1).
Another informant in a Norwegian NGO stated that
As a representative from a Norwegian NGO I shall be very careful of how I comment, but we cannot accept that the government shuts down and threaten organizations because they say things the government dislikes. When that is said, we can support Bolivian NGOs that speak up to the Bolivian government, but we, as foreign NGOs, shall be very careful to do that (Informant, NPA, 1).
A Bolivian informant stated that
48 We have nothing to hide, all the activities we do are legit, but the tendency now is that NGOs that criticizes the government gets in trouble, so more NGOs does not wish to speak up against the government, afraid it will give them problems, even though they have not done anything wrong (Informant, Bolivian NGO, 4).
Another Bolivian informant stated that
We are not a civil society organization, we have a good cooperation with the state and our partner organization in Norway, but we are more careful now than before. We do not think we can get in trouble for our funding, but it can happen (Informant, Bolivian NGO, 1).
A third Bolivian informant stated that
These NGOs [that are on the governments list] have hidden documents and their agenda to the government. They will not be shut down or expelled, but they need to understand that their actions will give them consequences (Informant, Bolivian NGO, 6).
As a general trend, the Norwegian NGOs stated that it is not good or ideal that the government has imposed restrictions on the civil society, and that they wish to control national NGOs in a more extent way. That they wish to get a better control over the foreign NGOs operating in Bolivia are on the contrary more understandable. The Bolivian NGOs on the other hand were more mixed in their answers, some feared more control from the state, while others supported the government’s decision to introduce the law. The different NGOs felt more or less threatened dependent on their cooperation with the Norwegian NGOs and the Bolivian state, as I will present in the next chapter.
4.10 S
UMMARYIn this chapter I have in short terms presented the Bolivian history, and how the relation between NGOs and the Bolivian state have been, as well as how the TIPNIS conflict can be seen as a turning point towards the Bolivian state’s approach on NGOs, and how they in a very distinct way has demonstrated that they have power over the NGOs, both nationally and foreign. In the next chapter I will present more on how Norwegian NGOs operates in Bolivia, and how they cooperate with Bolivian NGOs and the Bolivian state. The Bolivian state has
49 taken back much of the control and power after Morales was elected President, and the government has taken more control over the development in the country, by nationalizing the natural resources and introducing more social programs. While national NGOs still has an important role within the Bolivian society, many through the LPP, there seems to be a shift in the Bolivian government’s view on foreign NGOs operating in Bolivia. Lewis & Opoku-Mensah (2006) argues that NGOs are no longer regarded as positive as they were, and that donors have made a claim to bring the state back in the development process (Lewis &
Opoku-Mensah, 2006, pp. 665-667). This also seems to be the case for Bolivia, and specifically foreign NGOs are not regarded as positive by the Bolivian state. It is however not just the Bolivian state that has put restrictions and regulation on NGOs, and there are an increasing number of states that put restrictions and regulations on NGOs. As a change from the Western ideals and influence, and to control the civil society (Sherwood, 2015).
50
5 N ORWEGIAN NGO S OPERATING IN B OLIVIA
5.1 I
NTRODUCTIONIn this chapter I will look at the second sub research question, Which Norwegian NGOs operate in Bolivia, how do they work, and what is their Mission? I have focused on the three largest Norwegian NGOs that operate in Bolivia, how they work, who they cooperate with, what their mission in Bolivia is, and how they connect with Bolivian NGOs according to my analysis based on Nelsons six dimensions. In the beginning of the chapter I will present how the NORAD funding to Bolivia through Norwegian NGOs has developed over the last 15 years, which sectors that has been prioritized, and how the three Norwegian NGOs in this study worked inn 2007, according to an evaluation report ordered from NORAD. The chapter will further present how the Norwegian NGOs work now, and what they argue are important for the cooperation. I will demonstrate which dimensions that are important to the Norwegian NGOs when they choose partners, as well as what characterizes the relation between the Norwegian NGOs and their Bolivian partners, and how they relate to each other. I have looked into the three largest Norwegian NGOs receiving funding from NORAD for their work in Bolivia, Mission Alliance, SAIH and Norwegian Peoples Aid (NPA).