The Municipal Development Institute and Local Institution Building : Recent Bolivian Experience

Abstract

In the lapse of the last twenty-five years, municipal development institutions have be- come common components in the governmental structure of many Latin American nations. Municipal development institutions function inBrazil, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Bolivia, Honduras, and Peru (Gall, 1976: 28,30).Generally these institutions are charged with financing the construction of urban infra- structure through loans to municipalities and in some cases to other community groups or governmental agencies.A secondary emphasis is normally given to promoting municipal autonomy and the training of municipal em- ployees through a combination of direct tech- nical assistance to specific municipalities and indirect technical assistance to a wide range of municipal governments through the preparation of manuals or guides and short train- ing courses.Bolivia's municipal development institution, the Servicio Nacional de Desarrollo Urbano (SENDLn, was legally established in 1972 as a decentralized and semi-autonomous agency