The more than 300 municipal governments in Bolivia – most of them rural – can provide important impulses for the development and well-being of their citizens, thanks to important sources of income and a considerable degree of management autonomy. Therefore, the Municipal Elections called for March 7, 2021, constitute an ideal opportunity for citizens to participate in a reflection and debate on the development vision of their immediate environment, and to influence the selection of the municipal legislators and executives that best suit their preferences.

However, in practice, municipal elections in rural areas are often reduced to a mere choice between party acronyms, due to a lack of public knowledge of the candidates behind the acronyms and their specific programmes.

Therefore, in Fundación Pueblo’s home municipality of Yanacachi, civil organisations, authorities and citizens committed to the development of their territory have formed an “Alliance for an Informed Vote” with the aim of getting to know each of the candidates for Mayor and Councillor and their proposals, and to make the candidates aware of the outstanding concerns of the civil population. At the request of the Alliance, the programme “Acceso Público” supports this initiative in a professional and non-partisan manner, with interviews and news on Radio Yungas as well as special editions of the bulletin “Datos y Hechos de los Yungas”. The Alliance even proposes to sponsor a public debate between the candidates, moderated by an external professional, in a transparent, neutral and peaceful manner, before March 7th. Decisive times for the Municipality of Yanacachi.