Paper short abstract:

What happens when you combine an attempt at direct democracy with community level development initiatives? Focusing on the intersection of government programs at the ground level, the impact of community level politics on the implementation of development programs will be examined.

Paper long abstract:

This paper is an ethnographic exploration of the Citizens Power Council (CPC) in Nicaragua in relation to its role in the implementation of community-level development initiatives. An example of the 'new democratic spaces' emerging across the globe in a political move to increase citizen engagement and participation; the CPC was installed in communities throughout Nicaragua in 2007. Drawing on a year of anthropological research conducted in a rural community in Northern Nicaragua and several years of development work in the community, this paper critically examines the role of the CPC in the implementation of two of the government's signature development programs, Zero Hambre and Plan Techo. In order to understand how government policies translate to action at the ground level, three primary topics will be examined: the creation of the CPC in the community, the selection of recipients and distribution for materials for Plan Techo, and the shifting role of the CPC in the Zero Hambre program. The paper concludes with the argument that based on participation in the CPC and the distribution of government resources within the community, the implementation of the CPC has led to increased nepotism and political patronage.