Social Activism, Reformist Coalitions and Disputed Governance in Bogotá, Colombia

This paper analyzes the tension and competition between the national and the local level in Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, and how this interaction has shaped social and political inclusion at the local level, and has also allowed ways of contesting the neoliberal policies of urban governance. The paper examines the confluence of urban social movements, NGOs and emerging parties in Bogotá after the 1991 new constitution, and discusses how this confluence shaped new social and political agendas in Bogotá, and influenced the debate and policies at the national level. The reformist political coalitions governing the Colombian capital the past 20 years have led the mayor´s office to endorsed environmental claims to limit urbanization and protect forest and water wells surrounding the city, to fund free education for all children and youth under 17, to civilianize the security policies under police and armed forces jurisdiction, to restrain the use of force against social mobilization by the security forces, and to open the door to discuss, and even reverse, the private management of public facilities such as the collection of garbage. These changes have faced different levels of opposition by traditional elites, have been regarded as suspicious by national authorities or have been taken as examples to imitate by national state agencies or mayors in other Colombian cities. Although the overall impact of reforms on the social conditions of the poorest groups have been limited, there is a sharp contrast between the situation in Bogotá and the regions most affected by the armed conflict that have impoverished the rural areas and small and middle-size cities. The paper also aims at exploring the relevance of Charles Tilly´s ideas for cities in fragile and conflict-affected areas of the contemporary developing world. Cities are neglected in current discourses of state building and state fragility, despite the widely accepted fact that they have historically played a critical role in processes of state consolidation, transformation and erosion. The analysis of the recent social and political mobilization in Bogotá will shed light if Tilly´s analysis is still relevant. This research is part of the ongoing project Fragile Cities and the Global South: Societal Security, Environmental Risks and Representative Justice between the University of Helsinki and Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Colombia), funded by the Academy of Finland.