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When we started our investigation more than a week ago, we talked about Xela’s infrastructure with three young directors of different municipal departments. They described the manifold problems faced by the city authorities; but with great enthusiasm they explained how they would solve these problems. They talked about the POT and new measures, and how they would convince the population of the advantages of modernization and order. Of course, they said, not everyone agreed or understood, but as representatives of the municipio they had to act. After all, the city was responsible for the lives of its citizens and the upholding of the ‘normas técnicas’.
Today we visited ‘El Botadero’, the city’s dump. It is located in one of the most beautiful valleys of the region right at the foot of the impressive Santa Maria volcano. However, it takes an effort to enjoy this beauty because in the middle of the valley, on a surface of 37 hectares, all the city’s trash is dumped. This Botadero is impressive for other reasons. The smell and filth of the immense heaps of trash literally take your breath away. The director, however, is full of hope about covering the waste with land. While he is talking, we see trucks arriving, dumping their bags on the places indicated by the informal groups that select the trash and sell the plastic to processing plants. Their work is dirty and unhealthy, and their children are playing around in the trash hills. The director explains that these people do not have a license – “how can we give a license for this kind of work?” – but it is clear that the public officials and the informales closely work together, and probably money changes hands sometimes. Moreover, the informal groups defend their livelihood tooth and nail against potential intruders. So here again, just like in the markets, cemeteries and other public places, you see a mixed governance structure, where public and private interests collide, where formal rules are adapted to daily, informal realities.
In light of this situation, the dedication and enthusiasm of the young public officials is amazing. This comes with successes and failures. In the case of the dump some real solutions are sought. Hopefully, these plans do not end up the same way as the project of the organic recycling (reciclaje orgánico), financed by EU and CARE, which was abandoned for several years and is only picked up again now. These different outcomes give a clear indication of the predicaments of working for the state in a poor country like Guatemala. Many officials work with great dedication for the improvement of their country or their city. Others seem to live in a parallel universe where plans and designs are considered reality. They ignore the gap between the visions and projects designed in the municipalidad and the crude and chaotic reality of their implementation. One of the things they all have to accept is that in daily reality rich and poor are pursuing their own, very different commoning projects, outside of, and often against the state…
Michiel Baud
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