Governance is not a concept we're widely familiar with. Although the people who are reading this article come mostly from democratic countries, this concept gets to be a bit fuzzy and regularly is mistakenly understood by other concepts such as government.
Governance, generally speaking, refers to the processes public administrations generate involving the citizenry. Although it might sound like a normal thing to do, not all the public administrations in the global south put onto practice this, and many of them don't know this is possible. Is it their responsibility to share this knowledge with the citizenry? Is it the fault of the citizenry? Is the system part of the issue?
These questions and many more were asked to our friend Valeria Gómez Palacios.
She's a Nicaraguan activist for human rights, and she's an expert in governance. She's got a master's degree in International Affairs, Economic and Political Development from Columbia University. She co-created the NGO Global Emergency Response and Assistance (GERA), an organization mainly involved in migrant's human rights advocacy. She works as the Program Manager of this organization, and we're very glad she's now part of Global Citizenship.
Jesus Torres: Valeria, what is governance?
Valeria Gomez Palacios: Governance is the act of governing in a way that includes the voices of citizens. Having open governance not only means listening to the represented, but also including them in governance processes. In the past, voting was seen as the only way to choose leaders but citizens were not included in any other way to make decisions about the projects developed by governments.
JT: Can knowledge of governance and its practices help citizens solve their problems?
VGP: Correct.
JT: You have experience in international affairs, economics, and public policy development. Do you believe, from the perspective of someone with your knowledge, that successful long-term governance practices are viable within a neoliberal economic system?
VGP: Very good question! Highly debated. Yes and no. I would say no because historically neoliberalism and the focus on the individual have not worked. We have examples where these policies have led to a larger gap between the middle classes. That is why regulations are necessary to maintain transparency, especially in Latin America.
We need leaders who focus on the community while also seeking regulated and controlled capitalism. Unfortunately, in Latin America, without regulations, governance practices would not work well.
JT: How do you perceive your knowledge, and how do you put it into practice? Is it ideal to know the rules of the game to advance within the parameters of neoliberal capitalist systems? Or is it better to try to disrupt with knowledge, to achieve weighty structural changes? What is your approach to this, and what is viable?
VGP: Good question. Trying to be one or the other doesn't work well. An approach that has both, trying to break barriers within the same game, that's what actually works. Not just in economic issues, but wanting to be disruptive has disadvantages: you are seen as radical and not taken seriously, but at the same time, it has to be done. It is a combination of being disruptive when it is worthwhile but also working within the system to try to change the structure.
JT: Who is responsible for projects like the one mentioned by Dr. Melissa Schumacher to be the norm in countries of the global south? Government officials, citizens, professionals?
VGP: I think it is the responsibility of government officials to learn and acquire skills to make governance citizen-focused. Surveys have to be conducted, and those who are the intended beneficiaries of the projects have to be included in their implementation. As you mentioned, in the project that Dr. Schumacher talked about, the culture and way of life of the rural population of San Rafael Comac were not taken into account.
As long as we can, we should all educate ourselves on these practices.
For instance, Russia donated buses to Nicaragua. These were Russian buses with heating adequate for their country's temperature. These vehicles arrived in Nicaragua where it is extremely hot! They were not viable. At the end they were destroyed, windows open because they were too hot for Nicaragua. If they had done minimal research, they would have known that these buses were not suitable for the needs of the population.
It is the responsibility of government officials, yes. Still, it is also the responsibility of private companies, while it is good for citizens to inform themselves to improve living conditions for all.
JT: If we see that decision-making is often influenced by misguided diplomacy, decisions made based on the interests of third parties, and many other practices that harm the democracy of communities, why do you, Valeria Gomez Palacios, choose to work in this professional area?
VGP: I am part of the Nicaraguan civil society. In Nicaragua, we have a dictatorship. My involvement in the public sector and my desire to work to improve the system cannot be separated from what I have experienced under a dictatorship where there have been crimes against humanity. The economic system has affected not only private companies but also pushed over a hundred thousand Nicaraguans into exile. That is my motivation to work on these issues.
I have not been able to work in Nicaragua because of the dictatorship, but I have had the opportunity to see and learn from systems in other countries. I saw public servants committed at the local level in Mexico. It motivated me to meet public servants who wanted to keep learning, because that is not what I have seen in my life. I had not seen that commitment and love for the community in other projects where I have worked.
That is my motivation.
I want to implement everything I have learned to eventually bring that knowledge back to Nicaragua. Like many Nicaraguans, I am an exile, and like many more, I am not allowed to return to my country precisely because of these reasons: because I want to work for a better Nicaragua.
There are times when, as I mentioned, being disruptive can have consequences, but I believe that as a person who loves her country, it is important to know about these different mechanisms so that one day I can work on them in my own country.
JT: Who are you?
VGP: My friends say that I am a cheerful person (laughs). I am passionate about human rights issues. Before working on digital governance projects, I worked in human rights advocacy. I still do it, but in my own time. When you work on human rights, you realize how it relates to governance, and when we can ensure fair governance, we have fewer human rights violations.
I like working in both areas because I feel they complement each other. I am a Nicaraguan human rights activist.
I like to introduce myself as a Nicaraguan because most of the time I am the only Nicaraguan in certain spaces, so I am very proud to be one, but I would like to see more people from my country and Central America in these spaces.
I like to acknowledge my nationality, also because nobody ever recognizes my accent (laughs). Everyone thinks I'm Venezuelan or Colombian, but I'm not. I take the compliment because I like their accent.
I am a peace representative of the European Commission. I am also a co-founder of an organization called Global Emergency Response and Assistance, where we help refugees and displaced people. We have worked with more than eleven thousand individuals from Syria, Afghanistan, Nicaragua, and different places where their citizens have been displaced by conflicts. I have worked with these populations before to ensure that the readjustment process is dignified for them.
Sometimes, refugees' dignity is not respected because of their immigration status. They are not given a choice in the decisions about their own lives. In New Jersey, where the organization is based, we try to provide them with decent housing. Most of the time, they are given housing that is not equipped for a human being to live in with dignity: without heating, even though New Jersey tends to be very cold or houses infested with rats.
JT: Now, since I like to change topics radically, could you remind me of which city you are from?
VGP: (Laughs) From Managua.
JT: How did being born in Managua influence who you are now?
VGP: When I wrote my essay to get into a master's degree course, I was asked a similar question. The reality of my country influenced my passion for Public Policy. I have never been able to vote. I have seen how my education was interrupted by valid protests. I have also seen how people who raised their voices for access to economic and social rights have been imprisoned.
I have also seen how the government took control of the different institutions of the country and how it influenced our daily lives. Today, Nicaraguans live in a society where we cannot protest because they would shoot us.
We live under a regime that has caused three hundred and thirty deaths in the last four years. We live in a population that until yesterday had more than two hundred people as political prisoners, who have now been released but have also been stripped of their nationality. It is a crime against humanity. After Venezuela, Nicaragua is the second country in Latin America with the most political asylum requests.
This has influenced my life because it is what I have seen. I have not seen projects in my country that are for the benefit of the people, and I would like to see public policies in place to solve these problems.
JT: Do you think being a human rights defender for migrants is a job that has an end or is it perpetual work?
VGP: I would like to say that it is something that has an end, but last year we received 500 Afghans in New Jersey, as a result of a conflict that could have been prevented. Now, if we had better governance in countries like Nicaragua, there would be no need to migrate or seek asylum in other countries. Sometimes what forces people to move is the lack of good governance, and sadly, I do not see that ending soon. I would like to see that end soon, but being realistic, I do not see it happening in the short term.
JT: Do you think the lack of good governance is inherent in the Global South, or is it inherent of human beings?
VGP: It is not inherent in the Global South. We have seen examples of countries in the Global North not making the best decisions when choosing their representatives, but I would not say that it is something inherent in human beings either. Unfortunately, when these rulers come to power, it is a combination of factors that allows them to rise to power. It is a combination of deception; weak institutions that are not strong enough to prevent them, and once they are in power since their interest is not to govern but to perpetuate themselves in power, they make those decisions: control of the armed forces or changes in the constitutions.
In the case of Nicaragua, I do not think it was our decision as citizens to stay with this dictatorship. We have tried to get rid of him for a long time. The last time was in 2018, whose repercussions continue to this day. In the 2020 elections no one voted because the opposition was imprisoned.
We have done everything possible to get rid of his regime, but it has not been possible. I do not think it is our fault in this sense, nor is it the fault of other countries in the Global South, that we have to face these authoritarian governments.
On the other hand, I do believe that when we learn more about these issues, we can demand more from our governments. I do believe that it is our civic responsibility to inform ourselves in order to demand better conditions.
JT: Valeria, I am very sad that our time is ending. I would like to close the interview by giving you the space for final words.
VGP: I think it would have been good to have examples when I was a teenager of people who had achieved positive changes. The people who read this magazine should know that they too can get involved in a cause and make a change, either radically or by working within the system (laughs), both can be done. It can be achieved, it takes time, but it's good to have these figures. As human beings and individuals, we can prepare ourselves and acquire skills to create positive changes in our societies.