Do Ortega's Citizen Power Councils Empower the Poor in Nicaragua? Benefits and Costs of Local Democracy

In January 2007, the Left won the elections for the Nicaraguan Presidency for the first time since the Sandinista Revolution ended in 1990. President Daniel Ortega proclaimed himself a champion of the poor and spent millions on subsidized housing, food, livestock, and low-interest loans for women. To distribute these goods and services, he created popularly elected neighborhood and municipal councils called Citizen Power Councils (CPCs). To determine the extent to which the CPCs empowered the poor, this article examines ethnographic data collected during ten months of fieldwork in six Nicaraguan municipalities. The study concludes that despite the intrinsic value of citizen participation, systems of participatory governance pose risks due to possibilities for corruption and the intensity of partisan rivalries. These risks are especially pronounced in highly polarized, low-income countries with weak state capacity.