Revista Científica Interdisciplinaria Investigación y Saberes

2022, Vol. 12, No. 1 e-ISSN: 1390-8146

Published by: Luis Vargas Torres Technical University

How to cite this article (APA

): Carnero, O., Maceira, L., Tejera, P. (2022) The challenges of social

participation in Santiago de Cuba, Revista Científica Interdisciplinaria Investigación y Saberes, 12(1) 39-

The challenges of social participation in Santiago de Cuba

Los desafíos de la participación social en Santiago de Cuba

Orelbis Carnero Rojas

Mater Universidad de Oriente. Santiago, Cuba. carojas@uo.edu.cu, ORCID: 0000-0002-9838-958.

Lilian Maceira Calderín

Mater Universidad de Oriente. Santiago, Cuba. direscu.hm@espnl.cu ORCID: 0000-0002-0152-3298.

Pedro Manuel Tejera Escull

Doctor in Philosophical Sciences. University of Oriente. Santiago de Cuba, ptejera@uo.edu.cu ORCID: 0000-0001-6282-1478

In a society where social participation has been an essential component of

the progress achieved, there are symptoms of exhaustion and limitations in

its potential. The incorporation of new measures in the current context has

not been able to give the required impetus. A set of limitations can be

observed, the solution of which is a commitment of the authorities and local

communities that join efforts to face the challenges posed. The article

focuses on the argumentation of the challenges supported by research that

provides the elements of judgment that support the discourse. The times

demand the experimentation of new behaviors and attitudes.

Keywords:

social participation, challenges, municipality, challenges,

Santiago de Cuba and local government.

Resumen

En una sociedad, donde la participación social ha sido componente

esencial de los avances alcanzados, se aprecian síntomas de agotamiento

y limitaciones en sus potencialidades. La incorporación de nuevas medidas

en el contexto actual no ha logrado dar el impulso requerido. Se observan

un conjunto de limitaciones, cuya solución constituyen un empeño de las

autoridades y comunidades locales que aúnan esfuerzos para enfrentar los

desafíos planteados. El artículo se centra en la argumentación de los

desafíos apoyado en investigaciones que aportan los elementos de juicio

Abstract

Received 2021-05-02

Revised 2021-07-11

Accepted 2021-11- 21

Published 2022-01-04

Corresponding Author

Orelbis Carnero Rojas

carojas@uo.edu.cu

Pages: 39-56

https://creativecommons.or

g/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Distributed under

The challenges of social participation in Santiago de Cuba

Revista Científica Interdisciplinaria Investigación y Saberes , /2022 / , Vol. 12, No. 1

que argumentan el discurso. Los tiempos exigen la experimentación de

nuevos comportamientos y actitudes.

Palabras clave:

participación social, desafíos, municipio, desafíos,

Santiago de Cuba y gobierno local.

Introduction

Social participation is a recurring theme nowadays. The concern for its

increase in quality and quantity has become the object of social research,

among which sociological, psychological, philosophical, political science,

anthropological and medical research are distinguished. One of the

aspects that stands out in the various theoretical approaches is the

multiplicity of concepts. Researchers use their understanding of the

phenomenon of social participation as the starting point for their

conceptual definitions. The scientific discipline on which the research is

based is one of the conditioning factors of the conceptualizations.

The authors, as a rule, start from the etymological meaning of the term

participation. This reveals an interesting aspect, which is the difficulty of

precedence studies of the phenomenon of participation, especially in times

when the concept of the citizen and his freedom had serious restrictions.

Other coincidences in the concepts underlie. For example, in the

determination of the types or forms of participation in society (citizen,

political, community, social); in the evaluation by all authors of the

government-society relationship as essential in the phenomenon of social

participation; and in the coincidence in the spaces of reference: national,

municipal, community. However, there are some specificities, since there

are researches that focus on legitimization through participation and others

admit legitimization, but include opposition, thus showing a more active

and independent citizen with respect to governmental structures. Such

research does not go beyond a reformist approach with possibilities of

flexibilization, within the liberal conception of the social phenomenon.

As a rule, research takes as a reference the national and specifically the

local level (Ganuza, 2004). The authors do not envisage change in the

socio-political order through social participation. Valdés (2009) considers

that a substantive element is to take into account in the definition adopted

the possible alternatives to the dominant liberal conception. On the other

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hand, the emphasis on the national space concretizes the participating

subject, who is conditioned by traditions, customs, in synthesis an inherited

participatory culture with which he may or may not break and without

whose understanding it is impossible to interpret the characteristics and

scope of the social participation under study. However, social participation

is not limited to the national level. At the same time, globalizing processes

globalize social participation, one of the expressions of which is

associationism and volunteering. This is a manifestation of an emerging

universalist culture in strong inter-national communicational links.

On the other hand, researchers rely on the constitutional articles and

existing regulations (Restrepo, 2001) without taking into account that the

history of social struggles has played an important role in them. Particularly

Ligarreto (2018, p. 69) considers that, it is also associated with the

mediation and transformation in the present day of national armed conflicts

in the Latin American region.

It is also admitted that the notion of the citizen is currently under

construction and therefore, this implies a social participation with new

specificities in a rapidly changing world. Another aspect highlighted by

some authors is the ambiguity of the term (Latapi, 2005). We are facing a

social phenomenon, necessary, with limitations according to social ideals

and complex in its content. Due to its characteristics, it must be studied in

a specific social context.

For this reason, analyses in Cuba should take into account these

considerations. In this sense (Carnero. 2021, p. 11) defines social

participation for the Cuban municipal case as the process of social activism,

expression of human practical activity aimed at achieving specific

objectives to preserve or transform the organization of society in the

various economic, socio-political and cultural spheres, and which implies a

positioning with respect to the relations of domination.

Social participation in Cuban municipalities.

Cuban local society today experiences a greater transfer of autonomy,

expressed in opportunities that open up in this social space; as part of the

process of updating the Cuban Economic and Social Model of Socialist

Development. A greater social participation of the acting subjects and their

local institutions is required. However, this should be achieved by resorting

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to new ways in public decision making and the effective and efficient use

of human resources at the local level. At present, we face the challenge of

adjusting the (spaces and forms) of social participation to the demands

imposed by the urgency of dynamizing the economy, satisfying ever-

growing needs and achieving the sustainability of our social project.

With the revolutionary triumph of 1959 in Cuba, the traditional conception

of participation was definitively changed and a new way of participating

was born. In the successive trajectory, social participation has had a

determining weight, according to the socialist conception of the same,

which has been a motivating criterion of the changes and the first sense to

initiate new experiences. In the transition to the 21st century in Cuba, a

questioning was opened from the social sciences, to the traditional

conceptions on this dimension of local development, where social

participation constitutes a key point of the debate. In the social context,

two major social spheres converge: the private sphere, whose objective is

to attend to the common interests of the community or to improve the

quality of life of the communities, and the public sphere, which obeys more

global aspects. In the local sphere, different types of participation

converge, among which the following stand out: social, community, citizen

and political participation. Consequently, from the conceptual point of

view, the term social participation, with a popular, community or political

content, is not contrary to the Cuban revolutionary process. It contains the

types of participation and its various forms, from individual participation to

participation at the level of collectives, companies, groups of intellectuals

and civil associations.

Social participation as a concept is palpable in the different spheres of life.

Its breadth, commitment and professionalism is a decisive condition for the

success of the process of economic and social development of the

municipality. It is aimed at deploying the creative vocation of individuals

and groups to meet development needs, based on transforming existing

relationships in an innovative way.

In the Cuban municipality there are particularities that pose a different

analysis with respect to social participation in foreign local contexts, among

which stand out. (Poder Popular. PP. 2019a, pp. 13-15), (Communist Party

of Cuba. PCC, 2021, pp. 53 - 57): The existence of a socialist State at the

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head of a new social construct; a unique political Party, which has among

its practices the systematic exercise of consultation and national popular

consensus and is recognized as the organized vanguard of the Cuban

nation; a type of socialist transition society, which has a political system and

civil society, composed of institutions, mass and social organizations, with

a projection in the most part, in favor social process; to have a socio-classist

structure in correspondence with the changes that are introduced in

society; the type of socialist planning as a tool and principle that constitutes

the main way for the direction of the economy and has the recognition of

the socialist property of all the people on the fundamental means of

production, as the main form in the national economy; in addition to the

cooperative, mixed and private property of natural or juridical Cuban or

totally foreign persons.

These specificities make social participation in the locality a diverse,

complex and singular process, respectful of citizens' rights and inclusive.

Social participation is materialized in the making of public, political, social

or economic decisions of the country, the province and the municipality or

that affect the daily life of the subjects. This participatory plurality is

distinguished by respect for social diversity: gender, sexual orientation,

age, skin color, disability, origin, religious beliefs, social status and political

affiliation.

These particularities constitute determining factors that ensure the

quantity, quality and social impact of the participatory process and

democratic activism in a socialist transition society, which is based on social

management and self-management, which is an indispensable element,

due to the very essence of this social system. This demands that the process

of pro-active social participation in the locality contains: Multiple, growing,

original and sui generis differentiation of the subjects and the locality; more

transparent, agile, and expeditious to transform the local space and move

forward; the existence of a culture of social participation and mass

consciousness becomes indispensable and the need arises to monitor,

evaluate and measure the impacts of the participatory process in the

localities.

The above, from the participatory spaces of the municipality, reaffirms that

the functioning and performance of local government, led by the Municipal

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Assembly of People's Power (AMPP) is essential for the social purposes of

the country. According to the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba,

approved in 2012, the AMPP, for the exercise of its functions is supported

by its working commissions, by the People's Councils (CP), by the initiative

and broad participation of the population, and acts in close coordination

with the mass and social organizations."(PP. 2019a, p.14. a-192). On its real

involvement together with the associative spaces, its institutions,

organizations and the acting subjects; will depend the solutions promoted

to guarantee the continuity and improvement of the Cuban social system,

in a democratic and participative way. These are elements that mark the

singularity of social participation in the Cuban municipality.

Social participation in the municipality of Santiago de Cuba.

At present, municipalities do not escape the impacts generated by the

integral crisis of the capitalist system. The considerations made by Díaz-

Canel and Núñez (2020) point out that this is conditioned by the existence

of global tendencies that will apparently only become more accentuated in

the future (p. 3). Social participation has been influenced by these effects,

reflecting directly on the development of daily life in the country and in the

municipalities in particular, affecting the active performance of social

processes.

In the locality, a permanent balance must be achieved in the exercise of

Popular Power (PP), establishing priorities that respond to existing social

interests. In this sense, Tejera (2007) considered the municipality the ideal

space for local development, which still requires, fundamentally: decision-

making capacity at its level, administrative independence, improvement of

social participation in decision-making and training of local cadres (p. 92).

Some of these elements proposed at the time have already been

incorporated into social praxis, others such as social participation in

decision-making and training of local cadres have not yet achieved optimal

results in their implementation. At the same time, new cultural and

axiological issues are emerging.

For Antonio et al.,(2015) from Sociology points out that local development

is given as a micro space, to mobilize endogenous energies and

potentialities, to define development strategies and promote creative, self-

sufficient activities, with local resources, creating synergies, seeking

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possible external support, the latter factors being essential to sustainable

development policies (pp. 636-337). The use of all the endogenous

potentialities existing in this micro social space constitutes a premise for

local development. On the other hand, the central government has

transferred to the municipalities attributions, functions, competencies and

capacities that are essential to be able to mobilize the reserves of

productive and social forces, as part of the updating of the Cuban social

economic model. None of the proposed transformations can be achieved

without the active, inclusive, protagonist participation of the acting subjects

and local collectives. Therefore, this process is based on the need for a

proactive, integrating and permanent action in the municipality.

The city of Santiago de Cuba is the capital of the province of the same

name and the main part of the municipality, which is also made up of a

series of outlying towns. It is currently among the most important

municipalities of the national economy due to its infrastructure, since the

main industrial centers of this region and the main economic organizations

of eastern-southern Cuba are concentrated in the territory. The PP (2019b)

indicates that the (AMPP), is the most numerous in the country due to its

composition -279 delegates, distributed in 29 popular councils and the

National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI, 2019) specifies that the

territorial extension of the municipality is 1 031.74 km² (p. 10).

In this regard, Benítez et al. (2020) emphasize as a distinctive feature that

the municipality of Santiago de Cuba is the most populated in the country,

with 509,971 inhabitants. The population of this single municipality is larger

than those of the provinces of Mayabeque, Cienfuegos, Sancti Spiritus,

Ciego de Avila and Artemisa, which has made it a territory with specific

requirements for its administration (p.4). On the other hand, Villarrubia et

al., (2011), point out that on November 16, 1988, after a rigorous process

of study of the historical-social and economic singularities, the Executive

Bureau of the Provincial Party Committee approved the construction of two

districts (p. 338). The configuration of the municipality is diverse and

extensive in the socio-economic and territorial order. Four of the districts

are urban (José Martí Pérez, 26 de Julio, Antonio Maceo and Abel

Santamaría, with a total population of 393 034 inhabitants and two are

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suburban (René Ramos Latourt and Frank País García, with 116 937

inhabitants.

According to the complexity of the territory, social participation acquires

peculiar characteristics. These are expressed in the combination of official

channels promoted by local governmental structures, together with those

associated with the expansion of self-employment, citizens' initiatives and

their organizations. There is also the multiplication of other formal and non-

formal participatory channels that are an expression of the broad interests

and needs of the individuals and collectivities that interact in the

municipality.

Limitations of social participation in the municipality of Santiago de Cuba.

The analysis of the limitations focuses on three moments of social

participation in the municipality: the vitality of the communication strategy

in the municipality, the strategy of the AMPP with its structures in the

communities and the local institutional approach to development.

Communication strategy and social participation in the locality.

Currently, the use of information and communication technologies is

multiplying at an accelerated rate, specifically associated with large

Internet companies that have designed and put into service the so-called

social networks (Ramonet, 2016, pp. 15-16), providing new opportunities

and posing social challenges. This reality has had inevitable repercussions

in the Santiago locality, becoming one of the government's priorities. The

Communist Party of Cuba plans to advance as a policy, in the creation of

the Government Information System, ensuring the highest degree of

computerization that the economic possibilities allow PCC (2021).

From an institutional perspective according to the PP (2019b), progress is

observed in the local communicational strategy, which allows the exchange

with society, administrations, institutions and agencies in that area. In the

municipality, the first stage of e-government presence was concluded as

part of the improvement of public policies. Thus, public participatory

spaces of the government with society emerged, such as "The Citizen's

Portal" and e-commerce applications, which allow people to interact and

manage basic services at first, with some digital platforms of ministries,

institutions and national, provincial and local entities, among which

Transfermóvil, Enzona and Trabajar en Cuba stand out.

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The actions deployed so far have been insufficient, if compared with the

central government's purposes in the informatization of the country. Both

PP (2019b) and Rodríguez et al., (2018) emphasize that the purpose is, to

achieve in society an agile, efficient, modern, electronic and socially

inclusive government. In the considerations made by Boffill et al., (2015)

indicate that the management of local public administration requires not

only to advance in the modernization of its structures, acquisition of

technological infrastructure and undertake changes that crystallize in a new

scheme of relations with citizens and businesses, but also to promote the

introduction of such changes in society to create an environment conducive

to the development of a culture of innovation and social participation in

problem solving (p. 3). In this direction, progress must continue to be made

in terms of the potential that can be contributed to the development of

social participation.

In the different mass media there are spaces for interaction and social

participation, insufficiently explored, if compared to their communicative

and participatory potential, all with presence in social networks. They

address different topics related to the economic, political, cultural, health

and sports spheres, among others, with repercussions for society. Although

they constitute internal communicative strengths for generating a formal

and organized social participation of the institutions and their society, in

some occasions, they are not effective for certain mobilizations and calls

that are carried out. However, in the communities of the municipality, it has

been found that effective communicative actions should be further

diversified and not those that generate spontaneous, impulsive and

unorganized participation, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, it is

necessary to raise the participatory culture of the subjects and their local

institutions (social, economic and political, among others).

The strategy of the AMPP with its structures in the communities.

At present, the AMPP and its management body (PP, 2019b) are perfecting

the strategy of attention to the People's Councils (CP), based on the

recognition of the latter's functions. In this sense, the strategy is limited by

the insufficient use of local diagnoses as the starting point for any social

participation action with the objective of raising the quantity and quality of

life, economic and social. Current circumstances demand a local diagnosis

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that expresses the needs of the subjects and at the same time characterizes

the social reality under study. At the same time, it is required that

individuals and local society, from the clear identification of needs, can

adjust their social participation to them in order to achieve change based

on the concept of endogenous development. To this end, its function must

be precise and respond to what is regulated and, in addition, it must adapt

to the diverse and changing social reality.

The strategy of the MPPA in its relations with its community structures -

formal and non-formal - must ensure the participatory capacity of its society

and its associative spaces, taking advantage of all the potentialities

installed in the existing spaces in a creative and innovative way; as part of

the modifications that are introduced to the socio-economic model; under

very complex social, historical and economic circumstances. In the

Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, the PCs are considered the

fundamental link between the Local Assembly and the people. Its

representative character is emphasized and with the highest authority for

the assigned role. Its main objective is to strengthen coordination and

collective effort, promoting the participation of the population and local

initiatives for the benefit of the community. (PP, 2019a, p. 14). Hernandez

(2014) highlights the weak relationship of local government with

community institutions and the lack of mechanisms that enhance the

participation of the population in development actions (p. 65). Despite all

the political and legislative progress made in the country, there are still

shortcomings that do not favor the transformations that are being

introduced, which hinders the participatory process in the locality.

The constituency delegate is an achievement and expression of Cuban

democracy, conceived in a coherent manner and in direct contact with the

population, forming part of it at the local level. From a community

approach regarding the delegate, Carnero (2007) pointed out that there is

generally a lack of methods and leadership styles that allow his direct

linkage with the leadership of the PPPA and vice versa, because of the

mediation constituted by the PCs (p. 63).

This has raised the need to understand the significance and importance of

this structure and its role in local government, as a channel or channel of

transmission, realization and feedback to the grassroots of society and from

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them to the central authorities and their different instances, not only as a

passive repository of political, economic and social processes, which is

often the case. In this space of social interaction, the role played by the

delegates with the community is of unquestionable value in the exercise of

socialist democracy. In the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, it is noted

as one of the duties of the delegates "to render an account periodically to

their electors of their management, as established by law" (PP, 2019a, p.

14). Hechavarria (2017) indicates that the delegate marks the connection

between the people and the municipal government insofar as, through the

accountabilities that he/she assumes before his/her electors, he/she knows

the problems that affect the community and transfers them to the

representative body while managing their solution and responding to the

electorate (pp. 162-163).

At present, insufficiencies are observed in the performance of the

attributions and functions conferred to the PB delegate in his/her

relationship with constituency voters, which is reflected in the social

construction and the way in which participatory processes are sometimes

conducted in different scenarios. This has repercussions on the states of

opinion generated in not insignificant groups of individuals in the

population and the evaluation of their performance in the community.

Guanche (2012) considers that both the accountability of the delegate to

his or her constituents and the delegate's own activity have lost vigor and

vitality and have been subject to various criticisms (pp. 69-79).

There is an urgent need for the PP delegates to have greater support so

that the results achieved do not depend on their individual leadership

capacity. This could prevent, to a great extent, the enormous attrition that

can be observed today in some of them. The percentage figures achieved

in citizen and political participation during the exercise of the vote in the

elections for PP delegates in the locality are an expression of the present

shortcomings. In the period 2000-2015 they remained constant; however,

from 2015, they begin to decrease to 88.1 % in 2017. This is in the latter

year 45 080 people who did not participate in the exercise of a

constitutional right. This trend is noted in the following.

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Figure 1.

Title. Elections of Delegates to the Municipal Assemblies of

People's Power at the close of December 31, 2018.

Electoral

process

Registered

voters

Participating

voters

Percentage of

participation.

2000

340 874

335 356

98,4

2002

368 124

343 099

93,2

2005

372 363

351 585

94,4

2007

377 791

349 803

92,6

2010

378 343

351 683

92,9

2012

383 850

370 727

96,6

2015

361 541

320 370

88,6

2017

377 653

332 573

88,1

Note.

Adapted from the Yearbook of the National Statistics and

Information Office. (ONEI, 2019). Anuario Estadístico de Santiago de Cuba.

http://www.onei.gob.cu/sites/default/files

Regarding the decrease in the percentage of the vote, Duharte (2015)

points out among the possible new reforms to be undertaken in the current

stage of socialist transition in Cuba are: the continuous elevation of the real

authority and power -still meager- of the municipal delegates and deputies;

the improvement and expansion of the forms, ways and mechanisms of

participation of the population and of the periodic processes of

accountability, not only of the delegates before their electors, but of all

elected representatives (p. 164). The responsibility to find methods, ways

and creative mechanisms that favor social participation goes beyond the

physical presence in the participatory spaces of society. The agile and

effective performance of the delegate, the PC president, the permanent

work commissions and the integrated community work groups, are

fundamental to socialize transcendental topics for the nation, the locality

and its communities, which could enrich them with criteria and suggestions

that, sometimes, do not go beyond the formal frameworks.

Direct involvement in local or community decision-making also generates

social commitment and a sense of belonging. In particular, Muguercia and

Arévalo (2019) highlight as a distinctive feature, that participation in a

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general sense tends to create in society, strong and deep-rooted

community ties and creators of collective identity (p. 220). Municipalities

are the scenario by nature of unification of common objectives, where

national and local public policies of development are implemented in the

very foundations of society in which local actors must participate.

The local institutional approach to development

Carnero (2007) indicates that it is necessary to create instruments that allow

people to articulate their needs and participate fully in the task of shaping

all aspects of local life and adopt an institutional approach to development

in this social scenario (p. 58). Progress has been made in this regard. An

analysis within the municipality reveals the existence of instruments for the

articulation of individual or collective interests and capacities; however,

regardless of the efforts made, they are used in an insufficient and formal

manner. This is due, fundamentally, to the lack of a clear identification in

the institutional approach that the effectiveness of social participation must

have as a methodological basis a clear conception of development.

This requires seeing the concept of development as referring to people

and not to objects, while its measurement is associated with the increase

in the quality of life and not to the quantity of goods possessed. Naturally,

the quality of life depends on the prioritization and empowerment of

fundamental human needs, which are not the same for all people and form

a system, in which it is not possible to establish hierarchies that would

indicate some as primary and others as secondary. Any unsatisfied need

produces poverty and social pathologies. This conception does not

exclude, of course, the denial of the importance of material and spiritual

goods as a support for existence. On the other hand, indicators need to be

designed in the municipality to monitor and evaluate the levels -

quantitative and qualitative - and impacts achieved in social participation.

Currently, it is not enough to transfer power to local actors from the central

government. It is also necessary to use and create favorable spaces that

allow society to express itself in this social sphere. This has raised the need

to increase the authorities' preparation and leadership in public

management, since they are the most responsible and facilitators of social

participation at this level, where the actions of local society are expressed.

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Challenges to social participation in the municipality of Santiago.

In correspondence with the assessments made, the treatment of the

identified limitations poses a series of challenges to the authorities and

communities of the municipality. One of the challenges lies in the need to

redesign diverse actions, focused on pro-active social participation, in

constant development, social and economic transformation, based on

communicative actions for the collective good, from the existing massive

community spaces. Such actions should make it possible to evaluate and

monitor the levels and impacts of social participation in the locality. This

will allow an important contribution, from the participatory daily life of

individuals and their institutions to the development of public management

in the municipality.

The conceptions about development, updating and improvement in

Santiago de Cuba do not adjust to the necessary levels aspired. Therefore,

the articulation of different ways of thinking and acting participatory

activities at the local level is another challenge. The existing participatory

limitations in the municipality are associated with cultural, economic and

legal inadequacies, even though there are advances. Therefore, there is a

need to diversify actions, associative spaces and participatory methods,

which allow interacting and socializing knowledge of social, legal and

economic norms and projections, especially with local social and economic

actors. The diversity of these actors makes it more complex to achieve their

correspondence with the existing spaces of influence. It is a matter of

putting society, its officials and public managers at the pace of the changes

introduced in the locality, which requires greater preparation and

leadership in the performance of local government authorities.

In what has been analyzed, the human factor with its creativity and initiative

is of decisive importance. This issue is sometimes forgotten when

evaluating the Cuban case and its municipalities; if we take into account

the evolution of the tradition of protagonist social participation in the

different social and economic processes experienced in the transition to

socialism.

The process of updating the Cuban Economic and Social Model generates

a greater empowerment, faculties and attributions particularly towards the

locality; decentralizing and giving more faculties, with the intention of

The challenges of social participation in Santiago de Cuba

Revista Científica Interdisciplinaria Investigación y Saberes , /2022 / , Vol. 12, No. 1

acquiring a high level of autonomy that includes: the election or

designation of its authorities; the faculty to decide on the use of its

resources; the exercise of the competences that correspond to it; as well

as to dictate agreements and normative dispositions necessary for the

exercise of its faculties. This does not mean fragmentation of society, but

rather multiplying the decision-making capacity of the municipality to solve

problems that affect community life.

The municipality constitutes a necessary and viable option for social

participation, provided by the existing territorial potentialities. It is a matter

of strengthening Cuban democracy and the credibility of the socialist

project in this social scenario. Integration and social cohesion are needed.

The main consequence would be the promotion of local development in

the municipality of Santiago de Cuba.

Conclusions

Social participation in the municipality of Santiago de Cuba is expressed as

a dimension of local development; it occurs in two directions: the social

participation of society, the subjects and their institutions and in the

performance of the local government. There is a need from this social

reality for the establishment of indicators to monitor, evaluate and measure

the levels and impacts of social participation expressed on both sides in

order to achieve a better interpretation of its evolution.

At the local level, there are shortcomings such as the insufficient use of the

ways and methods established for the exercise of social participation,

showing deviations between the real possibilities and the little

effectiveness with which this is assumed by the participating subjects, their

institutions and their society.

It is necessary to develop the independence of the social and economic

actors, based on a more effective training that allows them to elaborate

and use effective diagnoses; together with the preparation and leadership

in public management of the local government authorities. It is necessary

to gain in organization, optimal use of material and human resources and

increased commitment and local identity, as components of a culture of

social participation appropriate to the demands of socialist construction.

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