From the 16th till the 18th of May, the National Confederation of Municipalities (CNM) of Brazil, together with the Latin American Federation for Cities (FLACMA) hosted its International Municipal Congress. 12 countries attended to discuss a shared Latin American Municipal Agenda. In the Congress’ opening ceremony, FLACMA’s president, Mr. Rafael Hidalgo, elaborated on the process of restructuring the Latin-American Federation, and also invited all to the FLACMA’s Annual Congress (“Cumbre Hemisferica de Alcaldes”, in Spanish) that will be held from the 23rd to 26th August in Pachuca, Mexico.
Main topics: from SDGs to fiscal decentralization
During the event key issues were debated, such as the challenges of decentralization in the region, the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the Localization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Another important topic concerned the decentralization process in Ecuador where the municipalities are receiving 31% of the national budget. The conference also touched upon strengthening cooperation with parliamentarians to improve responsiveness of national legislation to local concerns.
March to Brasilia in Defense of the Municipalities
The conference took place during CNM’s annual ‘March to Brasilia in Defense of the Municipalities’. This march, which takes shape in the form of a congress for local and national administrations, has grown out to a become a global example of municipalism and Brazil’s annual occasion to defend to local agenda at the national level. Around 7,000 Mayors, Deputy Mayors, councilors and participants working with local governments took part in this years’ edition. The Brazilian President, Mr. Michel Temer, the National Ministers, the Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate, and high-level representatives of the Legal National Body also participated in the event in order to debate the demands of the local governments.
A (Spanish) newsletter with the results of the event can be accessed on: http://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/50a528_bf401be3be5940bfbf956eb5c696e3d0.pdf