La agencia para el desarrollo internacional (AID) y su aporte al desarrollo del movimiento cooperativo de Costa Rica
Fecha
1984
Autores
Calderón Delgado, Claudio
Título de la revista
ISSN de la revista
Título del volumen
Editor
Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica
Resumen
El amplio campo de estudio de las Relaciones Internacionales nos permite orientar nuestra mirada hacia múltiples actividades que realizan los Sujetos de las Relaciones Internacionales y lo más importante, salirnos del análisis de "las prácticas burocráticas de las organizaciones internacionales o las dependencias del Servicio Exterior” y adentrarnos con una "práctica investigativa rigurosa” en la realidad candente de nuestro país.
Por lo anterior, hemos decidido analizar la relación existente en el intercambio entre una Agencia, instrumento de la política exterior de una gran potencia, y un Movimiento de vocación internacional, perfectamente adaptado a la realidad de cada país donde funciona. Hablamos de la Agencia para el Desarrollo Internacional (A.I.D.) y del Movimiento Cooperativo de Costa Rica.
En Costa Rica el Movimiento Cooperativo realiza su acción internacional con gran independencia del Estado; sin embargo, aun ejerciendo esa acción internacional no gubernamental, participa conjuntamente con el Estado (por necesidad del aval) en la tramitación de préstamos y donaciones internacionales, aunque la ejecución de las actividades derivadas es de competencia exclusiva del Movimiento.
Estudiaremos aquí la ayuda económica de la A.I.D. por medio de préstamos y donaciones, orientados a promocionar fomentar, impulsar, desarrollar y consolidar al Movimiento Cooperativo Costarricense, y tal cual comenzó a mediados de la década de los sesenta. El analizar sólo la influencia de la A.I.D., no significa en ningún momento desconocer las relaciones del Movimiento con otras agencias financieras internacionales, sólo que por razón metodológica y debida a la amplitud del problema, se ha seleccionado un área con el fin de analizarlo desde esa perspectiva.
La investigación se dirige a mostrar las características de la ayuda financiera (y la asistencia técnica implícita) de la A.I.D., su rol en el desarrollo del Movimiento Cooperativo de Costa Rica, y a localizar los campos o actividades cooperativistas que favorece y los sectores de la población beneficiados.
El trabajo se divide en dos partes: En la primera, estudiamos aspectos generales del Cooperativismo, tales como su evolución histórica, organismos representativos a nivel mundial, a la vez que una mínima definición de conceptos (cooperativismo, cooperativa, cooperar). Seguidamente se reseña el desarrollo histórico del Cooperativismo en Latinoamérica y se incluye una descripción de los organismos de integración cooperativa que funcionan en el área. Finalmente se presenta una breve reseña de la historia del Movimiento Cooperativo de Costa Rica y un esbozo de balance crítico del mismo. En la segunda parte, presentamos datos sobre A.I.D., los aportes al cooperativismo Latinoamericano, y, lo más importante, el análisis de tres préstamos recibidos en 1965, 1970 y 1974, y una donación recibida en 1982. Aquí se analizan detalladamente los montos destinados a cada proyecto, los antecedentes de cada préstamo y de la donación, los términos de los acuerdos de préstamo y el convenio de donación, los criterios de las partes y sus justificaciones, sus obligaciones y la vigencia de los mismos. Respecto a la donación se destaca el carácter especial, que la diferencia de los préstamos como un tipo especial de ayuda.
Todo el análisis anterior es utilizado para sostener nuestros objetivos iniciales de trabajo:
a. Demostrar la necesidad y funcionalidad de las fuentes financieras externas.
b. Demostrar la efectividad socia de la ayuda proveniente de la A.I.D.
c. Poner de relieve las características históricas de lo anterior en el caso costarricense, a fin de facilitar su análisis crítico y posible mejoramiento futuro.
The broad field of study of International Relations allows us to direct our gaze towards multiple activities carried out by the Subjects of International Relations and, most importantly, to move away from the analysis of "the bureaucratic practices of international organizations or the dependencies of the Foreign Service" and enter with a "rigorous investigative practice" into the burning reality of our country. Therefore, we have decided to analyze the existing relationship in the exchange between an Agency, an instrument of the foreign policy of a great power, and a Movement with an international vocation, perfectly adapted to the reality of each country where it operates. We are talking about the Agency for International Development (A.I.D.) and the Cooperative Movement of Costa Rica. In Costa Rica, the Cooperative Movement carries out its international action with great independence from the State; however, even though it exercises this non-governmental international action, it participates jointly with the State (due to the need of the endorsement) in the processing of international loans and donations, although the execution of the derived activities is of exclusive competence of the Movement. We will study here the economic aid of the A.I.D. by means of loans and donations, oriented to promote, encourage, develop and consolidate the Costa Rican Cooperative Movement, as it began in the mid-sixties. Analyzing only the influence of the A.I.D. does not mean at any time ignoring the relations of the Movement with other international financial agencies, only that for methodological reasons and due to the breadth of the problem, an area has been selected in order to analyze it from that perspective. The research is aimed at showing the characteristics of the financial aid (and implicit technical assistance) of the A.I.D., its role in the development of the Cooperative Movement in Costa Rica, and to locate the cooperative fields or activities that it favors and the sectors of the population benefited. The work is divided into two parts: In the first part, we study general aspects of Cooperativism, such as its historical evolution, representative organizations worldwide, as well as a minimum definition of concepts (cooperativism, cooperative, cooperate). This is followed by a review of the historical development of cooperativism in Latin America and a description of the cooperative integration organizations operating in the area. Finally, a brief review of the history of the Cooperative Movement in Costa Rica and a critical balance of the same is presented. In the second part, we present data on A.I.D., its contributions to Latin American cooperativism, and, most importantly, the analysis of three loans received in 1965, 1970 and 1974, and a donation received in 1982. The amounts allocated to each project, the background of each loan and grant, the terms of the loan agreements and the grant agreement, the criteria of the parties and their justifications, their obligations and their validity are analyzed in detail. With respect to the grant, the special character is emphasized, which differentiates it from loans as a special type of aid. All the above analysis is used to support our initial work objectives: a. To demonstrate the need and functionality of external financial sources. b. To demonstrate the social effectiveness of the aid coming from A.I.D. c. To highlight the historical characteristics of the above in the Costa Rican case, in order to facilitate its critical analysis and possible future improvement.
The broad field of study of International Relations allows us to direct our gaze towards multiple activities carried out by the Subjects of International Relations and, most importantly, to move away from the analysis of "the bureaucratic practices of international organizations or the dependencies of the Foreign Service" and enter with a "rigorous investigative practice" into the burning reality of our country. Therefore, we have decided to analyze the existing relationship in the exchange between an Agency, an instrument of the foreign policy of a great power, and a Movement with an international vocation, perfectly adapted to the reality of each country where it operates. We are talking about the Agency for International Development (A.I.D.) and the Cooperative Movement of Costa Rica. In Costa Rica, the Cooperative Movement carries out its international action with great independence from the State; however, even though it exercises this non-governmental international action, it participates jointly with the State (due to the need of the endorsement) in the processing of international loans and donations, although the execution of the derived activities is of exclusive competence of the Movement. We will study here the economic aid of the A.I.D. by means of loans and donations, oriented to promote, encourage, develop and consolidate the Costa Rican Cooperative Movement, as it began in the mid-sixties. Analyzing only the influence of the A.I.D. does not mean at any time ignoring the relations of the Movement with other international financial agencies, only that for methodological reasons and due to the breadth of the problem, an area has been selected in order to analyze it from that perspective. The research is aimed at showing the characteristics of the financial aid (and implicit technical assistance) of the A.I.D., its role in the development of the Cooperative Movement in Costa Rica, and to locate the cooperative fields or activities that it favors and the sectors of the population benefited. The work is divided into two parts: In the first part, we study general aspects of Cooperativism, such as its historical evolution, representative organizations worldwide, as well as a minimum definition of concepts (cooperativism, cooperative, cooperate). This is followed by a review of the historical development of cooperativism in Latin America and a description of the cooperative integration organizations operating in the area. Finally, a brief review of the history of the Cooperative Movement in Costa Rica and a critical balance of the same is presented. In the second part, we present data on A.I.D., its contributions to Latin American cooperativism, and, most importantly, the analysis of three loans received in 1965, 1970 and 1974, and a donation received in 1982. The amounts allocated to each project, the background of each loan and grant, the terms of the loan agreements and the grant agreement, the criteria of the parties and their justifications, their obligations and their validity are analyzed in detail. With respect to the grant, the special character is emphasized, which differentiates it from loans as a special type of aid. All the above analysis is used to support our initial work objectives: a. To demonstrate the need and functionality of external financial sources. b. To demonstrate the social effectiveness of the aid coming from A.I.D. c. To highlight the historical characteristics of the above in the Costa Rican case, in order to facilitate its critical analysis and possible future improvement.
Descripción
Palabras clave
COOPERATIVISMO, COSTA RICA, COOPERATIVISM