Education for re-creating civil society: Working towards sustainable development, political voice, and safety

The building of a democratic citizenry in Latin America faces a profound challenge today. In this research, I examine the educational practices of the Comité de Consulta y Participación de la Comunidad en Seguridad Pública del Municipio de Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico. The Tepic Comité is a NGO that acts as an intermediary organization between government and citizens and has the objective of obtaining citizens' views and input in public-policy decisions. Its stated function is to help communities to identify needs and to problem-solve to create sustainable long-term solutions that will increase public safety. I examine its educational discourse and the political dimensions of its work in relation to both economic globalization, the meaning of democracy, and changes in the role of nation-state. The purpose is to analyze the role education is playing in realizing the Tepic Comité's mission and to examine how and if NAFTA relates to these programs which are focussed on the re-creation of a civil society. I do a case study using the principles of participatory action research as my methodology.; There are four major goals in the educational work done by the Tepic Comité. They include: (i) educating to create a new civil society, (ii) educating for sustainable development, (iii) educating to create a political voice and (iv) educating for safety. After a description of the educational work done in each of these areas, I do a conceptual comparison of neo-liberal and critical components informing the Tepic Comité . I find that the Tepic Comité uses an eclectic mix of educational theories and practices from both neo-liberal and critical agendas. However, its work is strongly influenced by the critical agenda. It uses this combined approach to try and create a “space” in the global market economy for a different kind of participation, one they call “values-based” rather than “dominance-based”.