Learning from the Hondurans
The Association for a more Just Society has led transformative societal reform in Honduras, Chicago could learn a lot from them.
I traveled to Tegucigalpa, Honduras on a number of occasions to learn about the work ASJ was doing. I remember distinctly standing in a barrio that had been created by squatters astounded by the way in which thousands of migrants had built small homes, created their own water systems, carved roads out of steep hill sides, built churches and school and their own neighborhood.
The problem was, as is common in the developing world, they had no way to gain legal title to their homes. The government claimed it owned the land, while local gangs and nearby property owners made the same claim. If they wanted the title they would have to buy it again and again.
In his amazing book “The Mystery of Capital: why capitalism triumphs in the west”, and fails everywhere else”, Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto shows convincingly that the legal system supporting private property in the United States unlocked trillions of dollars of value that is simply not available to most places in the world.
ASJ started with one such hope-to-be-home owner and created a set of solutions that would lead to more than 20,000 families gaining access to land title. The kind of civic leadership displayed at ASJ also led to a purge of the national police and the re-creation of a police academy rooted in best practices from around the world.
I wonder what an Association for a More Just Chicago would tackle first?
95% of shootings in Chicago go unsolved.
Chicago is consistently identified as the most corrupt city in the United States.
350,000 African Americans have left the city, 85,000 in the past decade.
40% of our city budget pays debt and pension payments, eliminating the possibility of funding high priority city services.
Chicago Public Schools are nearly insolvent.
Chicago has no constitutional document.
When a prior mayor inked the parking meter deal, he signed off on perhaps the worst financial decision in the history of American cities.
Addressing our deeply entrenched problems will require a long look back at our governing structures. . . and a long look forward as the implication of climate change and advances in science will remake our world, and our city in the next couple of decades.