Theoretical basis

The research was based on the general theory of systems (^{Bertalanffy, 2006}), the systemic approach (^{Senge, 2006}) and critical theory (^{Habermas, 1982}), to consider an organic whole between the mayoralties and the society where relations are established influenced by forces that they include interests associated with the resolution of social problems, having as components in these relationships the ICT that are organized in coordination to achieve a set of objectives.

The investigation analysed the external interactions that take place from public policies destined to reduce the poverty in the mayoralties of the municipalities contexts of study, in order to establish the mediating action of the ICT in those relational processes, and that therefore have an internal source of interrelations among those responsible for creating and implementing public policies to reduce poverty in the local public entity of both municipalities.

In the search for knowledge, orienting interests were related to the natural ones of life that go beyond satisfaction of immediately empirical needs, looking for some solution to systematic problems in general. There was a technical interest rooted in anthropology, linking science and technology, since both transcend and are inseparable from the human species and its conservation (^{Quintanilla, 2016}). Knowledge was apprehended from an objective and concrete reality, linking it teleological with the demands of the Knowledge Society for the emancipation of the social problem of poverty since the informationalism established as an effect of the use of ICT (^{Rodríguez & Sánchez-Riofrío, 2017}).

The interpretation of the data collected, seeking to find the mediating role of ICT in public policies for the reduction of poverty, required a critique on its use to overcome the existing reality in terms of poverty conditions.

In the philosophical and epistemological basis, which takes place in a globalized context, research is based on trans-modernity by assuming ideas of modernity and postmodernism in the face of the emerging culture of interconnectivity. In this way, there was an abstraction of notions of both paradigms that they flowed interdependently (^{Rodríguez, 2004}).

In addition, a set of approaches by various authors was used to configure the theoretical scaffolding of the research, considering mediation, ICT, poverty and public policies to reduce poverty.

Mediation

The mediation was assumed as the new ways that the subjects have of interpellation on common purposes, representing links for social cohesion; in this sense, mediation is a process that structures communication through a set of elements, procedures and practices, guiding the individuals located in the societies of today in the appropriation of the contents communicated by diverse means and types of mediatic and technological referents (^{Badillo Mendoza, 2011}; ^{Castellano Ascencio, 2016}).

Now the society is organized and interacts through networks, the chat and the incursion in sites of the network; technologies have become products and processes that intervene in a favourable way to know, feel, like, in scenarios where the borders between producers and consumers of knowledge dissolve; thus, there is a specific and technological media and digital dependence in daily life. Currently in the discourse, the media makes possible the gestures, the corporeal and not only orality, incorporating into the habitual social interaction what materializes in it. Therefore, the research considered ICTs as elements of mediation, with which communication procedures and practices arise directed to the appropriation of information concerning public policies for the reduction of poverty.

Information and Communication Technologies

Currently the prevailing technological paradigm is the interaction between users and the development of social networks or social technologies with applications to express themselves, create/publish and disseminate, others to publish/disseminate and search for information. Thus tending towards the democratization of the tools of access to information and the attention to problems of all kinds, specifically of a social nature, in the areas of education, health, government management and protection of the environment (^{Castellano Ascencio, 2016}).

For the information to flow, the technologies use unidirectional, bi or multidirectional synchronous channels that involve simultaneous connection to the interveners; asynchronous channels in which those involved do not necessarily have to be connected, being able to be limited or open multidirectional (Crystal, cited in ^{López, 2017}). In this technological paradigm, according to the Federal Communications Commission (^{FCC, 2016}), high-speed access is required in the so-called broadband,³ which can be achieved through various service platforms: digital subscriber line (Digital Subscriber Line, DSL), cable modem, fibre optic, wireless (Wi-Fi) and satellite.

Poverty

^{Sen (1992)} said that poverty is linked to the deprivation of capacities in an individual to perform activities that they value in order to achieve a state that satisfies his well-being, taking into account the circumstances and social requirements of the environment where they live. Poverty involves not possessing capacities and opportunities to achieve subsistence levels and satisfy minimum needs that allow to enjoy a dignified life (^{Caballero, 2007}; ^{Campana, 2014}); therefore, it is related to the possibility of reaching both goods and services for human and cultural development, in such a way that there is inclusion instead of discrimination, guaranteeing the dignity of human beings as the most transcendent of society. In addition, poverty is the result of concrete social relationships that are unequal, asymmetrical and violent, from the perspective of assistance among the poor and society (Paugam, cited in ^{Campana, 2014}), thus, each author proposes a relationship with the expression of standard of living, which, according to the ^{United Nations Organization [UN] (1961)} is represented by the real conditions in which a life lives and therefore integrated by elements such as health, nutrition, housing, employment conditions and education, which in turn become its indicators.

It is in this sense that individuals and groups from the social and economic sphere they require guidance so that they advance in their capacities in search of a creative life, through the development of its potentialities with respect to the indicators formulated by the human capital, emphasizing the bonds of trust, cooperation and solidarity between members of society and political institutions (the State) (Borja, cited in ^{Gutiérrez & Rodríguez, 2010}). In this way, individual and collective benefits are achieved that lead to the establishment of favourable conditions of development for the State and nation.

Consequently, in order to overcome poverty, the State must promote networks between communities that in turn are networked, so that those that correspond to groups of poor people are integrated and initiate a transformative process conducive to their well-being (^{Gutiérrez & Rodríguez, 2010}). Such a possibility involves the presence of ways of creating innovative policies, so that the political-social entities consider the individual as an ally in strengthening ties of cooperation, solidarity and co-responsibility in addressing the poverty phenomenon; since the capacities of the poor to organize themselves and the mechanisms used for this are very interdependent of the State profile or regime, the type of public policies and the behaviour of those who govern (^{Moore & Putzel, 2000}). In this way communication becomes an ally of great value, since the generation of information and knowledge increases the capacities that in some way are going to satisfy levels of well-being.

Public policies to reduce poverty

The appropriation of technologies by individuals and organizations in the globalized environment requires a relationship between the State-society-poverty in order to generate advantages to compete and grow in the global economic sphere, seeking to reduce the digital divide that reflects an imbalance of access to knowledge between different countries or social groups and organizations (Ministry of Communications of Colombia, cited in ^{Polanco, 2011}). Then, new communicative models supported by ICT have to be considered, in affinity with conditions that institute relationships mediated by these technologies (^{Rodríguez & Sánchez-Riofrío, 2017}).

In this way, governmental actions emerge, understood as public policies that increase the opportunities for people to progress and shorten the digital divide, improving education, integrating training to reduce technological illiteracy,⁴ so that appropriation processes take place in cultural events leading to the evolution of the person in everyday life, as expressed by ^{Crovi (2010)}. Actions such as the provision of programs for entrepreneurship and employment, health assistance, information provision, citizen empowerment -including in this the development of political capacities in the poor, since power in itself is a dimension to appease poverty (^{Murolo, 2010})- they must be, according to ^{Zambrano (2009)}, continuous and directed through programs from the government to a sector of society or to a geographic space and in whose mediation ICTs must intervene.

Consequently, it is understood that public policy is oriented towards a specific social sector, impacting actions in certain minimum units, but in turn in the conglomerate of society; that is, in the public. Thus, policies aimed at penetration and connectivity, and appropriation of ICT in the daily use of citizens arise (^{Zambrano, 2009}); in both, public information plays an important role in the relations between State and civil society, as well as in politics, since it is from this that existing organizations in civil society can gain knowledge about public management (^{López & García Bustamante, 2016}), being there implicit the result of the actions that the State takes against of poverty.

Therefore, it could be argued that the existence of public policies to counteract or reduce poverty involves an interaction between institutions and the poor, who, because they do not possess basic skills, are prevented from entering society voluntarily, it is in such an area where ICT mediate, since from the intervention of technological devices, the poor obtain information and create knowledge about the policies, covering a certain portion of the basic communication need.

Methodological foundation

The research was carried out under a quantitative approach with a field-transactional, correlational design and at an analytical depth level (^{Hernández, Fernández & Baptista, 2006}). The data collection technique was the survey using a structured questionnaire, applied to the people involved in the associated government entities with the implementation of public policies aimed at reducing poverty in the municipalities in the context of the research; a census sample was considered. For the statistical processing of the data the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used. The analysis and processing of the results was supported in deductive and objective inference. For the validity of the research, interpretative rigor was sought, quality in the design, from internal consistency, its adjustment in design, fidelity and analytical adequacy (^{Hernández, Fernández & Baptista, 2006}).

In the study carried out, the following questions were answered: What are the ICTs present for the provision of information of community interest in the municipalities of the Bolívar and Villa del Rosario municipalities? How do the municipal governments of the Bolívar and Villa del Rosario municipalities use ICT in the implementation of public policies aimed at the reduction of poverty in the population of both municipalities? What is the relationship that ICTs have as mediators of public policies for the reduction of poverty in the population, in the Bolívar and Villa del Rosario municipalities of the Colombian-Venezuelan border?

Information and Communication Technologies present for the provision of information of community interest

When inquiring about the access platforms, considering the (2016) proposals, the results presented in Table 1 were obtained.

In both municipalities, the use of Wi-Fi is evident in the urban area, in the Bolívar Municipality there is greater access in the squares and a little less in the public institutions, in the Villa del Rosario Municipality the opposite happens: it is more present in the institutions than in the public squares. Regarding the use of data and Internet, voice telephony and community radio, in the urban area in the Bolívar Municipality it is lower than in Villa del Rosario. In rural areas, the Internet is present at an important level in the Municipality of Bolívar and in a lower one in Villa del Rosario; rural Wi-Fi is used in both municipalities in a very similar way; in addition, the use of data and Internet from community networks in Bolívar is significantly higher compared to Villa del Rosario where it does not reach 50%; .community radio is located in both municipalities very evenly, and voice telephony in Bolívar has a much lower presence in relation to Villa del Rosario.

It is by virtue of these access platforms that a set of ICTs is used in each town hall to provide information of community interest. In Table 2, the ICT present for the supply of information of community interest are listed in the municipal governments of the Bolívar and Villa del Rosario municipalities. As can be seen in the Bolívar Municipality, technological resources are employed with one-dimensional, bidirectional, multidirectional asynchronous communication channels limited as open, implying there is no need to be connected live with the entity to effect some interpellation, with which the limits of separation between producers and consumers of information are diluted; although there is evidence of the presence of technologies related to synchronous channels that do involve direct connection with the participants in the communication. The use of conventional media such as radio and television is unidirectional and only mediate information in the entity-society sense. Likewise, the importance that its website has for the entity is denoted, since it is the medium that is most used to inform.

In the Villa del Rosario Municipality, technologies are used in the communication channels already mentioned; however, Facebook, followed by its web site (Mayoralty of Villa del Rosario, n. d.) are the most used to inform about aspects of community interest. Conventional radio and television together with digital television have less use and a trend towards the use of newer technologies can be seen. The scarce use given to both urban and rural telecentres stands out in both municipalities.

Employment in the municipalities Bolívar and Villa del Rosario of Technologies of Information and Communication in the implementation of public policies aimed at reducing poverty in the population

Table 3 shows the actions carried out by the municipal governments of the Bolívar and Villa del Rosario municipalities, with the intervention of ICTs, linked to public policies for the reduction of poverty.

The conventional and digital radio and television are the most used ICT to provide information on public policies to reduce poverty in both municipalities. Although its use is less in the Municipality of Bolívar, in the Municipality of Villa del Rosario is almost double. On the other hand, conventional radio and mobile phones are the ICT most used in the Bolívar Municipality to inform about social programs days; in the mayoralties of Villa del Rosario is the e-mail where this information flows most, as well as conventional radio.

Informing about support programs for citizens in situations of poverty, as shown in Table 4, there is more use of the ICT in the town hall of Villa del Rosario, the e-mail, conventional radio, instant messaging and conventional television are the most used. In the mayor’s office of Bolívar, the use of ICT is precarious, being digital and traditional radio along with traditional television those that are applied.

To inform about citizen security programs, it is again in the City Hall of Villa del Rosario where there is the more use of ICT, although in the conventional way with television and radio. These same technologies are used in the Bolívar municipality, but in a lesser proportion.

As evidenced in Table 5, the mobile phone technology is used in both municipalities to raise complaints, claims, opinions, suggestions, alternative solutions to problems about aspects of community life, community and personal problems, although, with more employment on the Colombian side.

Conventional and digital television along with digital radio, are the ICT most used in mayoralty of Bolívar to hold calls to citizen participation meetings; the e-mail and digital television in Villa del Rosario, calling the attention that in both is used video/audio conference considerably. In addition, little is used in the Bolívar City Hall ICT to post notices of jobs or job vacancies, as shown in Table 5, the mobile telephone, conventional television and digital radio moderately. Instead, in the town hall of Villa del Rosario the use of ICT is greater, using e-mail, telephone mobile, conventional radio and instant messaging.

It is evident in Table 6 that the mobile telephone and email are the technologies used to communicate about education to the community leader in both municipal governments.

The community leader is given information about recreation, road/ mobility, health, public lighting system and environment by telephone mobile, e-mail and video/audio conference in both city halls.

However, the same technologies are used in a smaller proportion to inform about nutrition, communication and access to technology and supply, but in the nutrition aspect manifests little use of technology in the Bolívar municipality. It is revealed the use of a single technological resource to inform about Security: video/audio conference.

Also the video/audio conference is the means used in the two municipalities for the reception of complaints and claims on aspects of community life, as shown in Table 7. For the reception of community or personal problems, email is the most used medium in both municipal governments; chat is another mechanism, and the video/audio conference has more use in the Mayoralty of Bolívar.

Facebook is the technological tool and sector of greater use in both mayoralties, for the circulation of official information, reports, notices, calls, offers, surveys, respond to requests, official communications, explanations, reception of complaints, claims, talk about problems, suggestions and solutions. Facebook are followed by the web sites of Bolívar and Villa del Rosario Municipalities, and other technological tools such as Twitter and WhatsApp, and in a lesser proportion, YouTube. However, blogs and forums are also used into Villa del Rosario Municipality.

When observing the contents of Tables 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 it can be affirmed that in both mayoralties new modes of interpellation of the subjects are being produced for common purposes, representing links for social cohesion, reducing limits between producers and consumers of knowledge, with greater incidence in Villa del Rosario municipality when using more current technologies. In the municipality of Bolívar there is still rooted in the use of static or low interactivity technologies.

In this way it is visualized that the Mayoralty of Villa del Rosario has already undertaken a path that seeks to strengthen networks of trust between the members of society to facilitate contacts and relations with the public entity, thus following a new communication model, such as ^{Murolo formulates it (2010)}, supported in cooperation and solidarity seeking individual and collective benefits that favour the establishment of favourable conditions of development to the municipality and the welfare of the groups of poor as expressed by ^{Gutiérrez and Rodríguez (2010)}. The Mayor’s office of Bolívar, although it has initiated the route that transits that of Villa del Rosario, has not yet debased old ways of managing information of community interest.