From Local Strongman to Facilitator

Abstract

Efforts to engage citizens in democratic forms of governance in developing societies are complicated by deeply rooted socioeconomic and political inequalities. In this article, the authors analyze the conditions under which local politicians in rural areas of Latin America are likely to open up to citizen participation in governance decisions. The analytical approach focuses on the incentive structures of local politicians under both decentralized and centralized regimes. The argument is that, regardless of regime type, participatory governance institutions are more likely to emerge when the goals of these institutions are compatible with the interests of the local executive. The authors test the argument by analyzing patterns of interaction between central and local governance actors in 390 municipal governments in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Peru. They find that local politicians' incentive structures explain a great deal as to why local governments decide to invite citizens to take part in governance activities.