Decentralized Development in Latin America : Experiences in Local Governance and Local Development

Much of the scholarly and professional literature on development focuses either on the ‘macro’ level of national policies and politics or on the ‘micro’ level of devel- ment projects and household or community socio-economic dynamics. By contrast, this collection pitches itself at the ‘meso’ level with a comparative exploration of the ways in which local institutions – municipalities, local governments, city authorities, civil society networks and others – have demanded, and taken on, a greater role in planning and managing development in the Latin American region. The book’s rich empirical studies reveal that local institutions have engaged upwards, with central authorities, to shape their policy and resource environments and in turn, been pressured from ‘below’ by local actors contesting the ways in which the structures and processes of local governance are framed. The examples covered in this volume range from global cities, such as Mexico and Santiago, to remote rural areas of theBolivian and Brazilian Amazon. As a result the book provides a deep understanding of the diversity and complexity of local governance and local development in Latin America, while avoiding the stereotyped claims about the impact of globalisation or the potential benefits of decentralisation, as frequently stated in less empirically grounded analysis.

The Latin American subcontinent appears to have reinvented itself in the 21^st century. Its economy has been transformed under liberalization and globalisation. Decentralization and the democratic transition have modified the political environment, while local development approaches are replacing the (grand) national-regional development schemes. The current local governance and local development debates refer to very different levels of scale: from small, rural communities to fairly extensive (even international) spaces. It is clear that the development process shows substantial differences between large and small cities, and between core regions and remote rural areas. Indeed, the heterogeneity of the process is strongly influenced by national, regional and local contexts. The empirical studies in this volume show the diversity and complexity of local governance and local development in Latin America, while avoiding stereotypes about the impact of public sector reform and administrative decentralization.

"This book will help the reader think through what is happening in specific contexts in the region and generate ideas about how progressive change might be fostered"

David Hulme, University of Manchester