Abstract

CABRERO MENDOZA, Enrique  and  DIAZ ALDRET, Ana. Local Action in Marginalized Urban Neighborhoods of Mexico: Examining Governance Institutions. Gest. polít. pública [online]. 2012, vol.21, n.spe, pp.83-129. ISSN 1405-1079.

This study attempts to answer two questions for the Mexican case: to what extent is it possible to identify a public action that fosters an active citizenship in urban peripheries -understood as highly marginalized and poor urban areas-?, and to what extent the Mexican case accounts for the emergence of new institutions in the local public action of urban areas? To answer these questions the paper is divided into three sections. First, it addresses a consideration on the nature of the political and institutional changes at the local level and its implications for the transformation of municipal life. We also observe the extent to which the citizens are present during this process. Second, we analyze a set of marginalized and poor urban municipalities with the aim to identify the intensity of participatory decision making and the role of local government in actions and policies of social welfare. Finally, we analyze in greater depth a small group of successful local innovation experiences in order to identify common features among these cases. Throughout this paper we demonstrate that even though there has been a wave of local innovation in Mexico as well as in many other countries, in the former case we find no evidence of new governance institutions or strategies developed to increase opportunities for citizens to exercise voice in decisions that are important to them. The reasons that explain this are noted at least as working hypothesis for further research.

Keywords : participatory governance; urban poverty contexts; local action.

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