Decentralization, Democratization, and Informal Power in Mexico

Andrew Selee is Director of the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC.

• ContentsList of FiguresAcknowledgments1. Introduction: The Paradoxes of Local EmpowermentPart 1 State Formation and Political Change2. Centralization and Informal Power3. Decentralization and DemocratizationPart 2 A Tale of Three Cities4. Chilpancingo: The Continuation of Corporatism?5. Tijuana: Liberal Democracy?6. Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl: Social Movement Democracy?Part 3 Conclusions7. Pathways of Democratic ChangeIndex

“Decentralization, Democratization, and Informal Power in Mexico is a fascinating, beautifully crafted, and revealing account of just how much Mexican democratization has taken place at the local level. Andrew Selee has used extensive field research and years spent living in Mexico to examine the extent to which electoral democracy has taken hold as the primary means of communicating citizen demands in three distinct municipalities. He discovers that many of the informal processes that characterized decision-making at the local level before the democratic transition continue to the present, clearly demonstrating the limits of institutional change on citizen participation. Equally important, Selee demonstrates how informal power is significantly shaping democratic outcomes.”—Roderic Ai Camp, Claremont McKenna College