Julián Durazo Herrmann

Reflections on Regime Change and Democracy in Bahia, Brazil

A significant shortcoming in Latin American transitions to democracy has been the failure of some subnational units to follow suit, leading to the emergence of authoritarian enclaves. Recently, however, some of these nondemocratic regimes have moved toward a political opening. In this respect, the state of Bahia in Northeastern Brazil is intriguing. Antônio Carlos Magalhães and his associates, known as carlistas, were in office between 1970 and 2006, when Jaques Wagner, from the Worker’s Party (PT), won the gubernatorial election. While the ascent of the PT was saluted as spearheading Bahia’s democratization, numerous observers have signaled important elements of continuity, including personalism, clientelism, and top-down decision making. What changed and what didn’t is thus a pertinent question. To answer it, I use Robert Dahl’s procedural definition of democracy (completed and updated by more recent scholarship) as the guiding criterion to compare carlista and PT rule in Bahia. I conclude with a broad reflection on subnational democratization in Latin America.

Clientelism and Subnational Politics in Latin America

In Latin America’s federal countries, regime change produced a paradox: although, at the federal level, the transition to democracy was largely successful and has gradually consolidated, at the subnational level, some authoritarian regimes and repressive practices survived. It has been argued that neopatrimonialism allowed these subnational authoritarian elites to remain in power. By tapping into different sources of legitimacy and combining arbitrary power, tradition, and rule of law, these elites have constructed political intermediation monopolies in extremely heterogeneous societies (Durazo Herrmann 2010). Nevertheless, this same social heterogeneity forces neopatrimonial elites to construct large social coalitions, including the maximum possible number of both traditional and modern social sectors to guarantee local governance. These coalitions are complex and fragile by nature, since they depend on a continuous flow of material resources to survive (Eisenstadt 1973, Medard 1991).

Media and subnational democracy: the case of Bahia, Brazil

ABSTRACT It is a well-known fact that the transition to and consolidation of democracy in Latin America have been problematic, especially at the subnational level. It is also commonplace to equate an independent media system with a strong democracy. While each of these fields has witnessed important developments in the last decade or so, there have been sparse attempts to draw the theoretical links between them. In this article, I argue that there are important insights to be gained from such an endeavour. Bahia, a state in north-eastern Brazil, is an ideal case study to bring these perspectives together. This study offers fresh insights on state–society relations at the subnational level and on the contemporary interaction between the public and the private spheres in Latin America. Last but not least, it will also provide a better grasp on the challenges democratization faces at the subnational level and the role of the media in them.ABSTRACTIt is a well-known fact that the transition to and consolidation of democracy in Latin America have been problematic, especially at the subnational level. It is also commonplace to equate an independent media system with a strong democracy. While each of these fields has witnessed important developments in the last decade or so, there have been sparse attempts to draw the theoretical links between them. In this article, I argue that there are important insights to be gained from such an endeavour. Bahia, a state in north-eastern Brazil, is an ideal case study to bring these perspectives together. This study offers fresh insights on state–society relations at the subnational level and on the contemporary interaction between the public and the private spheres in Latin America. Last but not least, it will also provide a better grasp on the challenges democratization faces at the subnational level and the role of the media in them.

La démocratisation subnationale en perspective comparée: les cas de Bahia (Brésil) et Oaxaca (Mexique)

RESUMEPourquoi des enclaves autoritaires subnationales emergent-elles lors des transitions democratiques federales, comme ce fut le cas a Bahia (Bresil) et a Oaxaca (Mexique)? Comment prennent-elles fin bien des annees plus tard? Dans cet article, j’avance l’hypothese que le cycle de vie de ces enclaves est relie a l’instabilite des processus d’hybridation qui accompagnent la transition democratique. Pour demontrer cette hypothese, je reponds a quatre sous-questions de facon comparative: Si les elections sont l’element central de la transition democratique, quel est leur role dans l’emergence et la transformation des enclaves autoritaires subnationales? Puisque les elections subnationales devinrent competitives avec le temps, qu’est-ce que permit a la coalition autoritaire de gagner une election apres l’autre pendant plus d’une decennie? A contrario, pourquoi la formation d’une coalition d’opposition capable de gagner une election a-t-elle pris si longtemps? Finalement, quel est le role des dynamiques et ...RÉSUMÉ Pourquoi des enclaves autoritaires subnationales émergent-elles lors des transitions démocratiques fédérales, comme ce fut le cas à Bahia (Brésil) et à Oaxaca (Mexique)? Comment prennent-elles fin bien des années plus tard? Dans cet article, j’avance l’hypothèse que le cycle de vie de ces enclaves est relié à l’instabilité des processus d’hybridation qui accompagnent la transition démocratique. Pour démontrer cette hypothèse, je réponds à quatre sous-questions de façon comparative: Si les élections sont l’élément central de la transition démocratique, quel est leur rôle dans l’émergence et la transformation des enclaves autoritaires subnationales? Puisque les élections subnationales devinrent compétitives avec le temps, qu’est-ce que permit à la coalition autoritaire de gagner une élection après l’autre pendant plus d’une décennie? A contrario, pourquoi la formation d’une coalition d’opposition capable de gagner une élection a-t-elle pris si longtemps? Finalement, quel est le rôle des dynamiques et des acteurs fédéraux dans ces processus?

Federalism and free trade in San Luis Potosí, Mexico

Abstract Globalization has brought international issues to arenas of subnational jurisdiction. In the more developed countries, this process has led to the regionalization of international relations. This article explores how subnational units in developing countries address these same questions. The case of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, and its conflict with two large foreign corporations is analysed. This study highlights how international conflicts have set off some important changes in intergovernmental relations and foreign policy in Mexico, even if regional activity in the international system is largely missing.