Neo-Patrimonialism and Subnational Authoritarianism in Mexico. The Case of Oaxaca

How do subnational authoritarian enclaves emerge (or survive) in a democratic transition at the federal level? How can they endure large-scale social protests, like the one that shook Oaxaca in 2006? While federal tolerance for subnational authoritarian practices is a necessary condition, it is insu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of politics in Latin America 2010-01, Vol.2 (2), p.85-112
Main Author: Herrmann, Julián Durazo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism (Political Ideology)
Autoritarismo
Cambio Político
Centre-periphery relations
Ciencia Política
Clientelism
Clientelismo
Cultura Política
Democracia
Democracy
Democratic regimes
Democratization
Dominance
Entwicklungsländersoziologie
Entwicklungssoziologie
Hibridización
Hybridization
Legitimacy
Mexico
México
Oaxaca
Patrimonialism
Political Change
Political Culture
Political Science
Political System
Political Systems
politisches System
Política Regional
recent
reciente
Regional Policy
Sistemas Políticos
Social protest
Social Structure
Sociology & anthropology
Subnational government
Tensiones en Estructuras Federales
Tensions in Federal Political Structures
Tolerance
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:How do subnational authoritarian enclaves emerge (or survive) in a democratic transition at the federal level? How can they endure large-scale social protests, like the one that shook Oaxaca in 2006? While federal tolerance for subnational authoritarian practices is a necessary condition, it is insufficient in itself to explain why subnational political systems sustain and eventually reproduce authoritarian practices in the first place. In this article, therefore, I focus on the internal dimension of subnational authoritarianism. I argue that, because of its reliance on two distinct sources of legitimacy, Oaxaca’s neo-patrimonial domination system was able to respond to the formal democratizing pressures emanating from the federal transition without losing its authoritarian nature. This process of hybridization transformed Oaxacan institutions, but left social structures and the political dynamics that emerge from them – the sources of subnational authoritarianism – almost intact. By exploring the evolution of neo-patrimonialism and hybridization in Oaxaca from a theoretical perspective, I address the issues of change and continuity in the emergence of subnational authoritarian enclaves, in Mexico and elsewhere.
ISSN:1866-802X
1868-4890
1868-4890
DOI:10.1177/1866802X1000200204