Mayors Unchecked

Vertical and Horizontal Dimensions of Local Autonomy in Latin American Municipalities

Bibliographic Data

ID6404399
AuthorsTomáš Došek (0000-0003-4297-8456, Department of Social Sciences, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, Lima, Peru), K Eaton (0000-0002-7105-3420, Politics Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA)
Year2025
Volume61
Issue2
Pages556-590
Publication date2025-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueUrban Affairs Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1078-0874 • E-ISSN: 1552-8332
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/10780874241266222
OpenAlexW4400901685
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited74

In this paper, we argue that, relative to chief executives at higher levels of government, mayors in Latin America often operate with fewer outside checks on their scope of action, with problematic consequences for democracy. To make this argument, we examine a number of factors that can render mayors especially powerful and autonomous as political actors, and distinguish between the vertical (inter-governmental) and horizontal (inter-branch) dimensions of their autonomy. Vertically, we show that mayors have more institutional leeway than governors given the absence of the mechanism of interventions from the national government that could check their power. Horizontally, we identify a number of institutional and noninstitutional advantages that can enable mayors to exercise predominance vis-à-vis municipal legislative bodies and other actors in the local political landscape. To support our argument, we provide evidence gathered from fieldwork in six municipalities in three different countries (Chile, Paraguay, and Peru

Autonomy · Economic geography · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Horizontal and vertical · Latin Americans · Political economy · Political science · Regional science · Sociology · Law · Politics and Society in Latin America · Public Administration · Public Policy and Governance · Taxation and Compliance Studies

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access