Difficult Path to Democracy: The Political Differentiation of NGOs in Rural Mexico
Date
2006-06-30
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Publisher
Latin American Studies Program, University of Delaware, Newark, DE
Abstract
Only recently have scholars and development practitioners started to question the role of NGOs in politics. After reviewing the current state of research in this area, we use evidence from the Huasteca region of the state of San Luis Potosí, in Central Mexico, to argue that NGOs have complex ties to their local political environment, including a direct role in politics. We propose a classification of NGOs according to their involvement with the local political scene, based on their level of political ambition and their political affiliation. Using ethnographic data and interviews with NGO members, we illustrate each type by describing a Huasteca NGO that embodies it.
Description
This paper is based on a presentation by the same title given at the 2003 meeting of the Southern Sociological Society in New Orleans.