Political Change and Environmental Policymaking in Mexico

Environmental Policy in Mexico

“…In fairness, the tense political atmosphere in Chiapas has made it very difficult for the state to pursue the reforestation and conservation objectives it has long articulated. Forestry policy in Chiapas has also been thwarted by the desperate plight (and obstinacy) of many of the loggers involved and the presence of formidable informal local power structures that make rigorous enforcement quite difficult (Diez, 2006). Given the tense political context, maybe it is not so surprising that the state has been willing to give way to aggressive NGOs in environmental issues.…”

Water Resource Management in Five Mexican States

“…A good example of this is the region of Larrainzar, which is lowly populated, quite mountainous, and which evidently still relies on upland streams and creeks to deliver water to the local area (Berlin & Berlin, 1996). Since water policy management does not fall directly under the purview of the federal government in Mexico (Diez, 2006), guaranteeing policy comity and certain standards of professional practice for peripheral regions such as Larrainzar (and Chiapas, more generally) is an arduous struggle. Part of the problem, it seems, is that new ordinances decrying exploitation of catchment areas -or, ostensibly, outlining best practices for conservation -seem to radiate towards the remotest regions of Mexico at a glacial pace and ensure that the laws drag behind events on the ground or are too phlegmatically administered to deal with cunning and aggressive parties (Ballabh, 2008).…”

Civil Society Organizations, Advocacy, and Policy Making in Latin American Democracies

“…2007 ;Díez 2006;Garcé and Uña 2006;Gaventa and McGee 2010;González Bombal and Villar 2003;Grugel and Peruzzotti 2010;Hochstetler and Keck 2007). It must also be noted that scholars of feminist and women's movements in Latin America have been at the forefront of researching advocacy.…”

“…Instead, many apply the theoretical approaches developed by analysts of interest groups, nonprofits, think tanks, and social movement organizations (SMOs) in long-standing democracies. Accordingly, they examine organizational resources that facilitate policy influence according to several different literatures addressed later in this chapter (Díez 2006;Garcé and Uña 2006;Leiras 2007). Case studies have also examined exogenous variables that affect the likelihood of CSO involvement, including the presence or absence of allies within government agencies, the number (or types) of access points, the degree of partisan competition, and levels of state capacity (Leiras 2007).…”

“…29 The first refers to the government institutions and/or elites encouraging or discouraging the inclusion of civil societal actors in policy making; the second includes the resources and mobilizational capacity of groups. An institutionalist approach, for example, would focus on advisory and consultative councils or similar entities designed to generate opportunities for citizen participation (Díez 2006;Posner 2003;Selee and Peruzzotti 2009). 30 Such institutions, which have proliferated within Latin American democracies at multiple levels of government, often extend invitations to CSO members.…”