Decentralization, the Inclusion of Ethnic Citizens, and Support for Democracy in Latin America

Abstract

Decentralization has been considered a tool of democracy promotion because of its ability to improve citizen participation and increase equity by allocating resources to long-neglected populations. I examine these claims by focusing on decentralization's effects for indigenous and Afro-Latino individuals in fi fteen Latin American countries. Using AmericasBarometer survey data provided by the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP), I fi rst analyze how the inclusion of ethnic citizens in local govern- ment affects attitudes that are considered crucial for democratic consolidation, such as satisfaction with democratic governance. I then assess whether decentralization has increased inclusion by examining how political, fi scal, and administrative decentraliza- tion affect ethnic individuals' participation and engagement in local government. The analyses demonstrate the limits of decentralizing reforms for democratization. I fi nd that the inclusion of marginalized citizens is not substantially enhanced by decentralization, which is especially important given the other signifi cant result of this study: that local inclusion increases ethnic individuals' support for democracy. The results suggest that individual reserves of social capital may be most important for enhancing local inclu- sion, and hence support for democracy.