Democracy, Contested Reforms, Regulation, Forum Shopping, Perceptions and Inequality in Latin America

Abstract

This issue of Latin American Policy (LAP) covers a variety of topics with different scopes, including some that are more general and regional, such as participative democracy, the construction of regional perceptions, and the logics of advocacy coalitions promoting or impeding institutional change, and others that focus on specific topics, such as regulatory measures, arbitrated disputes, and income inequality. Among the first type of articles we offer Juve Cortés' contribution dealing with the role of referendums and direct citizen participation in the construction of democracy in Latin America. We also include Alvarez-Rosete and Hawkins' article on the rationale of contested coalitions for spurring or impeding institutional change. Ochoa and Schiavon's contribution deals with public opinion and perceptions in Mexico, suggesting that Mexicans perceive themselves as part of Latin America, but also as part of North America. As for the second type of contributions, we include one by Camilo Ignacio González, dealing with regulatory matters in Colombia, and another by Liza Harakeh, explaining the challenges of implementing an education reform in Mexico. Christina Fattore's research considers why Mexicans prefer to deal with trade disputes with the United States under the World Trade Organization (WTO) mechanisms rather than those in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), while Campos-Vázquez, Chávez, and Esquivel's contribution demonstrates thoroughly how 1% of Mexicans perceive 25% of the country's income, making Mexico the most-unequal country among those where information is available and skewing income-assessment mechanisms. We hope our growing number of readers will enjoy and be able to use this collection of excellent contributions. Isidro Morales is a researcher and professor in the School of Government and Public Transformation at the Tecnológico de Monterrey, and an external fellow of the Mexico Center at Rice University's Baker Institute.