Abstract
This article analyzes the advocacy efforts of civil societal actors in Uruguay who have sought to promote the rights of children. I discuss the strategies that members of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) used to achieve a greater presence in debates leading to significant policy changes in the area of child protection. Child advocates achieved relatively high levels of political mobilization and influence throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. The analysis focuses on their multi-year campaign to reform the Children’s Code of 1934, which culminated in the adoption of a new Code of Childhood and Adolescence in 2004. I argue that two variables help explain their participation in policy making: effective issue framing and successful alliance building.
Highlights
In recent years, civil societal actors in Latin America have positioned themselves at the forefront of some of the region’s most dramatic policy reforms in the area of children’s rights and child protection.Child advocates in Uruguay, for example, achieved high levels of political mobilization and policy influence throughout the 1990s and early 2000s
A remarkably diverse group of scholars focusing on different aspects of political life seemed to suggest that civil societal actors in Latin American countries generally lacked the institutional access, organizational resources or attributes, and overall strength required for policy engagement and influence
Following in the footsteps of scholars who analyze interest groups, nonprofits, and social movements in developed countries, Latin American specialists have investigated the role of organizational resources as well as external variables that affect the likelihood of group involvement, including the presence/absence of allies in key government positions and the nature of the party system [16,18,21]
Summary
Civil societal actors in Latin America have positioned themselves at the forefront of some of the region’s most dramatic policy reforms in the area of children’s rights and child protection. The long process of influencing policy “entailed interactions with the political system and a broad-based mobilization and advocacy effort,” according to the leader of a non-governmental organization (NGO) [2] Another participant observed, “The NGOs involved in children’s issues played an active role during the entire process of formulating the Code. Child advocates influenced the formal agenda as well as the content of legislation and pressured members of parliament to enact reforms Their involvement was an important factor contributing to the passage of a new Code of Childhood and Adolescence (Código de la Niñez y la Adolescencia, Law No 17.823) in 2004. Particular emphasis is placed on their campaign to create a new Code of Childhood and Adolescence This case demonstrates that alliance building was a primary means by which advocates achieved policy influence. Their framing strategies simultaneously emphasized pressing social issues such as poverty and inequality and rights-based discourses that resonated with cherished cultural and political values and reinforced characteristics of Uruguayan national identity
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