Abstract

ZURBRIGGEN, Cristina. Governance: A view from Latin America. Perf. latinoam. [online]. 2011, vol.19, n.38, pp.39-64. ISSN 0188-7653.

Governance is becoming an increasingly important concept in European theoretical debates and in political practice as a new way to manage public policies, since the public sector reforms in the 80s. However, the debate in Latin America has different characteristics than in Europe, so it is necessary to provide a critical review of the proposed agenda for the transformation of the state in the region, and of the transfer of the concept of governance by multilateral agencies. To understand these changes the paper examines three key areas of reforms in Latin America and the privatization of public services, new social policies proposals and the decentralization process. This will help us understand the tension between normative models and specific patterns of governance that prevail in Latin America.

Keywords : governance; public policy; State reform; Latin America; social policies; privatization; decentralization.