 Benjamin Goldfrank, The Politics of Deepening Local Democracy: Decentralization, Party Institutionalization, and Participation Causal analysis of why some recent experiments in participatory local government in Latin America have failed while others have succeeded is undeveloped. Comparison of three similar experiments in Caracas, Montevideo, and Port Alegre can provide a more thorough explanation. The program in Caracas largely failed; Porto Alegre¡¯s participatory budgeting became an international model; and Montevideo¡¯s outcome was mixed. Two factors best explain this divergence: the degree of national decentralization of authority and resources for municipal governments and the level of institutionalization of local opposition parties. These conditions shaped the incumbents¡¯ ability to design meaningful participatory programs that could attract lasting citizen involvement. |