Political change and socioeconomic policies in Central America: Patterns of interaction

Third World Quarterly

Volumn 17, Issue 4, 1996, Pages 737-752

  Gomà, Ricard ^a   Font, Joan ^a  

^a UNIVERSITAT AUTÒNOMA DE BARCELONA   (Spain)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

POLITICAL CHANGE; POST-CONFLICT SITUATION; SOCIOECONOMIC POLICY;

CENTRAL AMERICA;

EID: 0030417682     PISSN: 01436597     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/01436599615353     Document Type: Article

References (34)

1. S Haggard & R Kaufman, eds, The Politics of Economic Adjustment, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992.
2. See M Alcántara & I Crespo, Los límites de la consolidación democrática, Salamanca: Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, 1995.
3. Two critiques of the path-breaking work of G O'Donnell, P Schmitter & L Whitehead (Transitions from Authoritarian Rule, Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press, 1986) can be found for all Latin American cases in F Agüero & M Torcal, 'Elites, factores estructurales y democratización', Revista de Estudios Políticos, Vol 80, 1993; and, for the Central American area, in J Font & R Gomà: 'Actores y cambio político en Centroamérica. Un marco de análisis', Papers, Vol 49, 1996.
4. Two critiques of the path-breaking work of G O'Donnell, P Schmitter & L Whitehead (Transitions from Authoritarian Rule, Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press, 1986) can be found for all Latin American cases in F Agüero & M Torcal, 'Elites, factores estructurales y democratización', Revista de Estudios Políticos, Vol 80, 1993; and, for the Central American area, in J Font & R Gomà: 'Actores y cambio político en Centroamérica. Un marco de análisis', Papers, Vol 49, 1996.
5. Two critiques of the path-breaking work of G O'Donnell, P Schmitter & L Whitehead (Transitions from Authoritarian Rule, Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press, 1986) can be found for all Latin American cases in F Agüero & M Torcal, 'Elites, factores estructurales y democratización', Revista de Estudios Políticos, Vol 80, 1993; and, for the Central American area, in J Font & R Gomà: 'Actores y cambio político en Centroamérica. Un marco de análisis', Papers, Vol 49, 1996.
6. From a similar point of view in comparative perspective, see R Bates & A Krueger: Political and Economic Interactions in Economic Policy Reforms: Evidence from Eight Countries, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1993.
7. Two interesting area overviews can be found in J Dunkerley, The Pacification of Central America, London: 1994 and in G Bataillon et al. Centro América entre democracia y desorganización, Guatemala: FLACSO, 1994.
8. Two interesting area overviews can be found in J Dunkerley, The Pacification of Central America, London: 1994 and in G Bataillon et al. Centro América entre democracia y desorganización, Guatemala: FLACSO, 1994.
9. 'Mode of regulation' means a set of social and economic policies adopted by a government over a period as a management mechanism of its 'accumulation regime'. See, for instance, R Boyer: La teoría de la regulación, Valencia: Alfons el Magnànim, 1992.
10. This was the situation in the early 1990s, with right-wing governments in all five countries. See D Close, 'Central American elections 1989-90: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama', Electoral Studies, Vol 10, 1991.
11. For the Salvadoran case, see A Segovia, 'Límites y dilemas de la política económica', Síntesis, Vol 8, 1987. Their importance in the Guatemalan case is clearly stated in J Cambranes, ed, 500 ãos de lucha por la tierra, Guatemala: FLACSO, 1992. An interesting overview of their role in the area appears in Inforpress: Los empresarios centroamericanos ante la crisis, Guatemala, 1988.
12. For the Salvadoran case, see A Segovia, 'Límites y dilemas de la política económica', Síntesis, Vol 8, 1987. Their importance in the Guatemalan case is clearly stated in J Cambranes, ed, 500 ãos de lucha por la tierra, Guatemala: FLACSO, 1992. An interesting overview of their role in the area appears in Inforpress: Los empresarios centroamericanos ante la crisis, Guatemala, 1988.
13. For the Salvadoran case, see A Segovia, 'Límites y dilemas de la política económica', Síntesis, Vol 8, 1987. Their importance in the Guatemalan case is clearly stated in J Cambranes, ed, 500 ãos de lucha por la tierra, Guatemala: FLACSO, 1992. An interesting overview of their role in the area appears in Inforpress: Los empresarios centroamericanos ante la crisis, Guatemala, 1988.
14. G Lehmbruch & P Schmitter, Pattern of Corporatist policy-making, London: Sage, 1982.
15. Bulmer-Thomas, The political economy of Central America since 1920, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
16. In a situation apparently more appropriate for the development of socioeconomic pacts, like the Costa Rican one, they were not particularly successful during this period. See R Steichen, 'La negociación económico-social, ¿un mecanismo democrático a la deriva?', in C Bataillon et al, Cento America entre democracia y desorganización.
17. The Unidad de Acción Sindical y Popular (UASP) is the umbrella organisation in which union and popular groups have joined to make specific socioeconomic and human rights demands. It includes the more active and progressive sectors of the popular movement, but not all its relevant organisations.
18. An excellent overview of this period is provided in J Painter, Guatemala: False Hope, False Freedom, London: CIIR/Latin America Bureau, 1987.
19. The union demand was a 51% share in 128 companies to be privatised. Finally, they obtained a minimum of 25% in about 100.
20. The lack of participation or the secondary role played by the business organisations in the cases discussed reinforces the idea of the different contents of the Central American concertación with respect to the neo-corporatist tradition.
21. Even if all international creditors establish their own conditions, those countries with more plural sources of external credit are less dependent on the large international agencies. On the importance of external assistance in the area, see X Gorostiaga, 'Los dilemas económicos de Centroamérica 1990: integración o Taiwanización', in Estado, democratización y desarrollo en Centroamérica y Panamá, Asociación Centroamericana de Sociología, Guatemala, 1989.
22. A Segovia, 'Limites y dilemas de la política económica'. The role of external agents is also covered in M González & S Berrios: 'El Salvador: crisis y política económica del régimen democrata-cristiano (1984-88)', in Estado, democratización y desarrollo en Centroamérica y Panamá, Asociación Centroamericana de Sociología, Guatemala, 1989.
23. A Segovia, 'Limites y dilemas de la política económica'. The role of external agents is also covered in M González & S Berrios: 'El Salvador: crisis y política económica del régimen democrata-cristiano (1984-88)', in Estado, democratización y desarrollo en Centroamérica y Panamá, Asociación Centroamericana de Sociología, Guatemala, 1989.
24. A Sojo, 'Actual dinámica socio-económica costaricense y las opciones de desarrollo social en el ocaso del siglo XX', Síntesis, Vol 8, 1987. The important role of US AID in shaping social and economic policies during the 1980s is discussed in C Sojo La utopía del Estado mínimo, Managua: CRIES, 1991.
25. A Sojo, 'Actual dinámica socio-económica costaricense y las opciones de desarrollo social en el ocaso del siglo XX', Síntesis, Vol 8, 1987. The important role of US AID in shaping social and economic policies during the 1980s is discussed in C Sojo La utopía del Estado mínimo, Managua: CRIES, 1991.
26. J Dunkerley, Power in the Isthmus, London: Verso, 1991.
27. AVANCSO, La política de desarrollo del Estado guatemalteco, Guatemala, AVANCSO, 1990.
28. A Martínez Cuenca: Sandinista Economics in Practice, Boston, MA: South End Press, 1992; and R Spalding, ed, The Political Economy of Revolutionary Nicaragua, London: Allen & Unwin, 1992.
29. A Martínez Cuenca: Sandinista Economics in Practice, Boston, MA: South End Press, 1992; and R Spalding, ed, The Political Economy of Revolutionary Nicaragua, London: Allen & Unwin, 1992.
30. After a period of continued internal discrepancies, the more socially orientated sector imposed their will in most policy decisions. See CEDEAL (1991). A comparison of social policies of previous governments appears in Valverde, Donato & Rivera, 'Costa Rica: movimientos sociales populares y democracia', in Rojas, ed, Costa Rica: la democracia inconclusa, DEI, San Jose, 1989.
31. A more exhaustive review of these agrarian policies can be found in G Pedroni & A Porres, Políticas agrarias, programas de acceso a la tierra y estrategias de comercialización campesina, Guatemala: FLACSO, 1991.
32. Also, in the work of most Guatemalan social scientists there is a clear evolution from their optimistic evaluation of the political opening in 1985 to more pessimistic views in the 1990s. Many who considered the transition to democracy almost completed in 1986, doubted whether it would ever be fully realised by 1994.
33. The government had also started limited social programmes, concentrated on areas with extreme poverty levels and where guerrillas were still active. FIS, FONAPAZ and FODIGUA were some of these programmes, which incorporated some NGOS in their implementation and were mostly financed with external assistance.
34. O Neira et al, 'Reactivación: la última oportunidad', Envío, Vol 137, 1993.