Democracy, decentralization, and clientelism -: New relationships and old practices

This essay examines the political practices observed in the relationships between the state and civil society that developed during the process of decentralization in Venezuela. One of the objectives of the process was transforming the representative democracy established by the National Constitution of 1961 into the participatory democracy institutionalized by the constitution adopted in December 1999. It will analyze whether the practices that maintain the relationship between the decentralized municipality and organized civil society are those of clientelism, semiclientelism, or citizenship, the latter understood as participation in the decision-making process in order to create public policies for the efficient and equitable distribution of scarce resources. Consequently, it will not only identify the new practices but also examine the role that both the old and new practices play in the recently decentralized local structures. The following questions will be explored: Are the practices of clientelism intrinsic to the decentralization model that is being applied in Latin America, or are they a result of an incomplete implementation of that model? Are these practices characteristic of all socio-political actors, or are they differentiated according to social class? Are they a response to the absence of some of the prerequisites for democratic decentralization, such as the existence of democratizing social movements, changes in the political culture or underlying political model, and the transformation of the legal or institutional framework? Is decentralization solely a managerial readjustment, or is it truly a qualitative heightening and strengthening of democracy? Are the practices of clientelism involving social or interest groups a new form of clientelism? And, finally, is this new form of clientelism a product of decentralization in a country that is undergoing a profound political and economic crisis? We will study the practices of the strategic political and social actors on the local government level-the mayor, town council members, neighborhood associations, and administrative bureaucracy-and focus on clientelism, personalism, and absenteeism.