Juan C. Olmeda – författare

The 1990s witnessed a surge in decentralization, as national governments around the world sought to transfer responsibilities and prerogatives to regional and local authorities. The last two decades have seen a reversal of this trend, as national authorities have attempted to regain control over these decentralized tasks in a process known as recentralization. This book is one of the first studies to examine the process of recentralization in a global context.Drawing on country case studies from around the world, including both developed and developing countries, and democratic and authoritarian regimes, the book assesses where and why recentralization has taken place, and what has contributed to its successes and failures. It also examines recentralization in key policy areas, including education policy, health policy and environmental policy. The overall aim is to provide readers with a conceptual and theoretical understanding of recentralization and its consequences, as well as a comparative global overview of common trends and key distinctions at national and regional level. The book will appeal to all those interested in public administration, comparative politics, political science and sociology.

The 1990s witnessed a surge in decentralization, as national governments around the world sought to transfer responsibilities and prerogatives to regional and local authorities. The last two decades have seen a reversal of this trend, as national authorities have attempted to regain control over these decentralized tasks in a process known as recentralization. This book is one of the first studies to examine the process of recentralization in a global context.Drawing on country case studies from around the world, including both developed and developing countries, and democratic and authoritarian regimes, the book assesses where and why recentralization has taken place, and what has contributed to its successes and failures. It also examines recentralization in key policy areas, including education policy, health policy and environmental policy. The overall aim is to provide readers with a conceptual and theoretical understanding of recentralization and its consequences, as well as a comparative global overview of common trends and key distinctions at national and regional level. The book will appeal to all those interested in public administration, comparative politics, political science and sociology.

Por su rigor científico, este libro es un avance notable en el estado del arte sobre el proceso político de América Latina denominado giro a la izquierda. La lectura de esta obra nos muestra que la izquierda no es una sola, que en ella coexisten vertientes que, por ejemplo, van del caudillismo y el populismo a la socialdemocracia y que además de ser en principio una crítica del libre mercado, de las prácticas corruptas y clientelares de los partidos y del sistema político al que atribuía la desigualdad social y la pobreza, ha ensayado soluciones como el gasto social, la búsqueda de la inclusion o reformas más profundas que pretendieron ampliar la participación de la ciudadanía.

A finales de 2016, en la prensa y en la academia, se comenzó a hablar del fin del ciclo político en el que candidatos críticos con las políticas de mercado aplicadas en los años noventa del siglo xx lograron acceder a la Presidencia de la mayoría de los países latinoamericanos. Solo en Colombia, Honduras y República Dominicana la izquierda no llegó al poder por la vía electoral. México se sumó a ese proceso tardíamente, en 2018, y fue el último de los países de América Latina. Posteriormente, la tendencia hacia la derecha se ha ido consolidando y, a mediados de 2021, más de la mitad de los presidentes de la región pertenecen a ese ámbito ideológico. De aquí que surjan las siguientes interrogantes: ¿los gobiernos de derecha emprenderán políticas de concentración de la riqueza?, ¿sus decisiones pondrán en peligro a la democracia?, ¿qué efectos tendrá la pandemia de la covid-19? En este libro se plantean estas preguntas con base en el análisis de diversas fuentes de información.