Creating Civil Society? MexicanNeighborhood Committees.

The democratic transition and consolidation literatures recognize the key role that civil society plays in the consolidation and deepening of electoral democracy. As a corollary, societies with a weak civil society will have a difficult time consolidating an already vulnerable democracy. This then begs the question, how can civil society be encouraged to grow? Civil society can be encouraged to develop indirectly through a variety of mechanisms including funding for civil society organizations and tax deduction laws that create legal incentives. However, in some Mexican states controlled by the PAN, state governments have tried to create civil society directly by establishing neighborhood committees to mediate between government and society. The neighborhood committees are intended to build consensus about desired infrastructure projects, petition the government accordingly, and mobilize resources to pay for projects. This paper seeks to determine whether these committees are a successful government led creation of civil society or merely a different form of the same government control that has plagued organization life in Mexico’s past? This study proposes a survey of, and selected interviews with, the presidents of Tijuana’s neighborhood communities. Controlling for income and service levels, the study examines democratic practices within the committees, links to other civil society organizations, and their relationships with the PAN lead government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]