Review by Choice Review
In recent decades urbanization and democratization have coincided to change the political structures of major Latin American cities. To assess the degree of "municipal empowerment," Myers (Pennsylvania State Univ.) and Dietz (Univ. of Texas, Austin) have assembled 16 colleagues with expertise on the region to examine in a highly structured research framework the local politics of nine cities--Bogota, Buenos Aires, Caracas, Guatemala City, Havana, Lima, Mexico City, Santiago, and Sao Paulo. All except Sao Paulo also serve as capital cities where according to tradition the president appoints municipal colonials and keeps a heavy hand on local politics. Sao Paulo, in the contributors' view, resembles a capital city in that it is the largest economic center, and its politics is more comparable than those of Rio de Janeiro or Brasilia. With these informed case studies, Myers and Dietz posit that despite the implementation of elected mayors in all except Havana, these democratically elected mayors are still encumbered by the national administrations in the exercise of "municipal empowerment." This well done but specialized work clearly will serve as a guide to further research on the trends the contributors have identified and tested across the region. Recommended for major university libraries and in college collections with strong Latin American holdings. J. A. Rhodes Luther College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
