This book examines how contemporary populist governments in Latin America dismantle public policies and erode bureaucratic capacity. Focusing on the administrations of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, Andrés Manuel López Obrador in Mexico, and Javier Milei in Argentina, it analyzes deliberate efforts to attack the public administration, redirect resources, and scale back programs in areas such as social protection, gender, childcare, science and innovation, and agroecology. Rather than isolated budget cuts or routine reforms, dismantling often reflects broader political projects that challenge the role of the state itself and the way the bureaucracy works. Through detailed case studies, the book shows how these shifts affect everyday governance, the delivery of public services, and the relationship between citizens and the state. Offering new theoretical and empirical insights, this volume will interest scholars of public policy, public administration, and Latin American politics.

Examines policy dismantling in Latin America, paying particular attention to Brazil, Mexico and Argentina Assesses the erosion of public bureaucracies under populist leaders Explores how dismantling policies in several sectors occur within a broader process of eroding administrative capacities

Autorentext

Guillermo M. Cejudo is Professor of Public Administration at the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE), Mexico. 

Johabed G. Olvera is Assistant Professor of Public Policy at Penn State School of Public Policy, The Pennsylvania State University, USA. 

Inhalt

Part 1: Introduction.- Chapter 1: Introduction By Guillermo Cejudo & Johabed Olvera.- Chapter 2: Studying Policy Dismantling as a Process. An Analytical Framework By Guillermo Cejudo & Johabed Olvera.- Part 2: Dismantling Administrative Capacities.- Chapter 3: Bureaucratic Dismantling in Argentina During Milei: Going Beyond the Neoliberal Agenda By María Eugenia Coutinho, Mariana Chudnovsky & Juan Cruz Olmeda.- Chapter 4: Undermining Administrative Capacity as a Strategic Mechanism for Accelerated Policy Dismantling By Denise do Carmo Direito.- Chapter 5: Dismantling Administrative Capacities in Mexico Under López Obrador By Guillermo Cejudo & Sergio López Ayllón.- Part 3: Dismantling Policies.- Chapter 6: Direct Versus Intermediary-Mediated Transfers in Argentina's Cash Assistance Policy By Agustina Laurito.- Chapter 7: Policy Dismantling and Social Policy in Brazil: The Case of Bolsa Família By Marina Lazarotto.- Chapter 8: Policy Dismantling and Policy Feedback of Conditional Cash Transfers in Mexico By Viviana Ramírez & Ricardo Velázquez-Leyer.- Chapter 9: Dismantling Gender Policies in Argentina: Austerity, Anti-Wokism and Poor Accountability By Corina Rodríguez Enríquez.- Chapter 10: Childcare Policy Dismantling in Mexico By Liliana González-Viveros & Alejandra Penilla.- Chapter 11: Undoing Agroecology: Policy Dismantling and Subnational Resistance in Brazil By Marina Yamaoka.- Chapter 12: Policy Dismantling as a Trap Under a Populist Government. The Case of Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) Policy in Mexico (2019-2024) By Enrique Cabrero & Ana Díaz-Aldret.- Chapter 13: Dismantling the Professional Career Service Policy in Mexico By María del Carmen Pardo.- Part 4: Conclusion.- Chapter 14: Dismantling Policies and Eroding Administrative Capacities. Latin American Lessons for a World in Democratic Retreat By Guillermo Cejudo, Johabed Olvera & Miguel González.