Crossed wires? The privatization of public utilities and the rise of consumer movements in Latin America, 1985--2000: A case study of telecommunications (Chile, Argentina, Brazil).

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This dissertation analyzes a problem inherent in the co-development of democracy and markets: how can governments simultaneously make credible commitments to foreign investors and respond to the demands of their own citizens? It explores this question through an in-depth exploration of privatization and regulatory policy. The point of departure for the argument is the observation that the privatization of public utility companies caused consumer movements to emerge in democratic countries in Latin America in the 1980s and 1990s. I argue that privatization had this effect by provoking a change in what social movements theorists refer to as the political opportunity structure facing politicians, civil society leaders, and other political entrepreneurs. Among public services, the telecommunications sector was especially likely to mobilize consumers because of the nature of changes in its tariff structure associated with privatization along with its overall increasing importance to economic and social life. Comparative case studies of the politics of telecommunications regulation in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil portray this causality at work as only narrative case studies can do. The case studies also illuminate differences in the levels of contentiousness and institutionalization of consumer movements across countries. These differences are largely explained by differences in the political institutions in each country and the speed and sequencing of the privatization process. Secondary analysis of other Latin American countries supports the validity of the hypotheses.
By explaining the emergence of consumer movements in individual countries as well comparing Latin America to other world regions, the dissertation contributes new ideas to theoretical and policy-oriented discussions of democracy, economic reform, and globalization in the fields of comparative and international politics. The subject matter of the dissertation thus lies at the intersection of democratic theory, political economy, and public policy. The methodological approach is likewise a bridge between schools of thought who do not communicate often, drawing ideas and tools from rational choice theories of political economy as well as comparative studies of democratization, interest representation, and social movements.