PA 580 Comparative Public Administration Between Mexico and Brazil
PA 580 Comparative Public Administration Between
Mexico and Brazil
Fall 2014
Tuesday 7:00-9:40 pm, Room: PSFA 380
Profesor: María del Rosio Barajas
Phone: (619) 594-3979
Fax: (619) 594-5474
Email: rbarajas@colef.mx
Office: 380 CLAS, Arts and Letters
Office Hours: Tuesday 4 to 7 pm. and by appointment
Course Description:
This course compares the administrative organizations of Mexico and Brazil as they are
two of the largest and most important countries economically in North-America and LatinAmerica. Special interest will be given to the analysis of their political and governmental
systems evolution and their main policies to achieve socio-economic development.
PA 580 Comparative Public Administration Between Mexico and Brazil
The experience of colonialism and dictatorial regimes in both countries will be briefly
analyzed in order to understand the new political configuration of Mexico and Brazil in
terms of State and government organization. In addition, this course will analyze the
economic systems in both countries, from their participation in agricultural and mining
activities evolving to the industrialization based on import substitution.
In order to understand the recent socio-economic performance of these two countries, we
will discuss the impacts of the economic breakdown of the 1980s by analyzing social
indicators like poverty, inequality, and labor conditions. The analysis will be performed in
the context of the macroeconomic measures (dictated by the international organizations
such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank) implemented to confront their
large external debts.
The course will address discussions about the role of Mexico and Brazil in the globalization
era, regional integration, and the participation of both countries in an economic growth
model based on exports; and the different policies that these countries have designed and
implemented to achieve economic growth and development. In this context, the analysis of
the institutional framework is very important to understand how these countries conduct
public policies and create different types of governance.
Considering the global economy context and the participation of developed countries in a
knowledge society, it will be important to debate on how Mexico and Brazil implement
public policies at different levels including human capital, innovation, sustainability, urban
development, trans border governance, poverty and inequality (considering the role of
ethnicity, gender, precariousness and migration).
Goals and Objectives:
After completing the course, students should be able to understand the differences
between Mexico and Brazil in terms of their political system and administrative
organization. Students will develop the capacity to understand two complex societies that
are successful at the macro-economic sphere but still have serious problems related to
income distribution, eradication of poverty, and education. However, students will
understand the differences of both countries in terms of their performance and capacities.
PA 580 Comparative Public Administration Between Mexico and Brazil
By the end of this course, undergraduate students will have the ability to:

Understand the different processes Mexico and Brazil have been undergoing.

Possess the tools to analyze the different public policies designed and implemented
to improve the quality of life and competitiveness of these regions.
Course requirements:

Students are responsible for all assigned reading-handouts, active class involvement
in discussions and other activities. Readings are available in Blackboard.

Attendance is mandatory.

Students are required to take a midterm and a final exam (short identification/
essay questions). Students are also required to write a policy paper (7-10 pages,
double-spaced) due in class. Further instructions will be announced.

In addition, students are responsible for monitoring daily news on issues related to
Mexico and Brazil and periodically presenting news bits and own analyses of these
issues to the class
Grading:
The following evaluation criteria will be used. All the participants have the
opportunity to succeed in this course.
Grading Criteria
Percent
Midterm
Control Reading (2)
Second Exam
Control Reading (2)
Written Final Paper
25
10
25
10
20
Class Attendance and Participation 10
Total
100
PA 580 Comparative Public Administration Between Mexico and Brazil
Characteristics of the Written Project:
 7-10 pages, 12 font number, doubled spaced.
 Paper on some comparative policies between Mexico and Brazil, which are
addressed in the syllabus.
 It is mandatory to cite references, as well as to search for other information
sources (new articles, books, newspapers, written reports, statistics and
interviews if you wish).
 You should to use MLA style, www.mla.org. Style.
Academic Integrity:
Academic integrity is expected on this written project. Plagiarism, cheating and/or
fabrication or falsification of research will be punished. The penalty for any of these
situations will result in a failing grade for the course.
This Final letter grades will be based on the following scale:
Letter
Grade
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DE
Percentage
100-92
91-90
89-88
87-82
81-80
79-76
75-73
72-70
69-66
65-63
62-60
59
PA 580 Comparative Public Administration Between Mexico and Brazil
Course Policies:
The content of the weekly schedule is tentative. It is subject to revisions and changes
whenever necessary in the interest of your learning.
Mandatory book:

Skidmore, Thomas E., Peter H. Smith and James N. Green. Modern Latin America.
Seventh Edition, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Course Schedule:
Session 1. Course introduction
08/2
Presentation of the syllabus
6
Session 2. The construction of the federal state and Democracy in Mexico and Brazil:
Latin American countries under colonialism and dictatorial regimes (1600-1900)
PA 580 Comparative Public Administration Between Mexico and Brazil
09/0

2
Skidmore, Thomas E., Peter H. Smith and James N. Green. Modern Latin
America.
Seventh Edition, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press,
2010:
Chapter 1. Why Latin America, pp.3-13.
Chapter 2. The Colonial Foundations, pp. 14-41.
Chapter 3. Mexico: The Taming of a Revolution, pp. 45-81.
Chapter 1. Brazil. The Awakening Giant, pp.306-348.
Recommended Bibliography:

Grahm, Lawrence S, and Allison M. Rowland. “Two centuries of Federalism
in
Brazil,
Mexico
and
the
USA”.
Governance
in
the
Americas:
Decentralization, Democracy, and Subnational Government in Brazil, Mexico,
and the USA. Ed. Robert H. Wilson, Ed. Peter M. Ward, Ed. Peter K. Spink,
and Ed. Victoria Rodrigues. Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame,
2008. pp. 38-87.

Blake, Charles, and Stephen D. Morris. “Introduction, Political and
Analytical Challenges of Corruption in Latin America”. Corruption and
Democracy in Latin America. Ed. Charles H. Blake, Ed. Stephen D. Morris.
Philadelphia: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009. pp. 1-22.
Session 3. Mexico and Brazil under the first International Division of Labor:
the agricultural and mining sectors.
09/0
9

Duquette Michel, Building New Democracies. Economic and Social Reform in
Brazil, Chile and Mexico. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999:
Chapter 16. Agrarian Reform and the Modernization of Agriculture, pp.
PA 580 Comparative Public Administration Between Mexico and Brazil
185-195.

. De Grammont, Hubert C. “The Agricultural Sector and Rural Development
in Mexico: Consequences of Economic Globalization”. Confronting
Development. Ed. Kevin J. Middlebrook and Ed. Eduardo Zepeda. Stanford,
California: Stanford University press, 2003. Pp. 350-381.
Session 4. Economic and political development in Mexico and Brazil: The pattern of
Industrialization by Import Substitution (IIS) and the Bureaucratic-Authoritarian
Regimes.
09/1

6
Skidmore, Thomas E., Peter H. Smith and James N. Green. Modern Latin
America.
Seventh Edition, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press,
2010:
Chapter 12. Strategies for Economic Development, p. 351-375.

Ward, John. Latin America: Development and Conflict since 1945. Second
Edition, London: Rutledge, 1997:
Chapter 2. Economic development: ISI, pp.20-37.

Skidmore, Thomas E., Peter H. Smith and James N. Green. Modern Latin
America. Seventh Edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010:
Chapter 13. Dynamics of Political Transformations, pp. 376-402.
Recommended Bibliography:

Roja-Suarez Liliana (editor). Growing Pains in Latin America. An Economic
Growth Framework as applied to Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and
Peru. Center for Global Development, Washington, D.C., 2009.
Session 5. The results of the “Lost Decade” (1980s) for Mexico and Brazil: Poverty
and Inequality.
09/2
3

Boltvinik, Julio. “Welfare, Inequality, and Poverty in Mexico, 1970´s-2000.
Confronting Development. Ed. Kevin J. Middlebrook and Ed. Eduardo
PA 580 Comparative Public Administration Between Mexico and Brazil
Zepeda. Stanford, California: Stanford University press, 2003. pp. 385-346.

Holzner,
A. Claudio. “Neoliberal Reforms, the State, and Opportunities for Political
Participation”. Poverty of Democracy: The Institutional Roots of Political
Participation in Mexico. Ed. John Charles Chasteen, Ed. Catherine M.
Conaghan. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2010.
pp. 51-99.
Recommended Bibliography:

Abel,
Christopher, and Colin M. Lewis. 2002, Exclusion and Social Policy in Latin
America. London, Institute of Latin American Studies, 2002.
Session 6. Globalization and Export Model of Growth in Mexico and Brazil:
US investment and labor market.
09/3

0
Bera, Janine, Christopher Ernst and Peter Auer. Meeting the Employment
Challenge. Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico in the Global Economy. Colorado:
Lynne Rhynner Publishers, 2006.
Chapter 2. The Evolution of the Labor Market in Argentina, Brazil, and
Mexico, pp. 9-44.
Chapter 7. Social Dialogue and Employment, pp. 167-200.

Gereffi,
Jerry. “Mexico´s industrial Development: Climbing Ahead or Falling Behind
in the World Economy”. Confronting Development. Ed. Kevin J. Middlebrook
and Ed. Eduardo Zepeda. Stanford, California: Stanford University press,
2003. pp. 195-240.
Recommended Bibliography:

Gallagher Kevin P., and Lyuba Zarsky.
The Enclave Economy. Foreign
Investment and Sustainable Development in Mexico’s Silicon Valley,
Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2007, PP. 43-69.

Brainard Lael and Leonard Martinez-Diaz, 2009, Brazil as an
Economic Superpower? Understanding Brazil’s Changing Role in
PA 580 Comparative Public Administration Between Mexico and Brazil
the Global Economy.

Middlebrook,
Kevin,
J.,
and
Eduardo
Zepeda,
2003,
Confronting
Development. Assessing Mexico’s Economic and Social Policy Challenges,
Stanford University Press, Stanford, Ca.
Session 7. Mid-Term
10/0
7
Session 8. The corruption and democracy in Mexico and Brazil.
10/1

4
Thacker, Strom. “Democracy, Economic Policy, and Political Corruption in
Comparative Perspective”. Corruption and Democracy in Latin America. Ed.
Charles H. Blake & Stephen D. Morris. Philadelphia: University of Pittsburgh
Press, 2009, pp. 25-45.

Morris, Stephen. “Corruption and Democracy at the State Level in Mexico”.
Corruption and Democracy in Latin America. Ed. Charles H. Blake & , Stephen
D. Morris. Philadelphia: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009. pp.150-168.

Taylor, Matthew. “Corruption, Accountability Reforms, and Democracy in
Brazil”. Corruption and Democracy in Latin America. Ed. Charles H. Blake &
Stephen D. Morris. Philadelphia: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009. pp.150168.
Recommended Bibliography:

Holzner, Claudia A. Poverty of Democracy. The Institutional Roots of Political
Participation in Mexico. Pittsburg: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2010. Pp.
1-19, 51-99 and 195-215.

Lamounie Bolivar, ¨Brazil: The Hyperactive Paralysis Syndrome¨.
Constructing Democratic Governance. Latin America and the
PA 580 Comparative Public Administration Between Mexico and Brazil
Caribbean in the 1990’s. Ed. Dominguez, Jorge, and Abraham
Rosenthal. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 1996.
Pp.166-187.

Dresser Denise. ¨Mexico: The Decline of Dominant-Party Rule¨.
Constructing Democratic Governance. Latin America and the
Caribbean in the 1990’s. Ed. Dominguez, Jorge, and Abraham
Lowenthal. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 1996.
Pp. 159-184.
Session 9. The new institutional framework to conduct public policies and governance
in Mexico and Brazil.
10/2

1
Lehoucq Fabrice, et al. ¨Policymaking in Mexico: Under One-Party Hegemony
and Divided Government¨. Policymaking in Latin American: How Politics
Shapes Policies. Ed. Stein Ernesto and et al. Washington DC: Inter-American
Development Bank, 2008. Pp.287-328.

Alston Lee J. et al. ¨On the Road to Good Governance: Recovering from
Economic and Political Shocks in Brazil¨. Policymaking in Latin American:
How Politics Shapes Policies. Ed. Stein Ernesto and et al. Washington DC:
Inter-American Development Bank, 2008. Pp.111-163.
Recommended Bibliography:

Melo, Marcus, and Falvio Rezende. “Decentralization and Governance in
Brazil”. Decentralization and Democratic Governance in Latin America. Ed
Joseph S Tulchin, Ed. Andrew Seele. Washington D.C: Woodrow Wilson
International Center for Scholars, 2004. pp. 37-66.

Mizrahi, Yemile. “Mexico: Decentralization from Above”. Decentralization
and Democratic Governance in Latin America. Ed Joseph S Tulchin, Ed.
Andrew Seele. Washington D.C: Woodrow Wilson International Center for
Scholars, 2004. Pp. 137-165.
PA 580 Comparative Public Administration Between Mexico and Brazil
Session 10. The role of public policies on the formation of Human Capital and
Innovation capacities to produce socio-economic development and to improve
labor market conditions in Mexico and Brazil.
10/2

8
Gomez, Roberto Rodríguez, and Villa-Lever, Lorenza. “Education and
Development in Mexico: Middle and Higher Education Policies in the
1990´s”. Confronting Development. Ed. Kevin J. Middlebrook and Ed.
Eduardo Zepeda. Stanford, California: Stanford University press, 2003. pp.
277-319. Print.

Laurell, Asa Cristina. “The Transformation of Social Policy in Mexico”.
Education and Development in Mexico: Middle and Higher Education
Policies in the 1990´s”. Confronting Development. Ed. Kevin J. Middlebrook
and Ed. Eduardo Zepeda. Stanford, California: Stanford University press,
2003. pp. 320-349. Print.

Klasen Stephan and Felicitas Nowak-Lehmann, Poverty, Inequality, and
Policy in Latin America, the MIT Press, Cambridge Massachusetts, 2009.
Session 11. The challenges to reduce poverty and inequality in Mexico and
Brazil: Policies to confront ethnicity, gender, precariousness and migration.
11/0

4
Alarcon, Diana. ¨Income Distribution and Poverty Alleviation in Mexico: A
Comparative Analysis. ¨ Confronting Development. Ed. Kevin J. Middlebrook
and Ed. Eduardo Zepeda. Stanford, California: Stanford University press,
2003. Pp. 447-486.

Patricia Portuny Loret De Mola. “Converted Women Redefining Their
Family Roles in Mexico”. Family, Religion, and Social Change in Diverse
Societies. Ed. Sharon K. Houseknecht, and Jerry G. Pankhurst. New York,
New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. pp.363-386.

Souza-Lima, Antonio Carlos. “Indigenism in Brazil: The International
Migration of State Policies”. Empires, Federico Neiburg, Ed. Lygia Sigaud.
Duke University Press, 2005. pp.197-222.
PA 580 Comparative Public Administration Between Mexico and Brazil
Recommended Bibliography:
 Salas, Carlos, and Zepeda, Eduardo, “Employment and Wages: Enduring the
Costs of Liberalization and Economic Reform”. Confronting Development.
Ed. Kevin J. Middlebrook and Ed. Eduardo Zepeda. Stanford, California:
Stanford University press, 2003. pp. 522-558. Print.

Session 12. Sustainability and Urban development in Mexico and Brazil:
11/1

1
Ghallagher, Kevin, and Lyuba Zarsky. The Enclave Economy: Foreign
Investment and Sustainable Development in Mexico´s Silicon Valley.
Massachusetts: Massachussets Institute of Technology, 2007. pp. 71-97.

Garza, Gustavo. “The Dialectics of Urban and Regional Disparities in
Mexico”. Confronting Development. Ed. Kevin J. Middlebrook and Ed.
Eduardo Zepeda. Stanford, California: Stanford University press, 2003. pp.
487-521.
Session 13. The subnational governments in Mexico and Brazil:
11/1

8
Rodriguez, Victoria, and Peter K. Spink, and Peter M. Ward. “The changing
Institutional Capacity of Subnational Government: toward Effective cogovernance”. Governance in the Americas: Decentralization, Democracy, and
Subnational Government in Brazil, Mexico, and the USA. Ed. Robert H.
Wilson, Ed. Peter M. Ward, Ed. Peter K. Spink, and Ed. Victoria Rodrigues.
Indiana: University of Notre Dame, 2008. Pp. 88-144.

Santos-Farah, et al. “Intergovernmental Relations and the Subnational
State: The Decentralization of Public Policy Making”. Governance in the
Americas: Decentralization, Democracy, and Subnational Government in
Brazil, Mexico, and the USA. Ed. Wilson H. Robert, et al. Indiana: University
of Notre Dame, 2008. Pp.145-200.

Rodrigues, Victoria, et al. “Decentralization and the Subnational State”.
Governance in the Americas: Decentralization, Democracy, and Subnational
Government in Brazil, Mexico, and the USA. Ed. Wilson, Robert H., et al.
PA 580 Comparative Public Administration Between Mexico and Brazil
Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame, 2008. pp. 1-37.
Session 14. Final Exam.
12/0
2
Session 15. Final remarks on Mexico and Brazil’s public policies.
12/0
9
Recommended Readings:
Session 16. No class. Turn in Written Project.
12/1
6