Implementation of indigenous public policies and tensions to governance: evidences from the Chilean case

ABSTRACT

The search for good governance has become a challenge for the Latin American States in response to the demands of representation of indigenous peoples that have emerged as political actors in the last decades. In contexts of Nation-State and Weberian bureaucracies, the analysis of the indigenous policy implementation process shows the tension to governance models and the relevance to incorporate concepts as power, hegemony, or exclusion. From the Chilean case, this article analyzes the tensions, values, and interests that arise in governance contexts, based on an analysis model that shows the difficulties in defining the rules of governance, the processes of adjustment and cultural mismatch, the political and economic influence on the implementation process, between others. The main information arises from in-depth interviews applied to 44 key actors who have played a role at different stages in the process of implementation, along with press analysis and official documents.

KEYWORDS:

• Governance
• public policy
• indigenous people
• implementation process
• latin America
• chile

Recent publications

• Figueroa Huencho, Verónica and Araya Orellana, Juan Pablo (2020). ‘Representative Bureaucracy: Exploring the Factors that Inhibit Active Representation in Indigenous Managers from a Latin American Case’. International Journal of Public Administration. DOI: 10.1080/01900692.2020.1773496. online: 10 junio 2020.

• Figueroa Huencho, Verónica; Lagos, Cristian; Manríquez, Mónica; and Rebolledo, Jame (2020). ‘Implementation challenges in public policies towards indigenous peoples: the impact of health policies in urban contexts’. Journal of Intercultural Studies. DOI:10.1080/07256868.2020.1779201. online: 16 junio 2020.

• Figueroa Huencho, Verónica (2019). ‘Governance and indigenous peoples: new challenges to their conceptualization and implementation’. In Farazmand, A. (ed.) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Florida: Springer International Publishing AG.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. In Chile, the 12.8% of the population of the country is considered to belong to an indigenous people, of which one: (a) 79.8% was recognized as Mapuche, (b) 7.2% Aymara, (c) a 4.1 Diaguita, (d) a 1.5 Quechua, (e), a 1.4 Lican Antai, (f) a 0.9% Colla, (g) a 0.4 Rapa Nui, (h) a 0,1% Kawesqar and (i) a 0.1% Yagan.

2. https://www.latercera.com/nacional/noticia/las-empresas-forestales-se-sientan-la-mesa/492587/.

3. This Council is chaired by the director and composed of representatives of 5 Ministries (General Secretariat of the Ministry of the Presidency, Social Development, Agriculture, Education and National Assets), three indigenous councilors appointed by the President and eight indigenous representatives elected directly by the communities.

4. http://www.derechoshumanos.udp.cl/derechoshumanos/images/InformeAnual/2019/03_Derechos_humanos_de_los_pueblos_indigenas.pdf.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Verónica Figueroa Huencho

Verónica Figueroa Huencho Associate professor at the Institute of Public Affairs (INAP), University of Chile. Public administrator of the University of Chile (2001). Ph.D. in Management Sciences (ESADE-Universidad Ramón Lull) (2007). Visiting scholar at the Center for Latin American Studies (Stanford University, 2013) and at the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (Harvard University, 2020). Her main line of research is governance, and the process of formulation and implementation of indigenous public policies in contexts of diversity.