Citizen participation in water and sanitation management

Abstract

This article analyzes how the adoption of citizen participation objectives improved public control in water and sanitation management during the Frente Amplio governments in Uruguay (2005-2020). It is suggested that there is causal relationship between the increased non-electoral vertical control and the formulation of a participatory policy. The methodological design was a comparative qualitative analysis, using process tracing based on the analytical framework of public policies design. The evidence, based on state instruments (Hood, 1987), shows that citizen participation improved democratic controls in water and sanitation policies. It was due to the fact that, upon takin office, the Frente Amplio government adopted explicit objectives of citizen participation in its public policies, which led to the deployment of institutional mechanisms by the state to stablish laws, create instances, and enforce decrees that improved the collaboration between the state and non-statal actors involved in the sectoral policies.