Scope and Limitations of Institutional Innovations in Mexico. Reproduction of Political Inequality?

The goal of this paper is to show the scope and limitations of institutional innovations formally designed to foster greater political inclusion through complementing traditional forms of political representation by means of direct participation and shared governance. To do so, I present empirical evidence from the work of consultative bodies related to decision-making processes in four regulatory domains: the use of transgenic seeds; the regulation of the telecommunications; the restriction of junk food in schools; and the control of carbon emissions from automobiles. Impacting the economic, social, and political interests of a wide variety of stakeholders (from consumers to big business and government), these processes constitute a “living laboratory” in which we may assess the effectiveness of institutional innovations. Ultimately, this paper contributes to discuss, with empirical evidence, the reproduction of political inequality, despite putatively democratic innovations.