Evading the Patronage Trap: Interest Representation in Mexico

Brian Palmer-Rubin
University of Michigan Press, 2022

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Why do farmers and small-business owners so often struggle to shape the economic policies that affect their livelihoods—even when they are organized? Evading the Patronage Trap examines how interest organizations in Mexico can give these producers a political voice, and why many instead become brokers for discretionary government benefits.

Drawing on more than 100 interviews, an original survey, and government data, I compare agricultural and small-business organizations across states governed by the PRI, PAN, and PRD. The book explains how organizations’ relationships with their members and political parties shape their capacity to advocate for economic opportunity.

The central argument is that patronage can become a trap. Organizations that specialize in securing subsidies and social-program benefits may improve members’ short-term incomes while leaving the policies governing their long-term economic prospects unchanged. When representation takes this form, the demands of large corporations and other economic elites continue to dominate.

Yet some organizations escape this pattern. By examining how they build the capacity to make broader policy demands, the book identifies possibilities for more inclusive interest representation—and for development policies that better serve ordinary producers.

The dissertation on which this book is based received APSA’s Harold D. Lasswell Award for Best Dissertation in Public Policy.