In the transition to democracy the territorial dimension of politics has become increasingly relevant for the study of politics in Latin America. With the decentralization reforms of the 1980s and 1990s particularly in federal states subnational political actors got more and more important players in the political process. However, although subnational actors gained more power in the national polities, decentralization has not led to a significant democratization at the local and regional level. Too often local elites and regional politicians tried to capture state resources to consolidate their (illiberal) power or to block initiatives and reform projects (for example fiscal policy reforms). Taking a closer look at the bargaining process between the national and subnational political actors since the government of Carlos Salinas in Mexico and that of Carlos Menem in Argentina this paper argues that territorial politics changed in the light of transition. While in the authoritarian period territorial politics were guided “from above” through the national government in the transition and post-liberal period complex bargaining processes between the national and subnational political actors take place. Focussing two arenas of territorial struggle, the federal fiscal relations and the social policy programmes the paper discuss how such bargaining processes challenge party-based stability and open new opportunities for local and regional political actors. Moreover it gives insights on the transformative process of formerly populist authoritarian parties, the PJ in Argentina and the PRI in Mexico.
