Fragmented State Capacity: External Dependencies, Subnational Actors, and Local Public Services in Bolivia

356 Pages·2019·7.52 MB·English

by  Marco Just Quiles

Marco Just Quiles
Fragmented
State Capacity
External Dependencies,
Subnational Actors, and Local
Public Services in Bolivia
Fragmented State Capacity
Marco Just Quiles
Fragmented State
Capacity
External Dependencies, Subnational
Actors, and Local Public Services in
Bolivia
Marco Just Quiles
Lateinamerika-Institut (LAI)
Freie Universität Berlin
Berlin, Germany
Dissertation Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, 2017
ISBN 978-3-658-25793-4 ISBN 978-3-658-25794-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-25794-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019935538
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Acknowledgments
During the years of research, I was fortunate to experience the generosity of
many wonderful people. The resulting support and inspiration helped pave
the way for me to complete this academic and personal endeavor.
First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my two Ph.D.
supervisors, Marianne Braig and Rodrigo Rodrigues-Silveira, who have sup-
ported me since our first encounters in graduate school. It is owing to their
extraordinary professional and personal qualities that I received the best
mentoring I could wish for.
This work has grown from the lively exchange of ideas with many
friends and colleagues affiliated with the Institute for Latin American
Studies (LAI) at Freie Universität Berlin. I would like to thank all the mem-
bers of the political science colloquium, who always provided me with their
clever and fruitful advice. In particular, I would like to thank Markus-
Michael Müller, Markus Hochmüller, Lucia Fuchs-Sawert, Carlos Alba Villa-
lever, Verónica Villarreal, Marcela Suárez, Zirahuén Villamar, and Juana
Castro.
Special thanks go out to the members and professors of the Interna-
tional Research Training Group “Between Spaces”. I very much enjoyed the
rich conversations and joyful moments, especially with my companions
Cuauhtémoc Medrano, Kevin Niebauer, Manuel Aßner, Kenya Herrera,
Ximena Alba Villalever, Katharina Farys, Lorena Rodríguez, Luis Aguirre
Montaño, and Felipe Rubio. For their kind support and advice I would also
like to thank Jean François Prud´homme, Sérgio Costa, Carlos Alba Vega, 
Ricardo Pérez Montfort, Barbara Fritz, Stefan Rinke, Alberto Aziz Nassif, and
Stephanie Schütze.
Certainly, this work would have taken a different path without the great
companionship of several colleagues from the research network desiguAL-
dades.net and the follow-up project trAndeS. I am extremely grateful for all
the excellent conversations I had with visiting scholars, particularly Juliana
Ströbele-Gregor and Lena Lavinas, as well as for the great support of the
scientific staff, especially Bettina Schorr, Anna Wickes-Neira, Paul Talcott,
and Frauke Berg. Without doubt, the most important discussions for the
vi Acknowledgments
elaboration of this work arose with my fellow fiscalistas Constantin Groll,
María Fernanda Valdés, Markus Rauchecker, and Jorge Atria. Likewise,
working on this book would have surely been only half as enjoyable without
the friendship of my fellow camaradas Francisco Robles-Rivera, Julián
Cárdenas, Manuel Góngera-Mera, and Edgar Zavala-Pelayo.
During my research visits in Mexico and Salamanca (Spain), I appre-
ciated the guidance and hospitality of numerous people. In particular, I
thank my good friends Miguel  Ángel Berber, Rebeca Berber, Pablo
Andrade, Sonia Medina, and Mariana Beristain for sharing with me the rich
facets of Mexico. In Salamanca I was welcomed by a wonderful group of
companions, especially Emerson Urizzi, Asbel Bohigues, Fran Olucha, José
Manuel Rivas, Mélany Barragán, and Beatriz Tomé.
Probably I am most indebted to the people I have met during my re-
search visits in Bolivia. In particular, I am thankful to Moira Zuazo, who
supported me where she could. I was also fortunate to have many conversa-
tions that were crucial for the development of this book. While I cannot
name everybody, I thank Santiago Daroca Oller, Fernando Mayorga,
Armando Ortuño, Vladimir Ameller, José Alejandro Peres-Cajías, the CIS
team under Bianca de Marchi Moyano, Verónica Paz Arauco, Franz Flores
Castro, Paula Peña Hasbún, Eduardo and Christina Machicado, Juan César
Rojas, Paul Arceal, José Luís Parada, Ana Maria Lema, René Quintana
Romero, Milton Echalar, and Pedro Menacho Torres. As always, I very much
appreciated the company of my friends Fernando, Mauricio, Arturo, and the
Bravo family in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
Meanwhile at home, I counted on the support of my friends David,
Jagoda, Martin, Sebastian, Frederik, Max, and Steffi. Of course, the most im-
portant personal encouragement I received was from my parents, Maria and
Angel, my sister Katrin, and Dominique, who backed me up with her profes-
sional advice and supportive love, while encouraging me to believe in my
ideas.
Finally, I am greatly indebted to dozens of nameless people I have met
and many adventures I have experienced over the years of traveling
through this amazing country, Bolivia. When the hours behind the desk
appeared endless, these were the memories that kept me motivated.
Table of Contents

1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1
1.1 A Novel Approach to Subnational Variations of
State Capacity in Bolivia .................................................................................. 4
1.2 Research Question and Central Argument ............................................. 6
1.3 Studying State Capacity: What Do We Know? .................................... 10
1.4 Bolivia: A Paradigmatic Case in Latin America
and Beyond ....................................................................................................... 12
1.5 Conceptualizing and Measuring State Capacity ................................ 14
1.6 The Historical Development of Subnational State Capacity in
Bolivia .................................................................................................................. 17
1.7 Mixed-Method Research Design and Data Issues ............................. 20
1.8 Applying the Argument and Implications of the Results .............. 22
2 Theorizing Fragmented State Capacity ..................................................... 27
2.1 Studying the State: From “Bringing the State
Back in” to State Capacity ............................................................................ 31
2.1.1 The Weberian Legacy in Neo-Statist Research ............. 33
2.1.2 New Perspectives on State Capacity
from the Postcolonial World ................................................. 35
2.1.3 State Capacity Lessons from Contemporary Latin
America .......................................................................................... 42
2.2 State Capacity as a Research Object ....................................................... 43
2.3 The Determinants of State Capacity ....................................................... 52
2.4 The External Dimension of State Capacity .......................................... 61
2.5 The Debate on State Formation and State
Capacity in Bolivia .......................................................................................... 64
viii Contents
2.6 Theorizing Fragmented State Capacity: Sketching
the Research Gap ............................................................................................. 67
3 Contemporary Public Service Variations in Bolivia .............................. 71
3.1 Local Public Service Variations in Bolivia ............................................ 72
3.1.1 A Public Service Approach to State Capacity ................. 73
3.1.2 Measuring State Capacity: The State Density
Index (SDI) .................................................................................... 79
3.1.3 Descriptive Analysis of the State Density
Index Bolivia ............................................................................... 85
3.2 The Determinants of Local Public Service
Variations in Bolivia.................................................................................... 103
3.2.1 Independent Variables: Data and
Operationalization .............................................................. 103
3.2.2 Results of the Correlation Computation ....................... 110
3.2.3 Multiple Regression Analysis of the
State Density Index 2012 .................................................... 113
4 Tracing the Origins of Fragmented State Capacity
in Bolivia ........................................................................................................... 119
4.1 The External Dimension of State Territorialization:
A Heuristic Conceptualization ................................................................ 121
4.2 The External Dimension of State Territorialization:
The Historical Analysis .............................................................................. 132
4.2.1 State Service Development in the Andean
Mining Areas (1870–1925) ................................................ 132
4.2.2 State Service Development in the Tropics and
Rural Highlands (1870–1952) .......................................... 165
4.2.3 State Service Development in the Bolivian
Lowlands (1940–1990) ....................................................... 177
Contents ix

4.3 The Origins of Fragmented State Capacity in Bolivia:
Concluding Remarks ................................................................................... 208
5 Fragmented State Capacity in Four Typical Bolivian
Municipalities .................................................................................................. 213
5.1 Method, Case Selection and Main Findings ...................................... 213
5.2 Colquechaca (Province of Chayanta, Potosí Department) ......... 221
5.3 Presto (Province of Jaime Zudáñez, Chuquisaca
Department) ................................................................................................... 235
5.4 Caraparí (Province of Gran Chaco, Tarija Department) ............. 247
5.5 Mairana (Province of Florida, Santa Cruz Department) ............. 261
5.6 Results and Conclusion of the Case Analysis ................................... 272
6 Conclusion: Fragmented State Capacity .................................................. 277
6.1 Empirical Findings: Fragmented State Capacity
in Bolivia .......................................................................................................... 280
6.2 Theoretical and Practical Implications .............................................. 284
6.3 Limitations of the Study and Recommendations
for Future Research .................................................................................... 287
Annex ..................................................................................................................... 291
Bibliography ........................................................................................................ 313
List of Figures
Figure 1: The Emergence and Development of Local Public Services
in Bolivia .................................................................................................................. 7
Figure 2: Ranking of Public Service Levels per Department
in the 20th Century ............................................................................................ 18
Figure 3: Two-Sided Public Service Provision Process ....................................... 76
Figure 4: Measures of Location and Dispersion of the SDI Bolivia 2012 ..... 86
Figure 5: Box Plot of the SDI Bolivia 2012 per Department
and National Mean ........................................................................................... 89
Figure 6: Correlation and Scatter Plots of the SDI 2001/2012 ..................... 101
Figure 7: The Bolivian “Field of Power” and the Impact of External
Factors ................................................................................................................ 127
Figure 8: The Emergence of Public Services in Bolivia ..................................... 131
Figure 9: London Silver Price Development, 1855–1914 in Pence
per Ounce .......................................................................................................... 139
Figure 10: Total Population per Department in 1900 ......................................... 142
Figure 11: Urban Population per Department in 1900 ....................................... 143
Figure 12: Government Expenditure per Sector as Relative Contribution
in %, 1901 ......................................................................................................... 144
Figure 13: Government Expenditure per Selected Public
Services, 1901 ................................................................................................. 146
Figure 14: Contribution of Commodity Exports to State
Income in %, 1882–1902 ........................................................................... 153
Figure 15: Total Government Expenditure per Sector in
Percent, 1925 ................................................................................................... 156
Figure 16: Tin Production according to Departments and Largest
Mining Districts .............................................................................................. 160
Figure 17: Tin exports (Tons) and Mining Tax (% of tot. Revenues),
1900–1952 ........................................................................................................ 181
Figure 18: National Petroleum Production and Royalties of Santa Cruz,
1925–1994 ........................................................................................................ 196
Figure 19: Spending of Corporations per Department in
Current Bol., 1970–1982 ............................................................................ 201