Tesis Phd Final

Understanding the policy process: actors, discourses and power relations in the political arena of tourism A CASE STUDY FROM MEXICO Rafael Guerrero Rodríguez Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. University of East Anglia School of International Development November 2011 ©This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with the author and that no quotation from the thesis, or any information derived may not be publishable without prior permission from the author. ! Abstract This study contributes to the discussion of development studies by offering an analysis of the policy process. It explores the introduction of a tourism policy with developmental purposes in Mexico in the late 1960s (Centros Integralmente Planeados or State-Planned Tourism Destinations). For this purpose, this research utilised an actor-oriented approach under the assumption that it can help to reflect more broadly on the processes surrounding policy-making activities that are characterised by the existence of multiple scenarios of conflict, negotiation, uncertainty and ambiguity. Above all, this approach was utilised to shed some light on the important role that human factors play in the formulation and implementation of development policies. Assisted by some of the elements considered by the “social interface” concept, this research was able to deconstruct the traditional notion of the policy process (i.e. as a top-down intervention) and conceive it, rather, as an ongoing, socially constructed and negotiative process. The core of this thesis focuses on the analysis of the interaction between human, structural and contextual factors in the selected policy process over time. Through the exploration of the different phases of the policy process (policy background, agenda setting, policy formulation, policy implementation and policy process evolution), this study attempts to illustrate the constant interplay of these three elements in the definition of policy agendas. The empirical evidence collected by this research suggests that this policy process effectively contributed to expanding the powers of the Mexican state in tourism development tasks leading to the reconfiguration of the relations between the state and the private sector and the institutional structures in the Mexican tourism industry at the national level. Through the examination of the case of Cancun, this research also illustrates the influential role played by this policy process at regional and local levels, transforming the traditional power structures and giving origin to new ones. This study aims to enhance our understanding not only of the processes related to policy-making but also of the commonly neglected political dimension of tourism. By describing the lessons experienced in Mexico and, more particularly, in Cancun, this research contributes to illustrating that tourism is in fact a highly contested political arena where an important number of interests and power relations are continuously expressed. ! "! Table of Contents ! Abstract……………………………………………………………………... 2 Table of Contents…………..……………………………………………….. 3 List of Figures and Graphs………………………………………………….. 9 List of Maps and Tables…………………….………………...…………….. 10 List of Acronyms………………………………….………………………... 11 Acknowledgments…………………………………...……………………… 15 ! CHAPTER 1 Introduction…………….………………………………….. 17 1.1 Understanding the policy process………………………………………. 17 1.2 Motivations of this study……………………………………………….. 19 1.2.1 Why tourism?................................................................................... 19 1.2.2 Tourism and Development: a love-hate relationship?...................... 22 1.2.3 The role of tourism as a development strategy……………………. 23 1.2.4 A journey into the political dimension of tourism………………… 25 1.3 Research questions……………………………………………………… 26 1.4 Thesis outline…………………………………………………………… 27 ! CHAPTER 2 Conceptual and analytical considerations…...…………...…………………………………………….. 32 2.1 Chapter outline………………………………………………………...... 32 2.2 Analysing policy-making: a process perspective……………………….. 33 2.3 An actor-oriented perspective to analyse policy-making…….................. 38 2.4 The concept of “social interface”……………………………………….. 43 2.5 A three-dimensional view of power…………………………………….. 51 2.6 Analytical approach…………………………………………………….. 55 2.7 Conclusions……………………………………………………………... 57 ! ! #! ! CHAPTER 3 Research strategies and methods………………...……..……............................................................. 60 3.1 Chapter outline………………………………………………………...... 60 3.2 A qualitative approach to understand policy-making processes…………………………………………………………………..... 61 3.3. Philosophical foundations……………………………………………… 63 3.4 Strategy of enquiry: a case study approach……………………………... 66 3.4.1 Mexico from the perspective of tourism…………………………... 68 3.4.2 Focus process: CIPs policy-making……………………………….. 71 3.4.3 Focus project: Cancun……………………………………………... 74 3.5 Fieldwork Stages……………………………………………………....... 76 3.5.1 First stage: Mexico City…………………………………………… 76 3.5.2 Second stage: Cancun……………………………………………... 83 3.5.3 Third stage: National Archives……………………………………. 92 3.6 Research Methods………………………………………………………. 93 3.6.1 Semi-structured interviews………………………………………... 94 3.6.1.1 Selection of informants………………………………………. 95 3.6.2 Documental research………………………………………………. 96 3.7 Data Analysis…………………………………………………………… 97 3.8 Ethical considerations…………………………………………………... 102 3.9 Conclusions……………………………………………………………... 104 ! CHAPTER 4 The interlocking of two agendas: tourism and development, 1930-1960…………………………………..…………......... 107 4.1 Chapter outline………………………………………………………...... 107 4.2 The development of two agendas………………………………………. 108 4.2.1 Building a nation………………………………………………....... 108 4.2.2 The emergence of a tourism agenda………………………............. 111 4.2.2.1 A focus on international tourism……………………………... 113 4.2.2.2 The first generation of institutions and ! $! networks surrounding tourism……………………………………….. 113 4.3 The first encounter of two agendas……………………………………... 117 4.3.1 An ideological impasse………………………………………......... 119 4.3.2 The war factor……………………………………………………... 122 4.4 Discourses of progress and modernisation……………………………... 125 4.4.1 Acapulco: the crown jewel………………………………………… 127 4.5 The consolidation of policy-making practices………………………….. 129 4.5.1 The Mexican Miracle……………………………………………… 130 4.5.1.1 The currency devaluation factor……………………………... 132 4.6 Institutionalisation of tourism……………………………………........... 133 4.6.1 A moral discourse surrounding tourism…………………………… 133 4.6.2 Institutionalisation process…………………………………............ 134 4.7 Jumping on the ‘development’ bandwagon: the interlocking of two agendas……………………………………………………………………… 137 4.7.1 A period of social and political unrest…………………………….. 137 4.7.2 The creation of developed and developing worlds………………... 138 4.7.3 International tourism boom………………………………………... 139 4.7.4 Setting the political ground for a new strategy of tourism development…………………………………………………….. 140 4.8 Conclusions……………………………………………………………... 144 ! CHAPTER 5 The emergence of the CIPs policy process…...…………... 146 5.1 Chapter outline………………………………………………………...... 146 5.2 Social constructions and policy process………………………………... 148 5.2.1 Discursive resources…………………………………………..…... 149 5.3 The phase of agenda setting…………………………………………….. 150 5.3.1 Ideologies, values, interests: institutional and power arrangements……………………………………………………... 151 5.4 Discourse in the making: state-led tourism development………………. 157 5.4.1 The problem definition: a tale of development……………………. 157 5.4.2 The symbolic representation of the economy: a story ! %! of decline………………………………………………………………… 160 5.4.3 Dimensioning the problem: the use of numbers…………………... 163 5.4.4 The causes of the marginal participation of tourism………………. 167 5.4.5 The representation of a ‘common’ interest………………………... 169 5.5 Policy formulation……………………………………………………… 170 5.5.1 The emergence of the CIPs policy…………………………............ 170 5.6 Conclusions……………………………………………………………... 176 ! CHAPTER 6 The encounter of two worlds: the implementation of the CIPs policy in the case of Cancun…………….…………………… 178! 6.1 Chapter outline………………………………………………………...... 178 6.2 Approaches to study policy implementation……………………………. 179 6.2.1 An actor-oriented perspective to analyse the implementation of CIPs policy……………………………………..…… 182 6.3 Implementation of the CIPs policy in the case of Cancun…………….... 184 6.3.1 The setting………………………………………………………… 184 6.3.1.1 Physical conditions…………………………………………... 185 6.3.1.2 Social and economic conditions……………………………… 188 6.3.2 Experiences on the ground: clash of cultural paradigms………………………………………………………. 191 6.3.3 Actors’ organisation surrounding the CIPs policy………………… 198 6.3.3.1 The institutional structure……………………………………. 198 6.3.3.2 Governance surrounding CIPs……………………………….. 203 6.3.3.3 Power arrangements…………………………………….......... 206 6.4 The effects of the CIPs policy at national and local levels……………... 209 6.5 Conclusions……………………………………………………………... 214 ! CHAPTER 7 The rise and fall of Cancun……...………………………... 218 7.1 Chapter outline………………………………………………………….. 218 ! &! 7.2 The Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC): understanding the evolution of a tourism destination…………………………………………... 220 7.3 The development stage (1975-1981)………………………………...…. 223 7.3.1 A statistical picture of the development stage…………………….. 224 7.3.2 Discourse versus reality…………………………………………… 228 7.3.3 Two

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