The Road decentralization in developmental times (Argentina, 1955-1966)

Abstract

Based on the study of the institutional configuration and public policies of the National Highway Directorate (Argentina) between 1955 and 1966, the work seeks to provide empirical evidence - based on the content analysis of government reports, regulations, technical reports, conferences and publications periodic - on the processes of construction of competencies and jurisdictions of a little-known state agency beyond its founding stage. In order to periodize and problematize their performance, in a context in which experts exalted the value of infrastructure as one of the keys to regional development, it will be studied in what sense the new road regime altered the margin of freedom and maneuver that the provincial governments in terms of resources and powers. The hypothesis is that in the middle of the 20th century, the encouragement of decentralization –fiscal and administrative– in road matters redefined a state morphology that strengthened provincial autonomies, although the effective results depended on the capacities of the political actors in each jurisdiction.