2nd LACSUG CONFERENCE

[ Conference Program ]

Facultad de Gobierno, Universidad de Chile
Santiago de Chile, 24 - 26 June 2026

IMPORTANT
Participants are reminded that the deadline to submit the full paper is June 12, 2026, to lacsug.conference@gmail.com

Paper Format
Language: English
Length: 8,000–12,000 words
Font: Times New Roman, 11 pt
Line spacing: 1.5
Citations and references: APA (7th edition)

Preliminary Program

* All times correspond to Chile local time (GMT-4).

* Participants are expected to attend and actively participate in the full conference program.

* This program is preliminary and may be subject to adjustments.
The final version will be shared with participants prior to the conference.

Wednesday 24

TimeAgenda Item
14:30 - 17:00Pre-Conference Workshops
19:00Welcome Dinner

Thursday 25

TimeAgenda Item
09:00 - 10:30Academic Dialogue +INFO
10:30 - 11:00Coffee break
11:00 - 12:30Panels 1.a - 1.b
12:30 - 14:00Lunch with Journal Editors +INFO
14:00 - 15:30Panels 2.a - 2.b
15:30 - 16:00Coffee break
16:00 - 17:30Panels 3.a - 3.b

Friday 26

TimeAgenda Item
09:00 - 10:00Local Authorities Panel
10:00 - 10:30Coffee break
10:30 - 12:00Panels 4.a - 4.b
12:00 - 13:30Lunch
13:30 - 15:00Panels 5.a - 5.b
15:00 - 15:30Coffee break
15:30 - 17:00LANSUG Network Session
19:00Closing Dinner

Panels
Thursday 25

Thursday
1 A / Room 1
Local Governance Typologies and FrameworksChair.
Chair: Alan Zarychta (University of Chicago).
Discussants: Mauricio Astudillo, Pablo Sanabria, Everardo Chiapa, Lorena Cuenca.

> Champions, Capacities, and Ecosystems: Implementing the OGP Local Initiative in Four Local Governments in Latin America.
Presenter: José Hernández-Bonivento (Universidad Austral de Chile).

> Subnational Responses to Policy Dismantling.
Presenter: Guillermo Cejudo (CIDE)
Co-authors: Johabed Olvera (Penn State University).

> Local Administrative Capacity and Poverty Reduction: Municipalities in Mexico.
Presenter: Pablo de los Cobos (University of Maryland)
Co-authors: Guillermo Cejudo (CIDE).

> Toward a New Analytical and Methodological Agenda for Studying Subnational Policy Capacity in Latin America: Insights from Education Governance.
Presenter: Delfina Campetella (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) 

Thursday
1 B / Room 2
Citizens, Open Government and Public Opinion.
Chair: Ricardo Bello-Gomez (Rutgers University).
Discussants: Cristian Pliscoff, Liliana González, Cristian Leyton.

> How Exclusionary Institutions Affect the Legitimacy of Local Governments: an Experiment on How Users Perceive Non-Compliance among Chilean Street-Level Bureaucrats.
Presenter: Vicente Espinoza (Universidad de la República)
Co-authors: Emmanuelle Barozet (Universidad de Chile).

> Same Requirements, Different Realities: Active and Passive Transparency in Chilean Regional Governments.
Presenter: Umut Aydin (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile).
Co-authors: Constanza Pineda (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile).

> Decentralization in Practice: Citizen Attitudes and Local Development in Bogotá's Localities.
Presenter: Carlos Quintana (Bogotá Mayor’s Office).
Co-authors: Alejandra Rodas-Gaiter (Bogotá Mayor’s Office), Nathalie Méndez (Universidad de los Andes).

> Building Ethical Institutions at the Local Level: Explaining the Adoption of Municipal Ethics Codes in Chile.
Presenter: Juan Pablo Araya (Universidad Diego Portales | University of Georgia).
Co-authors: Osvaldo Artaza, Rodrigo Espinoza, Jorge Bravo, (Universidad Diego Portales). 

Thursday 
2 A / Room 1
Innovation, Strategic Management and Technology.
Chair: Everardo Chiapa (Tecnológico de Monterrey).
Discussants: Mónica Aldea, Cristian Leyton, Oliver Meza, Luis Felipe de la Vega.

> Institutionalizing Innovation in Instability: Why Some Subnational Labs Survive While Others Remain on Paper.
Presenter: Pablo Roca Sánchez (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú).

> Strategic Planning Use among Public Decision Makers: Evidence from a Survey Experiment on Political Continuity and Institutionalization.
Presenter: Tomás Soto-Jara (Rutgers University).

> Subnational Governance of Artificial Intelligence in Latin America and the Caribbean: Mapping AI Deployments, Human Rights Risks, and Regulatory Responses.
Presenter: Michelle Castellanos (Universidad de los Andes).
Co-authors: Karoll Ramírez (Universidad de los Andes), Sebastián Hurtado (Universidad de los Andes), Juan David Gutiérrez (Universidad de los Andes).

> Instant Messaging and Accountability: The Individual Effects of Using New Technologies in the Workplace.
Presenter: Mauricio Astudillo-Rodas (Florida State University).

> Understanding School- and Teacher-Level Drivers of Technology Use in the Classroom: Evidence from the Implementation of an Offline-First Learning Platform in Rural Honduras.
Presenter: Lorena Cuenca (Rutgers University).
Co-authors: Alan Zarychta (University of Chicago). 

Thursday
2 B / Room 2
Climate Governance and Subnational Action.
Chair: Eduardo Grin (FGV EAESP).
Discussants: Jose Bello, Ricardo Bello-Gomez, Ignacio Cienfuegos, Karina Arias.


> Beyond Transnational Networks: Local Institutions and Climate Action Planning in São Paulo and Mexico City.
Presenter: Alexandre Fontenelle-Weber (Universidade de São Paulo).

> Governing Climate in a Subnational Key: Climate Ambition Amid Rules and Realities.
Presenter: Jorge Guzmán Romero (CIDE).

> Breathing Trust: Air Quality and Citizen Perceptions of Climate Governance in Bogotá.
Presenter: Joaquín Guillamón (Latitud – LATU Foundation).
Co-authors: Alejandra Rodas-Gaiter (Bogotá Mayor’s Office), Carlos Quintana (Bogotá Mayor’s Office), Nathalie Méndez (Universidad de los Andes).

> From Voluntary to Contractualized Governance: The Reconfiguration of Actor Networks in Local Climate Action in Chile (2019–2025).
Presenter: Valentina Cariaga (Universidad Diego Portales).

> Territorial Political Dynamics and Regional Climate Change Governance in Four Regions of Chile.
Presenter: Jeanne Simon (Universidad de Concepción). 

Thursday
3 A / Room 1
Gender, Representation and Subnational Leadership.
Chair: Cecilia Osorio (Universidad de Chile).
Discussants: Nathalie Méndez, Delfina Campetella, José Hernández.

> The Implementation of the Gender Parity Principle in Local Public Administrations: Does a Federalist Arrangement Work Better?.
Presenter: Liliana González Viveros (Instituto Mora).

> From Ballot to Bureaucracy: a Three-Decade Systematic Review of Women's Political Representation and Its Impact on Latin American Subnational Governance.
Presenter: Ettore Oriol (Fundação Dom Cabral).
Co-authors: Maíra Souza (Fundação Dom Cabral), Claudia Avellaneda (Indiana University).

> Success Breeds Success: The Virtuous Cycle of Female Representation in Local Chile.
Presenter: Claudia Avellaneda (Indiana University Bloomington).
Co-authors: Karina Retamal (Universidad de Chile).

> Women's Participation in the Chilean Senior Civil Service System: a Subnational Analysis.
Presenter: Cristian Pliscoff (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile).
Co-authors: Mariana Chudnovsky (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile).

> Gender, Leadership, and Decentralization: Evidence from Chile's First Elected Regional Governors, 2021–2024.
Presenter: Germán Campos-Herrera (Universidad Católica de Temuco).
Co-authors: Catalina Melgarejo (Universidad Católica de Temuco). 

Thursday
3 B / Room 2
Metropolitan Governance and Urban Coordination.
Chair: Guillermo Cejudo (CIDE).
Discussants: Eduardo Grin, Pablo Sanabria, Karina Retamal.

> Toward a Metropolitan Governance of Public Space? Institutional Asymmetries and Contestation in Santiago De Chile.
Presenter: Alejandro Diaz Medalla (University College London).

> Mandated Collaboration in Metropolitan Subnational Governance: The Case of the Pollution Plan in Concepción, Chile.
Presenter: Karina Arias Yurisch (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile).
Co-authors: Karina Retamal (Universidad de Chile).

> From Modern Cities to Smart Cities: Asymmetric Diffusion, Metropolitan Fragmentation, and Territorial Inequality in Colombia.
Presenter: Zhamed Zarama Alvarado (Universidad ICESI).
Co-authors: Juan Pablo Milanese (Universidad ICESI), Pablo Sanabria-Pulido (Universidad ICESI).

> Policy Entrepreneurs and Urban Development: Evidence from Latin America.
Presenter: Manlio Castillo Salas (CIDE).

> Between Promise and Delivery: An Analysis of the Municipal Housing PPP Program in São Paulo (2018–2024).
Presenter: Débora Jun Portugheis (Universidade de São Paulo). 

Panels
Friday 26

Friday
4 A / Room 1
Territorial Governance and Risks.
Chair: Cristian Pliscoff (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile).
Discussants: Jeanne Simon, Joaquín Guillamón, Luis Felipe de la Vega.

> Building Subnational State Capacity for Sustainable Structural Change: Industrial Policy and Green Investment in a Federal Developing Country.
Presenter: Luis Karamaneff (CONICET / UNSAM).

> Local Governance for Building Resilient Cities: the Case of Pudahuel (Chile).
Presenter: Paulina Vergara Saavedra (Universidad de Chile – CITRID).
Co-authors: Camila Valdivia (Municipalidad de Pudahuel), María Elena Opazo (Municipalidad de Pudahuel).

> Beyond Mandates: Building Local Disaster Capacity in Chile.
Presenter: Ignacio Cienfuegos (Universidad de Chile).
Co-authors: Cristóbal Cabezas.

> Informational State Capacities for Urban Resilience: a Diagnostic of Municipalities Affected by Floods in Southern Brazil.
Presenter: Lisandro Abulatif (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul).
Co-authors: Ricardo Garcia (Universidade Estadual do Rio Grande do Sul), Clara Steigleder (Universidade Federal de Pelotas). 

Friday
4 B / Room 2
Conceptualizing and Measuring Subnational Policy Capacity.
Chair: Nathalie Méndez (Universidad de los Andes).
Discussants: Claudia Avellaneda, Andrea Restrepo, Guillermo Cejudo, Monica Aldea.

> Measuring Organizational Capacity: Divergence Between Archival and Perceptual Indicators.
Presenter: Pablo Sanabria-Pulido (Universidad ICESI).
Co-authors: Ricardo Bello-Gomez (Rutgers University), Mauricio Astudillo-Rodas (Florida Atlantic).

> Administrative and Policy Capacity: A Conceptual Reconciliation from the Analysis of Mexican Local Governments.
Presenter: Everardo Chiapa Aguillón (Tecnológico de Monterrey).

> Exploring the Interactions Between Policy Capacity Dimensions and Levels: The Talca Recycles Program (2019–2025) and the Extended Producer Responsibility Law.
Presenter: Antoine Maillet (Universidad de Chile).
Co-authors: Valentina Zúñiga (Universidad de Chile).

> Policy Capacities of Chilean Local Governments for Environmental Governance.
Presenter: Cecilia Osorio Gonnet (Universidad de Chile).
Co-authors: Sebastián Carrasco (Universidad San Sebastián), Daniela Tapia (Universidad Diego Portales). 

Friday
5 A / Room 1
Networks, Cooperation and Polycentric Governance.
Chair: Claudia Avellaneda (Indiana University).
Discussants: Karina Arias, Mauricio Astudillo, Ricardo Bello-Gomez, Joaquín Guillamón.

> When Collaboration Reshapes Local Choices: Policy Feedback from Inter-Municipal Cooperation.
Presenter: Eduardo Grin (FGV EAESP).
Co-authors: Gustavo Lopes (FGV EAESP), Hugo Silvestre (UNILAB).

> Politics at the Interface: State Deputies, Local Brokers, and the Governance of Territory.
Presenter: Telma Hoyler (Centre for Metropolitan Studies).

> Institutional Design and Network Motifs in Water Pollution Governance: Analyzing Coordination Patterns in Subnational Polycentric Systems.
Presenter: Karina Retamal Soto (Universidad de Chile).
Co-authors: Karina Arias (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile), Tomás Olivier (Syracuse University).

> From Fragmentation to Territorial Governance: Municipal Regulation and Multilevel Coordination in Mining Formalization in Colombia.
Presenter: Esteban Bello Pedraza (Universidad EAFIT). 

Friday 
5 B / Room 2
Bureaucracy, Discretion and Local Implementation.
Chair: Antoine Maillet (Universidad de Chile).
Discussants: Alan Zarychta, Nathalie Méndez, Umut Aydin.

> Esprit De Corps and Street-Level Divergence: Identity, Trust, and Police Reform in Mexico.
Presenter: Oliver Meza Canales (Tecnológico de Monterrey).
Co-authors: Elizabeth Pérez-Chiqués (University of New Mexico), Sergio Campos (CIDE), Lina González (CIDE), Aimee Prieto (Tecnológico de Monterrey).

> Territorial Tensions in the Local Implementation of Public Policies in Weak State Institutions in Chile.
Presenter: Cristian Leyton-Navarro (Universidad de O'Higgins).
Co-authors: Francisca Irarrazabal (Universidad Alberto Hurtado), Chiara Cazzuffi (Universidad Mayor).

> How to Evaluate an Educational Representation Body at the Intermediate Level? the Local Steering Committees of the New Public Education System in Chile.
Presenter: Luis Felipe de la Vega (Universidad Andrés Bello).
Co-authors: Sebastián Ortiz (Universidad de Playa Ancha), Claudia Carrasco (Universidad de Málaga).

> Merit or Discretion? the Selection 'Funnel' of Local Public Managers in Chile.
Presenter: Monica Aldea (Rutgers University).

> Decentralization and the Challenge of Institutionalizing Progressive Planning Practices.
Presenter: Andrea Restrepo-Mieth (Rutgers University). 

2nd CONFERENCE LACSUG
Subnational Governance in Latin America: Building Effective Institutions in Turbulent Times