This article attempts to offera general panorama of some issues related to political representation of women in Latin America. Specifically, it analyzes the advances made in the representation of women in politics during the 1990s. It offers a descriptive analysis of nationalcases in Latin Americafrom an institutionalfocus. In spiteof the importance that structural, social and psychological elements havein the differentaccounts of women representation in the developing countries, in this text emphasiswill be made on the effects of political-institutionalreforms. Results from reforms havevariedconsiderably between and within countries. They haveonly been incoherent and disconnected policies implemented to increase female representation during the '90s. We can only deduce, therefore, the existence of intentionson thepart of governments to enhance the status of women, notwithstanding that numerous political, institutional, economical and social constrictions continually reproduce inequalities. Some Initial ConsiderationsDuring the past 20 years, the debate around the political representation of women has become a frequent theme of numerous studies in sociology as well as in political science. Diverse important empirical studies from a good number of countries based on solid quantitative analysis of comparative style have been carried out. Authors have highlighted that elements incurring in feminine representation at a national level are very different from the economic, social and cultural status of women. Especially significant for

The demand for regional autonomy, which crystallised in the 1990s during municipal decentralisation, has profoundly marked Bolivia’s political history. This article examines the reorientation of the autonomic model since the 2009 Constitution. This “recentralisation” is explained by: (a) the political hegemony achieved by the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) and its consequences for local politics; (b) regulatory centralism, especially in the Ley Marco de Autonomías y Descentralización (Autonomy and Decentralisation Law); (c) fiscal inequality in the financing of the different Autonomous Territorial Entities; and (d) the malfunctioning of the model of intergovernmental relations.

Este artículo pretende explicar y analizar cómo las comunidades autónomas han definido sus diferentes modelos educativos, y políticas de educación secundaria a partir de la ambigüedad del marco jurídico del Estado central, que culmina en la Ley Orgánica de Educación de 2006. Hemos seleccionado tres casos especialmente relevantes y diferentes que nos permiten contrastar como se configuran los modelos educativos autonómicos: El País Vasco, Andalucía y la Comunidad de Madrid. El análisis se centra en los elementos clave de la legislación del Estado para las comunidades autónomas, tales como la autonomía de gestión de los institutos públicos, el papel de la comunidad de actores implicados, los conciertos con los colegios privados y la adaptación de las políticas a las diferencias sociales entre comunidades autónomas. Tomando el enfoque de corrientes múltiples de Zahariadis como herramienta de análisis, el artículo concluye señalando la importancia del medio ambiente social y su impacto en las políticas, la relevancia de la ideología del partido gobernante en cada comunidad autónoma y la participación de los actores en la implementación de políticas de educación secundaria.

Educational policies in Spain have been characterized by conflict and continuous changes to legislation in the Central State. However, Spain is a decentralized State and the Autonomous Communities (regions) are responsible for implementing secondary education. The article aims at explaining and analyzing how Autonomous Communities have defined their educational models and policies for secondary education based on an unstable state legal framework. The analysis focuses on key elements of State legislation, such as the management methods of schools and the adaptation of policies to social differences between autonomous communities. Based on Zahariadis' multiple streams model, the article concludes by pointing out the importance of the context and its impact on the policies, the relevance of the ruling party's ideology in each Autonomous Community and the involvement of stakeholders in the implementation of secondary education policy.

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