"Comparative case-study approach to the relationship between municipal-NGO (nongovernmental development organizations) joint ventures and democratization and development in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru in the early 1990s. Authors analyze collaborative ventures among municipal governments, social movements, and NGOs dealing with housing, health care, waste disposal, urban environmental protection, and education. The case studies illustrate how grassroots collective action can stimulate important change in service delivery systems as the size of the State shrinks and privatization efforts expand. The authors hypothesize that democratization and sustainable development will depend on binding the organizations of civil society to one another, and ultimately to the municipal governments. Greater public-private collaboration may be a critical variable for achieving democratic development, but the path is likely to be a rocky one if past efforts have any bearing on the future"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 57.