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The article reports the results from a natural resourcenegotiation model, the Legal-Institutional Analysis Model (LIAM), in two Mexican case studies: the Lerma River-Lake Chapala water system and water concerns in the Paso del Norte region. Although the LIAM was designed for use with U.S. based natural resource issues, this paper discusses results of the LIAM in non-U.S. cases. Results reveal limitations surrounding the assumption that economic and ecological values are mutually exclusive, and the need for greater assessment of power sources. Findings show that the general assumptions behind the LIAM were applicable to Mexico, and that the model produced helpful assessments of the two situations. It is recommended that limitations in the model should be addressed to achieve more accurate analyses.

This research examines environmental negotiations in two countries, Mexico and Ecuador, currently undergoing democratic transition. We examine the ability of democratizing political systems to respond to the pressures intrinsic to emerging pluralism. Using a comparative case study approach we examine environmental policy making for conservation. Mexico and Ecuador are at different stages in the democratization process with Mexico being more advanced than Ecuador. We conclude that Mexico’s approach to communicative forums and its management of environmental decision making in a pluralist context is more systematized and less prone to corruption given the stronger set of democratic institutions. In comparison we find that Ecuador’s political institutions remain weak and subject to informal pressures from emerging environmental groups as well as from established interests from the pre-democracy era.