The concept and essence of the public control institution in Latin American countries

The article examines the conceptualization of public control in Latin American countries, where this institution has acquired unique features that differ from Anglo-Saxon models of accountability. It analyzes the evolution of the terms "social control," "civil control," and "popular control," which in the region have undergone semantic inversion: from state control over society to society's control over the state. Using Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico as examples, the key characteristics of the institution are revealed: institutionalization, co-management, legal power of decisions, and strategic mobilization. The author offers a definition of public control adapted to Latin American specifics. The essence of this phenomenon is identified as an inversion mechanism that combines formal and informal practices aimed at ensuring transparency and preventing corruption in the post-authoritarian democracies of Latin America. This research is based on an interdisciplinary methodology that combines tools from political science, sociology of law, and comparative institutional analysis. It employs comparative-legal methods, historical-genetic methods, and case study methods for a detailed examination of institutional mechanisms in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Argentina, and Peru. The theoretical framework is neo-institutional theory, supplemented by concepts of "horizontal accountability" and "social accountability." The empirical basis consists of constitutional texts, laws on citizen participation, analytical reports from international organizations, and LATINNO databases on participation innovations. The main hypothesis of the study is that a distinct model of public control has emerged in Latin American countries, which differs from both the classical sociological concept of "social control" (state control over society) and the Anglo-Saxon model of "accountability." This model is characterized by institutional inversion (society's control over the state), legal empowerment of civil structures, the inclusion of elements of co-management, and the combination of formal (councils, supervisory committees) and informal (protests, media scandals) mechanisms. It is assumed that the degree of institutionalization and legal strength of public control correlates with the history of authoritarian past and the nature of democratic transition in each specific country.