Decentralization has different meanings, each of its types and dimensions has different implications in municipal life. Hence, the design of a decentralization process determines the results that will be obtained from its implementation. The objective of this text is to briefly examine the evolution of the decentralization process in Mexico that has impacted municipal governments and determine what effects it has had on their management and relationship with their citizens, the federation and the states.

The study is structured in five parts. The first synthesizes the theoretical concepts that will be used for the analysis. The second section offers a brief account of the historical background of the Mexican municipality and its centralist past. The third section analyzes the stages in which decentralization has been carried out in the country and the fourth section describes the effects it has had. The last part reflects on the current situation of municipal governments and the perspectives they have in the short and medium term.