The first thing we are going to do in order to know the meaning of the term decentralization is to discover its etymological origin. In this case, we can state that it derives from Latin and that it is the result of the sum of the following components:
-The prefix “des-”, which is used to indicate the investment of the action.
-The noun "center."
-The ending "-izar", which comes to express "convert into".
-The suffix "-cion", which is used to indicate "action and effect".
The decentralization is the act and the consequence of decentralizing : delegate part of power who exercised a central body to different entities or corporations . Decentralization implies a division or distribution of authority.
In the field of politics , decentralization consists of a power transfer from the central government to various authorities that are not subordinated at the hierarchical level. This means that, in their field of interference, these authorities can make autonomous decisions.
If he State It is organized centrally, local rulers are agents of the national government. In contrast, in a decentralized state, local rulers can decide independently according to their powers.
Through decentralization, in this way, the central authority transfers competitions and resources to the decentralized authorities that carry out an independent and autonomous management.
When talking about the decentralization of the State we have to establish that there are various forms of it, among which the following stand out:
-Functional decentralization, which is what occurs when the corresponding body is recognized as specific competencies of a single sector of activity in particular.
- Horizontal decentralization, which is carried out by dispersing power between different institutions that have the particularity that they are at the same level.
- Vertical decentralization, which is what takes place when the power of the central government is delegated to lower levels, whether of autonomous community or locality, for example.
-Administrative decentralization, which consists in transferring competencies of what is the Central Administration of the State to other “legal persons” framed within what is Public Law.
Likewise, we cannot forget the existence of fiscal decentralization, mixed decentralization or the so-called political decentralization, among others.
The political decentralization , for example, establishes organs of government according to a territorial base. There may be, within this framework, municipalities with their own legislative bodies that issue ordinances; these municipalities are part of provinces that have provincial legislators; the provinces, in turn, integrate a country organized as a federal republic with national deputies and senators. The councilors of a municipality, therefore, can dictate ordinances that only govern in the commune in question. These ordinances cannot contradict the principles of provincial norms, which in turn are subject to the ordinance of national laws.
The idea Decentralization can also be applied to other contexts. The decentralized education To cite a case, it contemplates that knowledge can be generated and transmitted vertically but also horizontally, without reliance on a single source of knowledge that is located at a higher level.
