This paper examines the introduction of the new decentralized and participatory model for water management in the state of Ceará. A recurrent question arises in the light of experiences like the one studied here: what are the institutional, political, and social conditions that favor or hinder the implementation of participatory policy models at the local or regional level. The general argument of this paper is 1) that any assessment of those conditions is intimately connected to different approaches to participatory policy making and 2) that the viability of those approaches is dependent on the intertwining between policy making and party politics. To develop this argument I trace back the Cearense water management reform from its inception in the early 1980s through 2005-06. The analysis presented in this paper draws upon in-depth interviews conducted with state appointed officials and técnicos, public and private water users, civil society and local organizations' members, scholarly experts, and private consultants. Interviews were complemented with documental analysis and participant observation of formal and informal meetings.

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