Theorizing about leadership accountability and democracy in large membership organizations in rural Mexico, Jonathan Fox (1992) argues that they can escape Robert Michel's "iron law of oligarchy," even if they go through cycles of participation, from high to low and back. In this context leadership accountability "refers to members' capacity to hold leaders responsible for their actions, but it also requires a degree of autonomy from external domination" (Fox, 1992: 23). The development of internal checks and balances is required as well: "Multiple, alternative channels for both direct and representative democracy shape the balance of power between central leaders and the base" (Fox, 1992: 28).