This article explores the perceptions that rural mayors have of social exclusion processes in their territories, and the ideological frames that underpin them. The study was conducted in Spain during the 2008-2014 crisis. It draws on evidence from qualitative interviews conducted with rural mayors as part of two research projects on social exclusion in rural areas in the Castilla-La Mancha and Valencian autonomous communities. Our analysis shows significant differences between the objective descriptions of social exclusion in rural areas and how such exclusion was perceived. Mayors held individuals' responsible for their own exclusion during the economic crisis, which mayors linked to the choices those individuals had made, while ignoring the community's responsibility for social integration. Based on their accounts, neoliberalism, patriarchy, and rural idyll frames were identified as shaping and defining the perception of social exclusion processes in rural areas.