Keywords
Latin America
democracy
rule of law
organized crime
authoritarianism
Abstract
This article analyses backsliding and risks facing Latin American democracies 50 years since the third wave of democratization. Despite significant advances in electoral matters, participation, and representation, today the region increasingly faces a context of authoritarian setbacks and democratic deterioration that are not the result of coups d'états but from gradual processes of erosion. The use of democratic institutions and rules themselves, often with broad citizen support, have weakened the equilibrium of powers, the autonomy of countervailing bodies, the full exercise of freedoms and rights, as well as the rule of law. Thus, historical obstacles to strengthening full democratic regimes, such as inequality and weak state institutions, are compounded by the growing wave of crime and violence. To face these challenges, it is essential to foster resilient institutions and promote collaboration between social and political actors.
References
Agrawal, K.; Tello, P.; Rulli, M.; y Martelotte, L. (2023). Inclusión de grupos discriminados en procesos políticos y electorales en América Latina. IDEA Internacional. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31752/idea.2023.69
Barrenechea, R., y Vergara, A. (2023). Peru. The Dangers of powerless democracy. Journal of Democracy, 34 (2), 77-89. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2023.0015
Bermeo, N. (2016). On Democratic Backsliding. Journal of Democracy, 27 (1), 5-19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2016.0012
Bisarya, S., y Rogers, M. (2023). Designing Resistance. Democratic Institutions and The Threat of Backsliding. International IDEA. Estocolmo, Suecia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31752/idea.2023.76
Coppedge, M., et al. (2024). V-Dem [Country-Year/Country-Date] Dataset v14. Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project. DOI: https://doi.org/10.23696/mcwt-fr58.
Diamond, L., y Linz, J. J. (1989). Introduction: Politics, Society, and Democracy in Latin America. En L. Diamond, J. J. Linz y S. M. Lipset (coords.), Democracy in developing countries (volumen 4, pp. 1-59). Colorado, Lynne Rienner Publishers. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781685853112-004
Feldmann, A., y Luna, J. P. (2023). Criminal Politics and Botched Development in Contemporary Latin America. Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108955461
Hobbes, T. (2017). Leviatán. Ciudad de México, Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Huntington, S. (1991). The Third Wave. Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century. Norman, The Oklahoma University Press.
IDEA International (2024a). Global State of Democracy. Estocolmo, Suecia.
IDEA Internacional (2024b). Artificial Intelligence for Electoral Management. Estocolmo, Suecia.
InSight Crime (2023). Balance de InSight Crime de los homicidios en 2023. https://insightcrime.org/es/noticias/balance-insight-crime-homicidios-2023/
Latinobarómetro (2023). Informe 2023: La recesión democrática de América Latina. Corporación Latinobarómetro. Santiago, Chile.
Lessing, B. (2020). Violencia y paz en la guerra contra las drogas. Ofensivas estatales y carteles en América Latina. Bogotá, Ediciones Uniandes.
Lessing, B. (2021). Criminal Governance. Perspectives on Politics, 19 (3), 1-20.
Levitsky, Steven, y Ziblatt, D. (2018). How Democracies Die. Nueva York, Crown Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592720001243
Mainwaring, S., y Pérez-Liñán, A. (2014). Democracies and Dictatorships in Latin America. Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139047845
Meléndez, M., y Gamboa, L. (2023). How Guatemalans are defending their Democracy. Journal of Democracy, October 2023. https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/online-exclusive/how-guatemalans-are-defending-their-democracy/
Meléndez, M., y Vergara, A. (2024). The Bukele Model: Will it Spread? Journal of Democracy, 35 (3), July 2024. https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/the-bukele-model-will-it-spread/ DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2024.a930429
Munck, G., y Luna, J. P. (2022). Latin American Politics and Society: A Comparative and Historical Analysis. Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108769570
O’Donnell, G., y Schmitter, P. (1986). Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Tentative Conclusions about Uncertain Democracies. Baltimore, MD, Johns Hopkins University Press.
OECO (2024). Boletín Anual de Homicidios Intencionales en Ecuador. Disponible en: https://oeco.padf.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/OECO.-BOLETIN-ANUAL-DE-HOMICIDIOS-2023.pdf
Pérez-Liñan, A.; Schmidt, N.; y Vairo, D. (2019). Presidential hegemony and democratic backsliding in Latin America, 1925-2016. Democratization, 26 (4), 606-625. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2019.1566321
PNUD (2004). La democracia en América Latina: Hacia una democracia de ciudadanas y ciudadanos. Nueva York, PNUD.
Ríos Tobar, M. (ed.) (2008). Mujer y Política: El impacto de las cuotas de género en América Latina. Santiago de Chile. IDEA Internacionesl/Flacso.
Rivera-Rhon, R., y Bravo-Grijalva, C. (2020). Crimen organizado y cadenas de valor: el ascenso estratégico del Ecuador en la economía del narcotráfico. Revista Urio 28, 8-29. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17141/urvio.28.2020.4410
Rosen, J., y Zepeda Martínez, R. (2015). La guerra contra el narcotráfico en México: Una guerra perdida. Reflexiones, 94 (1), 153-168. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15517/rr.v94i1.20889
Sampó, C. (2022). Chile como nueva ruta y puerto no tradicional para el tráfico de cocaína en el Cono Sur [Presentación en seminario]. Seminario Narcotráfico y crimen organizado en el Cono Sur: ¿Cómo abordar el fenómeno desde la política pública? 8 de noviembre. Santiago, Chile. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
Smith, P. (2005). Democracy in Latin America. Political Change in Comparative Perspective. Oxford University Press.
Snyder, R., y Durán-Martínez, A. (2009). Drugs, Violence, and State-Sponsored Protection Rackets in Mexico and Colombia. Colombia Internacional, 70, 61-91. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7440/colombiaint70.2009.03
Spruyt, H. (1994). The Sovereign State and its Competitors. Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691213057
Tilly, C. (1985). War Making and State Making as Organized Crime. En P. B. Evans, D. Rueschemeyer y T. Skocpol (eds.), Bringing the State Back In (pp. 169-191). Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511628283.008
Unión Interparlamentaria (2024). Global and regional averages of women in national parliaments. https://data.ipu.org/women-averages/?date_year=2024&date_month=10
UNODC (2023). Estudio mundial sobre homicidio 2023. Naciones Unidas: Nueva York, Estados Unidos. https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/gsh/2023/Global_study_on_homicide_2023_web.pdf
Valenzuela, A., y Linz, J. (eds.) (1998). Las crisis del presidencialismo, perspectivas comparadas. Madrid, Alianza.
Weber, M. (2014). Economía y Sociedad. México, D. F., Fondo de Cultura Económica.