THEY DO NOT REPRESENT US! COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DEMOCRACY AND CORRUPTION IN CHILE, COLOMBIA, COSTA RICA, AND ECUADOR (2015-2018)

Abstract

The article compares correlations between democracy and corruption in four Latin American countries: Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Ecuador, between 2015 and 2018. The studied cases show a series of social manifestations between 2018 and 2020 that express a crisis of representation, in addition to various corruption cases. However, the four countries have differences in their democratic construction and consolidation processes, as well as the assessment of political corruption as a relevant problem. Through a quantitative methodology and comparative politics, the study concludes that despite the cases’ similarities and differences in terms of legitimacy and trust, they all have a tendency towards de-democratization.