The vice presidency in Latin America: An unnecessary evil

Abstract

Most Latin American countries have in their institutional design the figure of the Vice President to address the succession of the President in case of death, illness, resignation or inability. Although this succession function –and by extension the vice-presidential figure– are conceived as guarantors of stability and continuity, a review of the recent political history of Latin America shows that in practice the actual result is very different. Latin American Vice Presidents have been remarkably frequently sources of political conflict and instability for the Executive Branch to which they belong. This article recapitulates such critical situations, confronts the Latin American model of Vice Presidency with other succession methods, and concludes the convenience of replacing the rigid Vice Presidency with a different succession figure.