WHY LATIN AMERICA’S DEMOCRACIES ARE STUCK

Abstract

This essay documents a tendency toward democratic decline in Latin America in the last two decades. We note, however, that the modal regional pattern is not decline but democratic stagnation. We conceptualize democratic stagnation as a situation in which democracies have important and persistent democratic deficits. Three factors have contributed to the widespread pattern of stagnation in Latin America: powerful actors that block democratic deepening; poor governing results that fuel dissatisfaction and pave the way for authoritarian populists; and "hybrid states" that violate citizens' rights, fail to provide security and quality public services, and are captured by powerful interests.