Future developments for Democracy in Latin America
Future developments for Democracy in Latin America
The future of Latin America is questionable because democracies are not performing the way they are intended. The article Cross-Currents In Latin America, suggest that Democracy is failing to have consistency and longevity throughout its twenty sovereign states. Examples of coups such as the recent 2009 coup in Honduras all resulted in the inability for the democratic institutions to function properly for its people. Also it is mentioned that functioning democracies such as in Haiti, Guatemala, and Paraguay have weak institutions and even though they are considered “Democracies” they are not up to par on delivering all the principles of a democracy. The four points that the authors make about what classifies a democracy are spot on. I agree with the authors clarification of what a democracy is supposed to do, however I think that a fifth point should be added to their list of points. I believe that in order for a democracy to function properly there needs to be a very strong emphasis on accountability. One of the main reasons why democracy fails to function in Latin America is because the governing body is not accountable for itself. It has been seen in Latin America, most recently Brazil and Honduras, that corruption amongst top officials significantly impacts the legitimacy of democratic regimes. Officials with a lot of power need to follow the laws of the land as much as the citizens do. When democratic regimes are consistently weak in Latin America they don’t have the ability to execute their laws and be accountable for everyone. For the future, institutions in Latin American countries need to be accountable for each other much like how the United State’s three branch federal government functions. It is unfortunate to see the trend that moves away from democracy in Latin America in the past decade. Looking at the significant decreases in Freedom House scores shows that democracy is failing. A significant reason why democracies fail in Latin America is because the economies are failing as well. Latin America is one of the epicenters for poverty in the world and if the process to decide where government services go is long such as in a democratic system of government then poverty will continue to flourish. There have been trends in the past that show that authoritarian regimes have more direct impact on the economy than democratic regimes. Many of the uneducated and poor voters in Latin America pledge their support for officials that have given them direct benefits. This idea of clientelism has paved the way for candidates to gain complete political support in order for them to execute an authoritarian takeover. Competitive authoritarian regimes that have risen in Venezuela and Nicaragua have followed their trends to authoritarian regimes by gaining significant control of the public’s support. As mentioned in the article, Venezuela’s president Hugo Chávez was elected freely and fairly in the 1998 election in which at the time Venezuela was considered a democracy but Chávez managed to takeover the courts and use Venezuela’s oil wealth to grow the economy. Once the economy grew significantly this lead to the overwhelming support for a transition to an Authoritarian regime lead by Chávez. It is not entirely clear whether the trend towards more authoritarian regimes will lead to a stronger economy for the long run however it has been effective in the short term. I believe that in order for Democracy to flourish in Latin America and function properly the population must move significantly into the middle class. A stronger middle class represents a more educated population that is willing to participate in elections without needing certain demands that lower class citizens need to have decent living standards. In my opinion, the current situations that exist in Latin America will make it extremely hard and it will be a long process before democracy makes a comeback.