The Problems of Democratic Governance in Latin America

Abstract

Introduction. The article presents the contemporary problems facing governance in Latin America. The paper demonstrates that the fissures that weaken institutional and democratic stability in the region respond to a set of aspects subordinate to the crisis of expectations regarding the permanent promise of economic development. Methods and materials. The research problem was based on Leonardo Morlino’s theory of democratic unanchoring. We indicate that the objective of the work is to show five explanatory variables of the erosion of democracy, based on the historian’s classic documentary methodology. Analysis. Fundamentally, it shows 1) the high level of disaffection and discomfort with the political classes; 2) the risk of a new wave of populism and authoritarianism; 3) the implications of poor economic performance post-pandemic; 4) the repercussions of high rates of insecurity, violence, and organized crime; and 5) the problems in achieving regional integration and relevant global participation. Results. The picture of the Latin American situation raises critical knots in its democratic governance, which deserve to be reviewed in depth in order to recognize relevant lines of action for researchers, decision-makers, and public policy managers. The answer to the problems of democratic governance in Latin America can be found in the thesis of political, economic, and social delegitimization in the processes of lack of efficiency in the administration of the democratic regime in the last fifty years, beyond the factors of historical inheritance or global conjuncture. Authors’ contributions. Pedro Martínez Lillo determined the basic concept of the article as well as formulated and analyzed the main results of the study; Javier Castro Arcos prepared the structural composition of the study and analyzed the methodological foundations of the study.