Satisfaction with democracy in Latin America: Do the characteristics of the political system matter?

Abstract

Citizens' attitudes are crucial in preventing or encouraging democratic weakening, specifically satisfaction with the functioning of the democratic system. We analyse the nexus between the rules and characteristics of the political system and satisfaction with democracy in Latin America. Using data from the 2015 Latinobarometer survey, we have estimated ordered multilevel logit models. We find that satisfaction is greater in countries that use a proportional electoral rule to elect the legislature. The rule used to elect the president is partially related to satisfaction with democracy, while the age of democracy is negatively related to satisfaction. Moreover, the degree of voting obligatoriness in elections and the degree of federalism are not related to satisfaction with democracy. Our results suggest that a more representative legislature and a stronger fight against corruption could improve people's level of satisfaction with democracy.

Keywords

• electoral rules
• federalism
• compulsory voting
• corruption
• latin america