Politics of Latin America: Why Democratic Rule Remains Fragile and Precarious

Latin American political economy has been shaped by cycles of populism, militarism and democracy, leading up to the present. Though traditional military rule has not been seen since the late 1980s, in some countries the armed forces continue to play an important political role. Today, we see the tension between democracy and populism where the failures of democratic governance and representation have led to the emergence of populist governments (left or right) which are responding and taking advantage of the growing public/societal dissatisfaction with corrupt and incompetent democratic regimes. Public attitudes in support of democracy has reached its lowest levels since the period of democratic transition in the 1980/90s. Answer the following questions: (1) Why has democratic rule remain fragile and precarious in Latin America? What are the conditions that lead to non-democratic governance, such as populism and militarism? (2) What are the unique conditions or common themes in Argentina, Brazil and Chile that contributed to the back and forth between populism, military and democracy since 1930?
Sources to use
Murillo and Zaragoza, “Argentina: Peronism Returns,” Journal of Democracy (2020) https://muse(dot)jhu(dot)edu/article/753199 (Links to an external site.)
Ribeiro Hoffman, “Brazil under Bolsonaro,” Latin American Policy (2020)
https://fiu-flvc(dot)primo(dot)exlibrisgroup(dot)com/permalink/01FALSC_FIU/j4l203/cdi_proquest_journals_2465337719 (Links to an external site.)
Hunter and Power, “Bolsonaro and Brazil’s Illiberal Backlash,” Journal of Democracy (2019) https://muse(dot)jhu(dot)edu/article/713723/pdf?casa_token=cV5usJpi0KsAAAAA:bqlHp_DVeal7Imd9SJYliLUDgPqpk3ZAtc8TVpK6qWJj0SlwpUsmbgYmuS7aJ-YEuuxGnXdoIcnD (Links to an external site.)
Smith, “Covid vs Democracy: Brazil’s Populist Playbook,” Journal of Democracy (October 2020) https://www(dot)journalofdemocracy(dot)org/articles/covid-vs-democracy-brazils-populist-playbook/ (Links to an external site.)
Garreton, “Redemocratization in Chile,” Journal of Democracy (1995) https://muse(dot)jhu(dot)edu/article/16650?casa_token=OQtummTkYtoAAAAA:XC5h_keA1VXSa5yRg0e3H7LNEWbkxQMbB6CzYNWtWrS-V_9I0qh4PS5U1O0HX4xBVWvM6pfqJvJb (Links to an external site.)
Freeman and Perello, “Chilean Voters Have Turned Their Backs on Traditional Coalitions: What’s Next?” Foreign Policy (May 2021) https://foreignpolicy(dot)com/2021/05/17/chile-elections-independents-to-write-new-constitution/