Political 2-8-2008 Regimes in Latin America
Types of Latin American Regimes Populism Bureaucratic-Authoritarianism Restricted democracy Democracy w/adjectives/delegative democracy Present-day democracy What is authoritarianism? Populism: o multi-class alliances that prevented the political participation of non-alliances classes through varying degrees of exclusion and repression o Interests of multiple classes who were in conflict (i.e. workers AND industrialists) that required powerful and charismatic leader to hold the alliance together Bureaucratic-Authoritarianism: o Granting public office to bureaucrats o Political and economic exclusion of the working class, control of popular sector o Reduction of political activity, especially early during regime consolidation, technocratic rather than political solutions o Stimulated economic growth through ties back into economic the world-system, mostly alliances between leaders and MNCs (multinational corporations) What is democracy? Restricted democracy and Delegative democracy o Limited franchise (literacy requirements, etc.) o Limited civilian control of military o Limited political party involvement/allowance o Limited civil/individual rights o Focus on charismatic or "strong" leaders rather than identifiable political programs or policies Present-day democracy o Weak political institutions such as the legislature, the courts, and regulatory agencies Strong presidents, weak militaries with cut funding, weak courts systems, etc. o "Illiberal" or incomplete democracy that combines elections and electoral competition with government constraints on personal freedoms and rights (i.e. limited citizen rights) Where is democracy going in Latin America???