Abstract

ICHUTA NINA, Carlos Ernesto. The historical constitution of electoral democracy in Latin America. Temas Sociales [online]. 2018, n.42, pp.179-204. ISSN 0040-2915.

This paper proposes a debate on the constitution of electoral democracy in Latin America. It argues that these constitutions are the product of a long historical process defined by five events: (1) the arrival of electoral procedures before the establishment of democratic regimes; (2) the implementation of universal suffrage as a mechanism of political control; (3) the establishment of faÇades of democracy, which led to reformist impulses and social uprisings; (4) the establishment ofemocracy with social justice, via the rise of populism, where voting functioned as a mechanism of political reward; and (5) the establishment of dictatorial and authoritarian regimes, which encouraged civil society to confront them through the struggle to recover democratic liberties, thanks to which the electoral arena became a regularly democratic context.

Keywords : electoral democracy; historical constitution; Latin America.

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