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Política y gobierno

versão impressa ISSN 1665-2037

Polít. gob vol.12 no.2 Ciudad de México Jul./Dez. 2005

 

Artículos

Democracia directa en el continente americano: ¿autolegitimación gubernamental o censura ciudadana?

David Altman* 

* Profesor auxiliar del Instituto de Ciencia Política de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (Campus San Joaquín, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago de Chile, Chile). Correo electrónico: daltman@uc.cl.


Resumen:

En este artículo se analiza si los mecanismos de democracia directa, cuando son iniciados por el poder ejecutivo, tienden sistemáticamente a favorecer a este o si la ciudadanía aprovecha la oportunidad para emitir un voto de censura sobre los gobiernos, independientemente del tema sobre el que está votando. La respuesta es ni lo uno ni lo otro. La evidencia sugiere que cuanto más democrático es un régimen, tanto más débil es el apoyo a la postura gubernamental. Además, se evidencia que los ejecutivos obtienen mayor respaldo a sus propuestas si la inflación es mayor y si la participación electoral es menor; sin embargo, si se consideran únicamente los regímenes indiscutiblemente democráticos, la participación juega en favor del gobierno.

Palabras clave: democracia directa; referéndum; plebiscito; iniciativa popular; votos de censura

Texto completo disponible sólo en PDF

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Recibido: Noviembre de 2004; Aprobado: Marzo de 2005

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