Abstract

MENDEZ DE HOYOS, Irma. Manipulation of the legal framework of elections in Latin America between 2000 and 2012: a methodological approach. Foro int [online]. 2017, vol.57, n.3, pp.640-685. ISSN 0185-013X.  https://doi.org/10.24201/fi.v52i3.2451.

There is a long list of electoral bad practices that create an uneven playing field for parties and candidates to compete in many emerging democracies, damaging confidence in political institutions and in the legitimacy of elected governments. How are we to understand, measure, and compare some of these practices? This paper presents an analytical framework for examining and measuring one of the most widespread forms of manipulation in Latin America: the design of the electoral laws. In this context, it examines the cases of 16 countries in the region between 2000 and 2012, in four areas critical to electoral integrity: media coverage, campaign finances, electoral bodies and the use of state resources.

Keywords : elections; political parties; legitimacy; integrity; electoral bad practices; Latin America.

        · abstract in Spanish | French     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )