Abstract

CAMERON, Maxwell A.. Citizenship deficits in Latin America's democracies. Convergencia [online]. 2007, vol.14, n.45, pp.11-30. ISSN 2448-5799.

There is little evidence of a crisis of electoral democracy in Latin America, yet many of the region's democratic regimes are unstable. Recently, Latin American democracies have been threatened more by the unconstitutional and illegal actions of democratically elected leaders than by attempted military coups or systematic electoral fraud. The separation of powers is sometimes violated in subtle ways that do not necessarily interrupt electoral democracy. Such threats have been inadequately theorized in the literature. Theorizing the separation of powers could help the international community to monitor the progress or erosion of democracy in the Western Hemisphere. The proposed agenda for the assessment of democracy is aligned with the argument that the electoral institutions of democracy require a lawful state (Estado de derecho) capable of backing the fundamental rights and freedoms of all citizens, without which Latin American democracies face an insurmountable citizenship deficit.

Keywords : democracy; constitutions; Latin America; lawful state; citizenship.

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