especially political parties and Congress. The critical problems of political systems in most
countries of Latin America are, in general: crises of governability; crises of representation and
limited participation; institutional weakness; and low levels of accountability and transparency
(Oxhorn 2000; Diamond, et al 1999; Lowenthal and Hakim 1993).
1.1 Plausible Outcomes and Three Main Questions
As of this panorama, several analysts have been calling into question the view that free
markets and enduring democracies can be compatible in the longer term (Petras and Veltmeyer
2001; Oxhorn and Starr 1999; Oxhorn and Ducatenzeiler 1998). It has often been argued that
the high social costs of economic transitions and recurrent economic crises could provoke
widespread protests leading to the collapse or serious weakening of democratic institutions
(Starr 2000; Oxhorn and Starr 1998; Haggard and Kaufman 1995). Under this perspective,
slow economic and unstable growth, high levels of poverty, income and wealth inequality, and
a persistent public perception that living conditions have either deteriorated or not improved as
promised under the new economic and political order, might undermine public support for both
free-market policies and for the democratic regime that has supported them. This context poses
important questions that would be worth to carefully analyze. In particular, three questions
seem to remain at the center of the present discussion:
1.
Is democracy indeed at risk in Latin America? Some countries of the region—
characterized by high levels of income and wealth inequality and growing socioeconomic
polarization (Venezuela, for example)—have recently experienced certain situations of
political disorder that seem to pose major potential risks for democratic rule. Meanwhile, other
highly unequal countries (e.g. Brazil, Chile and Mexico)—some of them showing several
manifestations of social unrest (namely Brazil and Mexico), such as higher crime rates, new
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Convention