Are they controllable Latin American democracies?

Abstract

The successful transition to democracy during the last decades in Latin America, has been accompanied by deep economic reforms, transformation and creation of significant political institutions. Nevertheless, governability has not left behind some of the old mechanisms inherited from the colony. A Neopopulism has settled in the continent having seriously obstructed the democratic process in blossoming. The intermediation of the populist mechanisms in the framework of the proposed changes, with the only exception of Chile, constitutes a generalized practice. In this country, the agreement between elites has been privileged, excluding the populist negotiation; and the obtained political consensus explains its gains. This case contrasts with the situation in the rest of the continent, where the fragility of governability in most of the new democracies, has made authoritarian alternatives reborn.