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Email this citationCIAO DATE: 04/02
Challenges to Democracy in the Americas
October 2000
Recent events in Latin American and the Carribean, including the election of a former coup leader in Venezuela, the third-term candidacy of Peru President Alberto Fujimori, a coup in Ecuador, and the failed constitutional reform in Guatemala and subsequent election of a party led by retired military officials, have led to serious concerns about the direction of democracy in the region. Americas Program's Council of Presidents and Prime Ministers of the Americas selected the conference topic as an expression of their concern. Held in October 2000 at The Carter Center, the conference addressed the resurgence of populist leaders, the decline of political parties, the need for greater public security, and the many ways the military continues to intervene in Latin American politics.
The conference culminated with a statement in English or Spanish on concrete recommendations to improve the quality of democracy. The recommendations were sent to the 2001 Summit of the Americas of the Organization of American States (OAS), when the hemisphere's heads of state will consider the most important issues affecting the region in April 2001. Strengthening democracy has been a recurring focus since the first summit in 1994.
Rapporteurs' Report: Summary of the Working Group Recommendations
Keynote Address
by Venezuela President Hugo ChávezPending Issues and Perspectives of Political Democratization in Latin America
Manuel Antonio Garretón M.Conference Remarks
by Porfirio Muñoz LedoPrepared Remarks
by Kenneth H. "Buddy" MacKay Jr.When Democracy Isn't All That Democratic: Social Exclusion and the Limits of the Public Sphere in Latin America
by Philip OxhornPopulism and Democracy in Latin America
by Dr. Kenneth RobertsTowards A Representation Revolution: Constitutional Reform, Electoral Systems, and the Challenges to Democracy in Latin America
by Matthew Soberg ShugartThe Citizens' Audit On The Quality Of Democracy In Costa Rica: Improving Accountability And Civic Participation in a Mature Democracy
by Jorge Vargas CullelInstitutional Design and Accountability in Latin America
by Laurence WhiteheadThe Quality of Democracy: An informal translation
by Adolfo E. Nanclares
