Thursday, January 17, 2019

LatAm in Focus: How Healthy Is Democracy in Latin America?

By Holly K. Sonneland

Steven Levitsky, co-author of How Democracies Die, talks about Brazil’s election, strategies for the Venezuelan opposition, and the lack of female authoritarians.

</p> <p>What is the state of democracy in Latin America at the start of 2019? The inauguration of a leader who’s openly not committed to democratic and constitutional norms—as is the case in the region’s largest country, Brazil—is worrisome, says Harvard University’s <strong><a href="https://scholar.harvard.edu/levitsky">Steven Levitsky</a></strong>, co-author of the <em>New York Times</em> Bestseller <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/562246/how-democracies-die-by-steven-levitsky-and-daniel-ziblatt/9781524762940/"><em>How Democracies Die</em></a>.</p> <div class="wrapper" style="width: 100%;"> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" style="width: 30%;"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <p style="text-align: center;"><em><b style="font-size: 20px;"><img alt="" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="/sites/default/files/archive/levitsky_0.jpg" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;" /></b></em></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <p>On the other hand, Levitsky says Latin America’s democracies are “muddling through,” which is encouraging in light of the United States and Europe withdrawing when it comes to democracy promotion in the region compared to 10 or 15 years ago. Moreover, as he tells AS/COA Online’s Holly K. Sonneland in this podcast interview, “The alternatives to liberal democracy are not faring any better.” Venezuela and Nicaragua are failing spectacularly, he says, while Ecuador has been largely re-democratized. “Latin Americans are not thrilled with democracy,” says Levitsky. “But there’s very little evidence that…voters prefer any alternative.”</p> <div class="wrapper" style="width: 100%;"> <table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" style="width: 40%;"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <p style="text-align: center;"><em><b style="font-size: 20px;">“The alternatives to liberal democracy are not faring any better than democracy.”</b></em></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <p><em>How Democracies Die</em> draws lessons from a host of Latin American strongmen, such as <strong>Hugo Chávez</strong>, <strong>Getúlio Vargas</strong>, and <strong>Augusto Pinochet</strong>. So why are there no women on the list? Mostly because sexism kept women out of power for so long, says Levitsky. That doesn’t mean women aren’t just as capable of harboring authoritarian tendencies, he says, citing the example of <strong>Keiko Fujimori</strong> in Peru. And while they might not be heads of state, Vice President <strong>Rosario Murillo</strong> of Nicaragua and First Lady <strong>Cilia Flores</strong> in Venezuela also fit the authoritarian profile.</p> <hr /> <ul> <li>Get coverage of last year’s votes with our <strong><a href="https://www.as-coa.org/content/guide-2018-latin-american-elections">guide to 2018 Latin American elections</a></strong>.</li> <li>Like this podcast? Subscribe on <strong><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/latin-america-in-focus/id1089353175">iTunes</a></strong>, <strong><a href="https://soundcloud.com/ascoa">Soundcloud</a></strong>, <strong><a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/americas-societycouncil-of-the-americas/latin-america-in-focus">Stitcher</a></strong>, <strong><a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zb3VuZGNsb3VkLmNvbS91c2Vycy9zb3VuZGNsb3VkOnVzZXJzOjEwOTc4Mjk0L3NvdW5kcy5yc3M">Google Podcasts</a></strong>, and <strong><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/7wTMMhLMCkYP46gKuvmAoj?si=KVzHKDJCRKCLui-OHBfNNA">Spotify</a></strong>.</li> </ul> <hr /> <p><em>This episode was produced by Luisa Leme. The music in this podcast was performed at Americas Society in New York. Learn more about upcoming concerts at <a href="http://www.as-coa.org/music"><strong>musicoftheamericas.org</strong></a>.</em></p>

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LatAm in Focus: How Healthy Is Democracy in Latin America?

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