Presidential Reelection and Democratic Regression in Latin America

Presidential reelection has historically been controversial in Latin America. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the predominant rule was that presidents could only opt for alternate reelection. However, since the mid-1990s, constitutional changes have taken place in some countries to make immediate and...

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Author: Torrico Terán, Mario Alejandro
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2024
Country:México
Institution:UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL AUTÓNOMA DE MÉXICO
Repository:Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales
Language:Spanish
OAI Identifier:oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/82963
Online Access:https://www.revistas.unam.mx/index.php/rmcpys/article/view/82963
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:América Latina
reelección
presidentes
democracia
instituciones políticas
Latin America
reelection
Presidents
democracy
political institutions
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spelling Presidential Reelection and Democratic Regression in Latin AmericaReelección presidencial y retroceso democrático en América LatinaTorrico Terán, Mario AlejandroAmérica Latinareelecciónpresidentesdemocraciainstituciones políticasLatin AmericareelectionPresidentsdemocracypolitical institutionsPresidential reelection has historically been controversial in Latin America. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the predominant rule was that presidents could only opt for alternate reelection. However, since the mid-1990s, constitutional changes have taken place in some countries to make immediate and even indefinite reelection possible. On the other hand, in the last fifteen years, there has been a democratic decline in the region. Is there a relationship between both phenomena? Analyzing the period from 1989 to 2020, this work finds that immediate and indefinite reelection always favor democratic regression. On the other hand, alternate reelection is beneficial to the advancement of democracy and its prohibition does not show a significant relationship. This provides evidence in favor of those who warn of the risks of perpetuation in power. It is also found that the quality of institutions prevents democratic backsliding, but building such institutions takes time. These findings show that the political constitutions of the countries should only contemplate alternate reelection and non-reelection. The change could be made in the short term.La reelección presidencial ha sido históricamente polémica en América Latina. En la década de 1980 y a inicios de la de 1990 la regla predominante era que los presidentes solo podían optar por la reelección alterna. Sin embargo, desde mediados de los años noventa se sucedieron cambios constitucionales en algunos países para posibilitar la reelección inmediata e, incluso, una indefinida. Por otro lado, en los últimos quince años se observa un retroceso democrático en la región. ¿Hay relación entre ambos fenómenos? Analizando el periodo 1989-2020, este trabajo encuentra que la reelección inmediata y la indefinida siempre favorecen el retroceso democrático. En cambio, la reelección alterna es favorable al avance de la democracia y la prohibición de esta no muestra relación significativa. Esto da evidencia a favor de quienes advierten los riesgos de la perpetuación en el poder. También se encuentra que la calidad de las instituciones previene los retrocesos democráticos, pero tener ese tipo de instituciones toma tiempo. Estos hallazgos muestran que las constituciones políticas de los países deberían contemplar únicamente la reelección alterna y la no reelección. El cambio podría hacerse en corto plazo.Facultad de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales2024-05-01info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfhttps://www.revistas.unam.mx/index.php/rmcpys/article/view/8296310.22201/fcpys.2448492xe.2024.251.82963Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales; Vol. 69 No. 251 (2024): Dossier: Knowledge and Tasks of Political Science in Latin AmericaRevista Mexicana de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales; Vol. 69 Núm. 251 (2024): Dossier: Saberes y quehaceres de la ciencia política en América LatinaRevista Mexicana de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales; Vol. 69 No. 251 (2024): Dossier : Connaissances et tâches de la science politique en Amérique latine2448-492X0185-191810.22201/fcpys.2448492xe.2024.251reponame:Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Políticas y Socialesinstname:UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL AUTÓNOMA DE MÉXICOinstacron:UNAMspahttps://www.revistas.unam.mx/index.php/rmcpys/article/view/82963/77602Derechos de autor 2024 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Méxicoinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/829632024-08-16T19:54:11Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Presidential Reelection and Democratic Regression in Latin America
Reelección presidencial y retroceso democrático en América Latina
title Presidential Reelection and Democratic Regression in Latin America
spellingShingle Presidential Reelection and Democratic Regression in Latin America
Torrico Terán, Mario Alejandro
América Latina
reelección
presidentes
democracia
instituciones políticas
Latin America
reelection
Presidents
democracy
political institutions
title_short Presidential Reelection and Democratic Regression in Latin America
title_full Presidential Reelection and Democratic Regression in Latin America
title_fullStr Presidential Reelection and Democratic Regression in Latin America
title_full_unstemmed Presidential Reelection and Democratic Regression in Latin America
title_sort Presidential Reelection and Democratic Regression in Latin America
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Torrico Terán, Mario Alejandro
author Torrico Terán, Mario Alejandro
author_facet Torrico Terán, Mario Alejandro
author_role author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv América Latina
reelección
presidentes
democracia
instituciones políticas
Latin America
reelection
Presidents
democracy
political institutions
topic América Latina
reelección
presidentes
democracia
instituciones políticas
Latin America
reelection
Presidents
democracy
political institutions
description Presidential reelection has historically been controversial in Latin America. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the predominant rule was that presidents could only opt for alternate reelection. However, since the mid-1990s, constitutional changes have taken place in some countries to make immediate and even indefinite reelection possible. On the other hand, in the last fifteen years, there has been a democratic decline in the region. Is there a relationship between both phenomena? Analyzing the period from 1989 to 2020, this work finds that immediate and indefinite reelection always favor democratic regression. On the other hand, alternate reelection is beneficial to the advancement of democracy and its prohibition does not show a significant relationship. This provides evidence in favor of those who warn of the risks of perpetuation in power. It is also found that the quality of institutions prevents democratic backsliding, but building such institutions takes time. These findings show that the political constitutions of the countries should only contemplate alternate reelection and non-reelection. The change could be made in the short term.
publishDate 2024
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2024-05-01
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://www.revistas.unam.mx/index.php/rmcpys/article/view/82963
10.22201/fcpys.2448492xe.2024.251.82963
url https://www.revistas.unam.mx/index.php/rmcpys/article/view/82963
identifier_str_mv 10.22201/fcpys.2448492xe.2024.251.82963
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv spa
language spa
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv https://www.revistas.unam.mx/index.php/rmcpys/article/view/82963/77602
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv Derechos de autor 2024 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv Derechos de autor 2024 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Facultad de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Facultad de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales; Vol. 69 No. 251 (2024): Dossier: Knowledge and Tasks of Political Science in Latin America
Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales; Vol. 69 Núm. 251 (2024): Dossier: Saberes y quehaceres de la ciencia política en América Latina
Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales; Vol. 69 No. 251 (2024): Dossier : Connaissances et tâches de la science politique en Amérique latine
2448-492X
0185-1918
10.22201/fcpys.2448492xe.2024.251
reponame:Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales
instname:UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL AUTÓNOMA DE MÉXICO
instacron:UNAM
instname_str UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL AUTÓNOMA DE MÉXICO
instacron_str UNAM
institution UNAM
reponame_str Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales
collection Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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score 15.812455

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