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Neoliberalism and Democracy in Latin America: A Mixed Record

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Kurt Weyland
Kurt Weyland*
Affiliation:
University of Texas, Austin
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Abstract

This essay argues that neoliberalism has strengthened the sustainability of democracy in Latin America but limited its quality. Drastic market reform seems to have abetted the survival of competitive civilian rule through its external and internal repercussions. By opening up Latin American countries to the world economy, neoliberalism has exposed them to more of the international pressures for preserving democracy that intensified with the end of the Cold War. At the same time, the move to market economics has weakened leftist parties, trade unions, and other proponents of radical socioeconomic reform, reassuring elites and preventing them from undermining democracy. But tighter external economic constraints limit governments' latitude and thereby restrict the effective range of democratic choice; and the weakening of parties and interest associations has depressed political participation and eroded government accountability. The available evidence therefore suggests that neoliberalism has been a mixed blessing for Latin American democracies.

Type
Critical Debates
Information
Latin American Politics and Society , Volume 46 , Issue 1 , Spring 2004 , pp. 135 - 157
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 2004

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