Democracy in Latin America
Is Democracy Sustainable in Latin America? In order to determine if democracy is sustainable in Latin America, it is important to understand or at least have an idea of what democracy is. There are several types of democracy and each is different. According to the English dictionary, democracy is " a government by the people; especially: rule of the majority by a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections and the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges (Webster's Dictionary). It is a common view among American politicians that maintaining democracy in Latin America could be achieved through holding honest elections, installing civilian governments, and preventing military coups (Millett). Although Latin America participates in some type or form of free elections, that does not necessarily constitute a legitimate democracy that represents the people. The power is not necessarily vested in the people in Latin America but with the elected officials. Latin American democracy and United States democracy are uniquely different and therefore they are no
This lack of equal treatment under the law undermines faith in the government and gives little recourse to the common individual (Millett). Church control of information and perhaps the desire of the elite to keep the population under control have kept a large majority of the Latin American population illiterate. South Asia and Latin America were both part of a large empire and each now are independent and are ruled by some form of democracy. Millett states, " military dictatorships, not democratic governments, were the prevailing model," most of these were encouraged and even supported by the United States not the society. South Asia governed with guidance, equality under the law, and a strong investment with foreign encouragement in industry gave them the ability to build and sustain democracy. "Is Latin American Democracy Sustainable?. The society must support the idea of government in which, "there is an absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges. Urbanization is another factor threatening democracy. Many of the Latin American militaries are unwilling to sustain budget cuts, and a majority of the people have no desire to reduce popular social programs. The threats are replaced with new and old ones such as narcotics and insurgencies. Latin America must be capable of producing a literate and educated population. Economically Spanish mercantilism has made Latin America dependent on outside resources and has given rise to corruption and a loss of trust in the government. Little interest is evident in the reform of the economies or educational reforms of Latin America.
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