Mirada Pública

The current challenges of democracy in the region reflect problems such as  worn-out institutions, economic scarcity and the rise of insecurity. The evidence presented in these articles suggests that the formality of free, plural, transparent and periodic elections is no longer enough to conceive equitable societies. Firstly, the spaces for opinion and participation have lost depth, having an immediate, yet short-term impact. Secondly,  the same framework of democracy has become a vehicle for extreme-right, populist and authoritarian regimes that often win elections by vast majorities.

This book outlines the approaches of Costa Rica, Mexico and Ecuador on issues such as the quality of democracy, globalization, the instrumental use of popular consultations and plebiscites, the incidence of social media on politics, participation in  local elections, the role of the Armed Forces, and the perception of regimes with high approval but low efficiency.

The outlook is not promising, but we believe that studying the challenges of democracy may be the first stage towards its renewal. These proposals aim to foster debate and provide foundations for conceiving fairer regimes.