Nearly three decades after the “third wave” of democracy, the political systems in the Andean countries — Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia — are at a critical juncture marked by weak institutions, low public confidence and an inability to respond to the most serious problems affecting their citizens. Amid the conflicts buffeting these countries, how can political life be reorganized to respond to the people’s demand for greater participation and a better standard of living?
In Democracia en la Región Andina: los telones de fondo, thirteen analysts of political and electoral systems examine aspects of democratic life in the region and provide some guideposts for future action. The essays include an overview of the ways in which citizens’ perceptions of and attitudes toward democracy have evolved over the past decade; an assessment of the Andean party systems, including an examination of why they have been supplanted by authoritarian leaders in some countries but not in others; and an overview of the inner workings of the region’s parties, including the selection of candidates, financing of parties and elections, and obstacles to and effects of of greater political participation by women and indigenous people.
The authors also examine the evolution of electoral participation and the region’s electoral systems; evaluate recent experiences of inter-party pacts and dialogue; examine the shortcomings of direct democracy mechanisms, such as referenda and recall elections; and assess at the roles played by civil society and the media in political life.
The result is not a prescription for the consolidation of democracy in the region, but a starting point for serious reflection by politicians, academics, civil society organizations and others concerned with the need to address the critical issues facing the Andean Region’s democracies.
Prefacio
Introducción
Valores, percepciones y actitudes hacia la democracia. Una visión comparada en la Región Andina: 1996-2004
Los Sistemas de partidos en los países andinos: autoritarismos competitivos y reformismo institucional
Selección de candidatos, partidos y democracia en los países andinos
El financiamento de los partidos políticos y las campañas electorales en los países andinos: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Perú y Venezuela
La representación política de las mujeres en la Región Andina
Participación política y empoderamiento indígena en la Región Andina
Sistemas electorales en la Región Andina
La participación electoral en la Región Andina, 1978-2004
Democracia directa en los países de la Región Andina. Efectos en la consolidación del a democracia
Pactos interpartidarios y diálogos político-sociales en la Región Andina
La participación política de la sociedad civil en la Región Andina
Agendas distantes. Los medios de comunicación y los partidos políticos en la Región Andina
Sobre los autores
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