a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background


Latin American democracy was born with an original sin: income inequality – the highest in the world. Thus it was that the region’s democratic institutions originated in a context of severe social exclusion and poverty. The US-style Madisonian model of democracy implemented across the region as its prevailing dictatorships ended in the 1980s – characterised by general elections, separation of powers, built-in checks and balances and civil control of the armed forces – did not match most Latin American nations’ cultural identities. That disconnect left significant gaps in governments’ ability to connect with and serve their people. Though democracy in…

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