The Handbook of Latin American Politics provides a comprehensive overview of the actors, institutions, and challenges shaping politics, governance and democracy across the region. With over 70 entries by leading scholars, it examines the interplay of social movements, political elites, civil society, state institutions, and international actors, revealing both the promise and perils of democratic and institutional development in Latin America. The volume explores how grassroots mobilization and resistance confront democratic backsliding, how institutional design and accountability shape resilience or decay, and how pressing policy challengesfrom inequality and migration to social conflict and environmental governancereshape political dynamics. Special attention is given to public administration, highlighting bureaucratic autonomy, civil service reform, decentralization, corruption, and transparency as crucial dimensions of state capacity and citizen trust. In addition, the Handbook situates regional politics within broader global influences, including international organizations, financial institutions, and social media, and provides detailed case studies of 20 countries.
An essential reference for scholars, students, and practitioners, this Handbook will appeal to those interested in Latin American politics, democratization, public administration, political economy, and global governance.
Key Features:
73 entries written by expert scholars Coverage of the last two decades of Latin American politics, including post-pandemic developments Analysis of six core dimensions: social actors, institutions, democracy, international actors, policy challenges, and public administration 20 country case studies
Arvustused
This authoritative and comprehensive Handbook is an indispensable resource for students, scholars, and practitioners working on Latin American politics. Dozens of subject specialists combine their expertise with historical perspective, secondary sources, and relevant data to illuminate key actors, institutions, and policies shaping the region. -- Elizabeth J. Zechmeister, Vanderbilt University, USA
Contents
Introduction to the Handbook of Latin American Politics xvii
Claudia N. Avellaneda, Nathalie Méndez and Ricardo A. Bello-Gómez
PART I SOCIAL ACTORS
1 Agrarian movements and peasant struggles in Latin America 3
Mauricio Velásquez
2 Labor unions in Latin America: Political action and organizational
innovation 15
Walter Omar Manky Bonilla
3 Progress and pretense: the politics of LGBTI rights in Latin America and
the Caribbean 27
Juan Moncaleano and Angela Guarin
4 Religious movements 45
Bibiana Ortega-Gómez and Carolina Cepeda-Másmela
5 Social movements in Latin America 57
Henry Veltmeyer
6 The representation of women in Latin American politics 69
Flavia Daniela Freidenberg Andres
7 The role of Afro-descendants in Latin American politics 91
Angie Edell Campos Lazo and Jorge Rafael Ramirez
8 The role of civil organizations in Latin American politics 107
Erli Margarita Marín-Aranguren and Francisco Daniel Trejos-Mateus
9 The role of indigenous peoples in Latin American politics 119
Salvador Martí and Victor Tricot Salomon
PART II INSTITUTIONS IN LATIN AMERICA
10 Central banks and monetary policies 133
Esteban Pérez Caldentey and Matías Vernengo
11 Constitutional courts in Latin America 149
Juan Carlos Rodríguez-Raga and Santiago Virgüez-Ruiz
12 Rules regarding who can vote 167
Eduardo Alemán
13 From shadow to erosion: Judicial politics in Latin America 179
Josafat Cortez-Salinas and Camilo Saavedra-Herrera
14 Informal institutions and social norms in Latin America and the
Caribbean: A cognitive institutionalist approach 191
Andrés Casas and Pablo Abitbol
15 Legislatures in Latin America 203
Patrick Cunha Silva and Danilo B. Medeiros
16 Media and politics in Latin America 217
Carolina Matos
17 Presidency and cabinet politics 229
Magna Inácio
18 Stability and change: Different perspectives for understanding Latin
American party systems 245
Laura Wills-Otero and Laura Daniela Guerrero
19 Subnational tensions 259
Kent Eaton
20 The armed forces, crime, and protests in Latin America 269
David Pion-Berlin
PART III CHALLENGES TO DEMOCRACY
21 Democratic backsliding in Latin America 283
Benjamin Garcia Holgado and Eugenia Artabe
22 How much have we learned from Latin American populisms? 297
Felipe Burbano de Lara
23 New left turns in Latin America 309
Maxwell A. Cameron and Agustín Goenaga
24 The role of the far right in Latin American politics 321
José Antonio Sanahuja and Camilo López Burian
PART IV INTERNATIONAL ACTORS
25 International NGOs in Latin America 333
Susan Appe and Jairo Rivera Vásquez
26 Latin American regionalism: Between resilience and crisis 345
Julissa Castro Silva and Cintia Quiliconi
27 Politics in the age of disinformation: The role of social networks in
Latin
America 355
Erica Guevara and Ignacio Siles
28 The role of international financial institutions in Latin America 369
Pablo Fleiss and Marcelo Bisogno
29 United States policy towards Latin America in the early twenty-first
century 385
Michael E. Allison
PART V POLICY CHALLENGES IN LATIN AMERICAN POLITICS
30 An ever-promising and challenging public space: Urban policy in Latin
America 401
José Sánchez Cetina and Alejandra Medina
31 Drug trafficking in Latin America 413
María Alejandra Vélez Lesmes and Lucas Marín Llanes
32 Environmental politics in Latin America: Amazon in the eye of the storm
433
Felipe Roa Clavijo and Sebastian Camilo Bonilla Gamba
33 Gangs and urban security 445
Sebastian Bitar
34 Inequality and poverty 457
Bilyana Petrova
35 Land Reform 471
Julio Ramos
36 Latin American political culture 483
José Álvaro Moisés
37 Migration in Latin America 495
Rafael Alfonso Hernández López and Jessica Natalia Nájera Aguirre
38 Officeless inclusion? Social class and popular sectors in Latin American
politics 505
Nicolas Somma
39 Political economy: Latin America in its growth labyrinth 519
Julio Ramos Pastrana and Gustavo Torrens
40 Protecting the elderly: The design of pension systems in Latin America
531
Oscar Becerra and David Forero
41 Race and politics in Latin America 543
Kwame D. Dixon and Lisa Lawrence
42 Social conflict in Latin America 553
Celia Wilson Garcia and Lorenza B. Fontana
43 Social policy in Latin America: Two-tiered welfare regimes at a crossroads
563
Fabian Borges Herrero
44 The dichotomy of human rights in Latin America: Between external
intervention and self-determination 575
Alfonso Jaime Martínez Lazcano
PART VI PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
45 Agenda setting in the Latin American policy process 587
Juan Guillermo Viera Silva
46 Bureaucratic autonomy in Latin American politics 597
Gabriela Spanghero Lotta, Iana Alves de Lima, Mariana Costa
Silveira and Rayane Vieira Rodrigues
47 Civil service in Latin America: Legalism, patronage and merit 611
Pablo Sanabria-Pulido, Jose Acevedo and Ricardo A. Bello-Gómez
48 Clientelism in Latin America 623
Hélène Combes and Gabriel Vommaro
49 Competitive neopatrimonialism in Latin America 633
Diego Salazar Morales
50 Decentralization in Latin America: Assessing progress and future
challenges 647
Ricardo Bello-Gómez, Nicolás Lagos Machuca and Claudia N. Avellaneda
51 State development and capacity in Latin America 661
Juan Fernando Ibarra del Cueto
52 The role of corruption in Latin American politics and political life 675
Elizabeth Peréz Chiqués
53 What we mean by transparency in Latin America 687
Mauricio Astudillo Rodas and Tzu-An Chian
PART VII COUNTRIES
54 Argentina: Institutional weakness, economic volatility, and the quest for
sustainable reform 705
Sebastian M. Saiegh
55 Bolivian politics under the new MAS: Polarization and internal divisions
715
Carla Alberti
56 Brazil 727
Cláudio Gonçalves Couto and Ricardo Corrêa Gomes
57 Chile 741
Carmen Le Foulon and Julieta Suárez-Cao
58 Colombia: Democracy and state capacity in a post-armed conflict society
751
Nathalie Méndez Méndez and Juan Federico Pino Uribe
59 Costa Rica: Political representation crisis threatens democratic stability
767
Ronald Alfaro-Redondo
60 Cuba 781
Daniel I. Pedreira
61 Dominican Republic, navigating democracy: Authoritarian legacies,
democratic reforms, and social challenges 797
Anselmo Muñiz and Carlos Morel
62 Ecuador: Understanding political polarization across the tightrope of
democracy 811
Julio Zambrano-Gutierrez and Lorena Amézquita Castro
63 El Salvador: The return to authoritarian governance: Violent peace and
democratic erosion 827
Ainhoa Montoya
64 Guatemala: Precarious democracy and the menace of impunity 839
Kevin Pallister
65 Haiti, men mwen (here I am)! Biding, revolution, and pauperization 853
Patrick Sylvain
66 Honduras: Political development, party system change, and prospects for
democratic consolidation and effective government 867
Stephan Garner Cruz and Alan Zarychta
67 Mexico 879
Francisco Javier Aparicio
68 Nicaragua: The resurgence of authoritarianism 891
Shelley McConnell
69 Panama: The high price of governance 905
Harry Brown and Carlos Garcimartin
70 Paraguay: Embedded authoritarian democracy 917
Andrew Nickson
71 Peru: Democratic advances and democratic backsliding amid formidable
challenges 929
Cynthia McClintock
72 Uruguay: An emerging high-income country with a consolidated
democracy 945
Verónica Pérez-Bentancur, Rafael Piñeiro-Rodríguez and Fernando Rosenblatt
73 Venezuela 955
Raúl Sánchez Urribarrí and Jessica Velásquez Urribarr
Edited by Claudia N. Avellaneda, Professor, O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University Bloomington, USA, Nathalie Mendez Mendez, Associate Professor, Alberto Lleras Camargo School of Government, Universidad de los Andes, Colombia and Ricardo A. Bello-Gómez, Assistant Professor, School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University - Newark, USA
