,

EIGHT
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POLITICS, POWER,
INSTITUTIONS, AND ACTORS
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1.
Power moves politics in Latin America, and naked power often rules. As we

suggested in Chapter 5, politics in Latin America has to do with powerful

political and economic actors. Powerful politicos (and the ocassional politica)

have dominated most Latin American societies since classical Mayan and

Aztec times. Dictators such as Santa Anna in Mexico, Juan Peron in Ar

gentina, and Anastasio Somoza in Nicaragua have ruled absolutely. Oli

garchies such as the fourteen families in El Salvador have dominated poli

tics and brutally suppressed those who challenged them. Military juntas

have monopolized power, cancelled elections, imprisoned and sometimes

eliminated the opposition, and ruled for decades. The military and other

groups have ignored constitutions and seized power forcefully, as when the

Chilean military bombed the presidential palace to overthrow Salvador Al

lende in 1973. And power can also come from the mobilized masses, demon

strations, or general strikes that force a government out of office or a dicta

tor to resign. There have been more than 200 extra constitutional assumptions

of power in Latin America since the republics became independent. Indeed,

it has been the constellation of power and not constitutional constraints that

has conditioned the conduct of politics during most of Latin American his

tory. It is the powerful individual, group, institution, or party that most of

ten rules. Only those who know how to use power can be serious players.

Yet as Latin American societies have become more complex, those who
rule do so through the apparatus of the state and its interaction with polit
ical parties, political movements, individuals, and interest groups. Those
who aspire to power must take over the apparatus of the state and use it to
rule. This can be done by a coup d'etat, a fraudulent election, a political
agreement among political or economic elites to share power, or a relatively
honest election with some real political competition. However the state ap
paratus is taken over, any discussion of the nature of political systems in
Latin America must begin with a realization of the greater role that has been

177

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178

Politics of Latin America

traditionally assigned to the state, particularly as compared to classical mod

els of liberalism. John Locke and other classical liberal thinkers believed that
the best government was that government that governed least. They were
reacting to that absolutist configuration of the state that monarchies like
Spain used to rule domestically and over their colonies in the sixteenth, sev
enteenth, and eighteenth centuries. Yet it was precisely this absolutist state
that served as the model for Latin American rule.
use and misuse in Latin
America have been quite different than the way the liberal state developed
in Great Britain or the United States.
When the Latin American nations gained their independence in the early
nineteenth century there was a serious struggle over the political forms that
would be adopted by the newly independent nations. During the colonial
period the region experienced different forms of authoritarian rule and state
absolutism. The traditional elites who retained power, now independent
from Madrid and Lisbon, had little if any democratic experience. Indeed,
since the conception of the state that was projected from Madrid or Lisbon
was absolutist during the colony, the elites had to find informal, noninsti
tutional (and not institutionalized), more personalistic ways to assert their
authority and adapt to local conditions. They were short on practical
democratic models. Indeed, after independence, several countries experi
mented with monarchical and/ or dictatorial rule.
The constitutional structures of the newly independent states were nom
inally democratic and modeled on the liberal constitutions of France, the
United States, and the Spanish liberal constitution of 1812. Yet political prac
tice and political culture tended to be authoritarian and absolutist, even for
committed democrats like Simon Bolivar. Gradually, new groups emerged
and democratic practice engendered more democratic and less absolutist at
titudes-although the latter have persisted to the present day. As a result,
a strange hybrid resulted. Most countries adopted a republican, democratic
form of government, but in reality traditional authoritarian patterns were
most often employed by the elites and suffrage was very limited. In the cen
tury and a half after independence, suffrage was gradually expanded, but
there was frequent reversion to authoritarian politics and elitist, if not dic
. tatorial, rule. Much of the course of Latin American history has been an al
ternation between the authoritarian tendencies that were acquired during
colonial and even pre-colonial times and the democratic ideas and ideals
that were interjected at the time of independence. Democracy has been gain
ing ground in recent years, but reversions to authoritarian rule are frequent
and decision-making practices continue to reflect the authoritarian aspects
of the political culture.

Its

Constitutions
Jurisprudence is a highly developed art in Latin America. Legal docu
ments are beautifully written and comprehensive. Latin American con

Politics, Power, Institutions, and Actors

/79

stitutions are no exceptions. They tend to be long, detailed, flowery

documents with a large number of articles (the Mexican constitution'
of 1917 has well over 100 articles) covering a great many specific situa
tions. As such, they frequently need to be modified or replaced. Based
on code law, they are not open to case-based interpretation, as is the case
with Anglo Saxon case law. Nor is legal precedent part of the judicial
system. Constitutions have historically been more a norm to strive to~
ward than a strict basis for the rule of law. Presidential power and pre
rogative are often more important than specific constitutional provisions
or prohibitions.
Like the idealism of Don Quijote that permeates the culture, Latin Amer~
ican constitutions represent an ideal to which those who govern and are
governed aspire. There have been times and places in Latin American his

tory where they have been carefully followed (Costa Rica from 1950 to the

present, Uruguay and Chile in the 1960s), but they are frequently subordi

nated to the power of the strong executive, dictator, or military junta. Those

who rule have and use power and are less likely to be constrained by the

constitution or other legal codes, although they may pay lip service to them.

Like Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1930s, they are more likely to find

ways to massage the courts and the constitution to achieve desired policy
results. The political tradition in most of Latin America is of strong-man
rule and the subordination of law and the courts to the executive and other

powerful political and economic actors. The concept of the rule of law and

protection of the individual against the arbitrary power of the state (through
government) that classical liberals from Hobbes on espouse is not well de
veloped in most of Latin America. Rather, power and the powerful have
generally ruled.
Only in recent decades have supreme courts become apt at delimiting
presidents' interpretations of what is permissible under the constitution. It
should be noted, however, that the process of democratization based on
Western concepts of classical liberal democracy that has recently spread
through the region has strengthened democratic aspects of political culture
in all countries where it is practiced and has begun to place a greater em
phasis on the subordination of power and the powerful to the law. None
theless, practice is often contradictory. In 2000 the Chilean Supreme Court
stripped former President Augusto Pinochet of his congressional immunity
so he could be tried for human rights violations during his brutal dictator
ship-as had been the case earlier for a former general who ruled Argentina
during the Dirty War-but Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori was inau
gurated for his third term after fraudulent elections were held after he forced
the Peruvian Supreme Court to exempt him from a constitutional prohibi
tion against third terms.
Like the constitution in the United States, Latin American constitutions
almost universally created three branches of government: executive, leg
islative, and judicial. However, very rarely are they coequal-even in the

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180

Politics of Latin America

constitutions. Two realities common to Latin American systems are a grant

ing of greater power to the executive branch over the legislative branch and
the general lack of significant judicial review. Further, while most Latin
American constitutions contain a significant listing of human, civil, and po
litical rights, they also include provisions whereby those rights can be sus
pended in an emergency or time of crisis by the executive. A state of siege
(estado de sitio) or state of emergency may be invoked by most Latin Ameri
can presidents (usually with the consent of the legislature) for a given pe
riod of time usually ranging from thirty to ninety days. It allows the presi
dent to suspend most constitutional guarantees, such as freedom of speech
and assembly and habeas corpus, and to legislate by decree. After the ini
tial period runs out, it may be renewed. This has often been an avenue by
which presidents acquired dictatorial powers. Latin American constitutions
are also often contradictory on the question of the military, asserting in one
place the primacy of the civilian rule but in another granting the military a
special responsibility for protecting national sovereignty and maintaining
domestic order.
Like Continental law, the legal systems in Latin America are based on
code law. Most analysts of Latin American constitutions and laws stress that
the systems are based not on the flexible notions of British cornmon law but
rather on strict interpretation of extensive legal codes. Rather than building
on a series of case law decisions, Latin American law is deductive. This code
based law has its origin in Roman law, Catholic traditions, and the
Napoleonic Code that have long dominated the region. The influence of Ro'
man traditions can be traced to the long Roman domination of the Iberian
peninsula, which left more than just its language. This tradition emphasized
the importance of a comprehensive, written law that is applicable every
where, in contrast to the medieval traditions of law on which the English
system is based, with its emphasis on limits. What was clearly missing from
the Iberian ideas of law transported to the New World were the notions of
social contract developed in the English ideas of Hobbes and Locke, which
laid the groundwork for the idea of a rule of law based on the consent of
the governed.
John Peeler argues that another feature of Latin American constitutional
ism drawn from earlier traditions is corporatism. In contrast to the more in
dividualist ideas of the social contract, the Iberian tradition is more corpo'
ratist, with a great emphasis on the sociability of humans and their
collectivity. Latin American constitutions are more likely to acknowledge
the legitimacy of the interests of collective groups than of individuals. It is
therefore interesting that in contemporary Latin American politics the strug
gle is often over which groups should have their interests acknowledged.
For example, some of the constitutions (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and
Mexico) specifically acknowledge the rights of indigenous groups, children,
senior citizens, workers, women, and so on. (See Tables 14 and '15 on
women's political rights.)

I'.lble 14.

Legal Text

Statement of Equality

Argentina

Political constitution of 1994

Il"livia

Political constitution of 1967

Brazil

('hile

Federal constitution of 1988

and state constitutions
of 1989
Political constitution of 1980

All inhabitants are equal before the law. No

privileges of blood or birth are recognized,
nor personal exceptions nor titles of nobility.
All human beings enjoy guarantees and rights
regardless of race, gender, language,
religion, or any other form of
discrimination. Men and women are equal
in rights and obligations.
Men and women are equal in rights and
obligations.

Cnlombia

Political constitution of 1991

('osta Rica'

Political constitution of 1949

Cuba
Dominican
Republic

Political constitution of 1976

Political constitution of 1966

I~cuador

Political constitution of 1979

EI Salvador
(;uatemala

Political constitution of 1983

Political constitution of 1985

( 'ountry

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Women's Constitutional Guarantees

\ Honduras

Political constitution of 1965

Mexico
Nicaragua

Political constitution of 1917

Political constitution of 1987

Panama

Political constitution of 1972

Paraguay

Political constitution of 1992

Peru

Political constitution of 1993

Uruguay
Venezuela

Political constitution of 1967

Political constitution of 1961

Men are born free and equal in dignity and

rights.
All people enjoy the same rights, without
discrimination based on gender or other
reasons.
All men are equal before the law and cannot
commit any discrimination contrary to
human dignity.
Women enjoy the same rights as men,
Does not expressly relate the equality of rights
between women and men.
Women have the same rights and
opportunities as men.
All people are equal before the law.
Men and women have the same opportunities
and responsibilities.
All Hondurans are equal. Any discrimination
based on gender is prohibited.
Men and women are equal before the law.
All people are equal. Discrimination based on
birth, race, nationality, origin, or other
factors is prohibited.
There are no personal exceptions or privileges,
nor discrimination by reason of gender,
race, social class, religion, or political beliefs.
Men and women have equal rights. The state
should concern itself with making equality a
reality and with facilitating the participation
of women in all arenas of national life,
No one should be discriminated against for
reasons of origin, gender, race, language,
religion, or other..
All people are equal before the law.
Discrimination based on gender, race, creed,
or social condition is prohibited.

'The constitution of Costa Rica establishes that mothers, children, and the elderly enjoy special pro
tection by the state.
Source: Statistical Abstract of Latin America, Vol. 35 (Los Angeles: UCLA, 1999).

181

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182

Politics of Latin America

Table 15. Women's Political Rights

Country

Year Right
to Vote
Granted

Argentina

1947

Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominican
Republic
Ecuador

1952
1932
1949
1954
1949
1934
1942

El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Uruguay
Venezuela

1950
1945
1955
1953
1955
1946
1961
1955
1932
1947

1929

Right to Be Chosen through

Popular Election
Since 1991, candidate lists for popular
elections must include women in a
minimum of 30% of elected positions.
Same for men and women.
Same for men and women.
Same for men and women.
Same for men and women.
Same for men and women.
Same for men and women.
Same for men and women.
Same for men and women.
The law establishes the obligatory
inclusion of 25% of women on
candidate lists in multiperson elections.
Same for men and women.
Same for men and women.
Same for men and women.
Same for men and women.
Same for men and women.
Same for men and women.
Same for men and women.
Same for men and women.
Same for men and women.
Same for men and women.

Year CEDAW*
Ratified

1960
1984
1989
1981
1984
1982
1981

1981
1982
1983

1981
1986
1981
1981
1982

'Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, adopted by

the United Nations in 1979.

Source: Mujeres Latinoamericanas en Cifras, 1995, pp. 138-139, as cited in Statistical Abstract of Latin

America, Vol. 35 (Los Angeles: UCLA, 1999).

Institutions
THE PRESIDENT

Latin American republics are based on the strong presidential form of gov
ernment. Chile did experiment with parliamentary government around the
tum of the twentieth century but has since employed presidential rule. Like
France, Haiti does have both a president and a prime minister, but most
power resides with the president, who appoints the prime minister. The sin
gle most distinctive political feature of Latin American rule is the power of
the executive. Contemporary Latin American presidential power is deeply
rooted in the autocratic traditions of the colonial period. Presidential power

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NO VALIDA PARAVOTAR

Sample ballot from the 1998 presidential election in Venezuela. Thirty-six different
parties competed, but Fifth Republic Movement candidate Hugo Chavez easily won
the election with close to 60 percent of the vote.

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