Abstract

ARENAS G., Juan Carlos  and  VALENCIA A., Germán Darío. Presidential elections and reelections in Latin America, 2009. Perf. de Coyunt. Econ. [online]. 2009, n.13, pp.77-96. ISSN 1657-4214.

Latin America has experienced several choppy electoral processes in 2009: seven presidential elections, two referendums and three legislative elections. However, the presidential elections lead the interest of opinion, due to the recent new reelection wave. This mechanism has been adopted for fourteen out of nineteen countries in the region. The present article analyzes the reelection phenomenon as a result of the personalization of power and the institutional provision of resources, which could be the outcome of an argument about the convenience of a political arrangement for the functionality of the democratic system. Moreover, this article shows the current electoral dynamic in Latin America, highlighting the pros and cons of reelections.

Keywords : political conjuncture; presidential elections; Latin America; institutional changes.

        · abstract in Spanish | French     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )