1. Democracy and Justice in Latin America Iran Rodrigues, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Florida iranmr@ufl.edu iranmr@ufl.edu

2. Overview Democracy and Justice in Latin America  Political institutions and Government  Brief Political and Economic history  Recent democratic experiences  The Rule of Law, courts and the limits of justice

3. Overview - 3 Regions Democracy and Justice in Latin America  20 Countries  (excluding the Caribbean)  Pop: about 600 million  Europeans, Africans, Asians and Indigenous peoples

4. Forms of Government  Most countries have Presidential Systems  Some countries are Federations Democracy and Justice in Latin America Federations : Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Venezuela Unitarian States : Geographically smaller. Administrative divisions exercise only powers that the central government delegates

5. - Well, gentlemen: we’ve changed the Party name. Now we just have to find a way to erase our history!” Political Institutions Democracy and Justice in Latin America  Strong Executives  Historical authoritarian practices  Strong constitutional powers  Charisma, and frequent claims of “moral superiority”  Weak Legislatures  Large number of political parties  Low levels of representation  Weak Judiciaries  Little independence

6. Historical Background: Democratic “Waves” Democracy and Justice in Latin America  First wave: 1810 – 1922 - Independence Wars  Second Wave: 1930s – 1960s – Populism  Authoritarian intermezzo:  1970s – 1980s : Authoritarianism  Third wave - Since 1980s:  (Re)democratization  Quality of democracy  democratic consolidation

7. Populism (1930s – 1960s) Democracy and Justice in Latin America  Great Depression (1929)  Regimes toppled  Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Guatemala, El Salvador  Highlighted weakness of the import-export model  Discredited ruling elites  Middle-class accepted military intervention  After 1930s:  Nationalistic and socially-oriented governments leaned towards inward development ( ISI )  Peron, Vargas, Cárdenas  New role of the state: promote national industrial development.  State as engine of development and redistribution Lazaro Cardenas (Mexico) Getúlio Vargas (Brazil)

8. Limits to populism: Authoritarianism (1960s-70s) Democracy and Justice in Latin America  Workers’ increased demands  Increasing urbanization  Elites rejected land reform and nationalization  Cold War context:  U.S. opposed left-of-center social programs  Democratic Breakdown  Brazil (1964), Chile (1973), Argentina(1976), etc. Juan and Eva Peron (Argentina) Argentina, 1976. Photo: Eduardo Di Baia Chile, 1973 *see movie suggestions

9. Limits to ISI (1970s) and the Debt Crisis (1980s) Democracy and Justice in Latin America  Military Governments borrowed millions of dollars to finance massive development projects  i.e. Itaipu Dam, and the Trans-Amazonian Highway.  Decreased efficiency of massive state enterprises  Debt crisis and uncontrolled inflation rates.  To refinance debts, countries had to  Adjust economic policies as a requisite for economic stabilization (Privatization, control of fiscal balance, etc)

10. Limits to ISI and the Debt Crisis (1980s) Democracy and Justice in Latin America  Growth rates tumbled  External debt exploded Sources: World databank. http://databank.worldbank.org http://databank.worldbank.org *see movie suggestions

11. Central America (70s - 80s) : Armed conflicts Democracy and Justice in Latin America  Weak representative institutions:  armed resistance the only option  Cuba, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua  In the Cold War Context revolutionary movements faced strong opposition from U.S. governments *see movie suggestions

12. Power of political institutions Democracy and Justice in Latin America  Executives held strong power and had extensive power over the Legislative and Judiciary  Judiciaries  Little effectiveness in executive-legislative disputes  Antiquated legal codes  Very little or no horizontal accountability

13. Peru 1980 Chile 1990 Uruguay 1984 Argentina 1983 Brazil 1985 Guatemala 1996 El Salvador 1992 Nicaragua 1990  (Re)democratization - free and fair elections restored  End of armed conflicts Third Wave (1980s): Political Transitions (1) Democracy and Justice in Latin America

14. Third Wave (80s-90s): Economic Transitions (2) Democracy and Justice in Latin America  A new role for the state: neoliberal Turn  Most governments implemented SA measures  These economic policies had dismal economic and social results  i.e. Peso Crisis (Mexico, 1994), Hyperinflation (Argentina 2001) Cochabamba, Bolivia. 2000 The “Water war” *see movie suggestions

15. Third Wave (80s-90s): Economic Transitions (2) Democracy and Justice in Latin America  1990s:  Growing unemployment  Increasing violence

16. The Pink Tide (Late 1990s)  Several Latin American countries began turning away  from the Washington Consensus, and from traditional political parties. 2004. Tabare Vasquez Uruguay 2011 Ollanta Humala Peru 1998 Hugo Chavez Venezuela 2002 Lula Brazil 2003. Nestor Kirchner Argentina 2005 Evo Morales Bolivia 2006 Michelle Bachelet Chile (?) 2007 Rafael Correa Ecuador Democracy and Justice in Latin America

17. Democratic limits in Latin America Democracy and Justice in Latin America  Free and fair elections However,  Little effective legal support for civil and social rights  Regionally and across social classes

18. Citizenship and the rule of law in L.A. new democracies Democracy and Justice in Latin America Factors weakening civil rights :  Abuse of the legal system  Low trust on the judiciary  Recourse to extralegal remedies for grievances  Marketization of the rule of law.  Can you pay for justice?  Legal system reinforce structural problems  Criminalization of poverty  i.e. El Salvador  Privatization of law enforcement

19. The Judiciary in Latin America Democracy and Justice in Latin America  Historically weak  Judicial Independence  To whom?  Highest courts, Lower courts, judges  F rom whom  Other political branches, Parts in a case  For the most part of the populations  Difficult or no access to Courts  Slow and overloaded Federal Court, Brazil, 1988

20. Justice in Latin America Democracy and Justice in Latin America  Increasing violence and threat to democracy Deterioration of citizen security since the 1980s Crime, police, courts, prisons, corruption  Why? 1. Democratic transitions  more transparency 2. Privatized justice/policing and/or vigilante tactics 3. Transnational organized crime 4. Weak control over national territory 5. Rapid urbanization  breakdown traditional values

21. Prisons in Latin America Democracy and Justice in Latin America  Worsening prison conditions (since 1980s)  Rates of incarceration  Economic inequality and Transnational crime Insufficient investment “Step back, please!” Country Prison population % increase* % Intended Capacity % Unsentenced Brazil7018145 Honduras9010990 Chile4715051 Costa Rica155167moderate Mexico5913396** Peru5814165 Argentina8414070 * 1992-1999 period. Source: Mark Ungar 2003 (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) *see movie suggestions

22. Limits to Justice in Latin America Democracy and Justice in Latin America  Economic Inequality  Difficult access to Courts  Police (and non-police) violence  Criminal System  Limited minorities’ rights  Indigenous populations  Women

23. Judicial Reforms (1990s – 2000s) Democracy and Justice in Latin America  Problematic co-existence: social rights x private contracts  Reform criminal justice  promotion of economic development  Increase access to the poor (social justice)  Successes  Increase in the # of judges and institutional budget  New organizations (prosecution and defense)  New jurisdictions (family and juvenile issues);  Intermediate courts to broaden territorial presence  New access structures: mobile and/or small claims courts *see movie suggestions Brazil: Itinerant courts reach tapped demand

24. Democracy and Justice in Latin America: Positive Notes Democracy and Justice in Latin America  Democratic (electoral) stability  Consistent Economic Growth  Strengthening of Judicial power and reach  More recognition of indigenous rights and rules

25. Suggested Movies/Documentaries Democracy and Justice in Latin America  Presumed Guilty – Mexico (2008)  http://www.pbs.org/pov/presumedguilty/ http://www.pbs.org/pov/presumedguilty/  Justica – Brazil (2004)  http://icarusfilms.com/new2005/jst.html http://icarusfilms.com/new2005/jst.html  Ending the Silence - Guatemala  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O-_98zzw4I&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O-_98zzw4I&feature=related  Battle of Chile (1998)  http://homevideo.icarusfilms.com/new98/boc.html http://homevideo.icarusfilms.com/new98/boc.html  The debt of dictators (2005)  http://newsreel.org/video/THE-DEBT-OF-DICTATORS http://newsreel.org/video/THE-DEBT-OF-DICTATORS  Enemies of war - El Salvador (2001)  http://www.pbs.org/itvs/enemiesofwar/ http://www.pbs.org/itvs/enemiesofwar/  In the name of the people – El Salvador (1984)  http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7643369712272960822# http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7643369712272960822#  The Front Line – El Salvador (1983)  (you need to subscribe to the list in order to download the movie)  http://vod.journeyman.tv/store?p=3914&s=The+Front+Line http://vod.journeyman.tv/store?p=3914&s=The+Front+Line  Carandiru – Brazil (2003)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKI6uwZbxM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKI6uwZbxM