Democracy, politics and Pandemics

 

(Editors)
Maria Hermínia Brandao Tavares de Almeida (CEBRAP/Universidade de Sao Paulo)
Marcelo Cavarozzi, (U. Nacional de San Martin/CONICET, Argentina)
Olivier Dabène (Sciences Po/ Observatoire politique de l'Amérique latine et des Caraïbes)

 

The last four decades have witnessed the expansion of democracy in Latin America. Starting in the Andean region (i.e. Bolivia, Perú and Ecuador), then spreading in the Southern Cone (initially Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil and last to Chile) and less clearly in Central America and the Caribbean democratic regimes replaced different types of military dictatorships –including the surviving Bureaucratic-Authoritarian regimes of Perú and Brazil, the foundational dictatorships of Argentina and Chile and the sultanistic “Stronato” of Paraguay. Between 1994 and 2000, the process culminated with the demise of Mexico´s party/state system.
After a couple of interregna of instability coinciding with the economic  crises of 1987-1990 and 1998-2003, a period of economic dynamism unfolded especially in South America in association with the commodity boom of the 2003-2012 decade. In some cases, in Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay and Ecuador, this trend was associated with the implementation of social policies aiming at reducing poverty and reversing social exclusion. Similar policies, although with less strength, were implemented in Chile and Mexico.
However, these trends began to be reversed during the 2010´s. Starting with the global crisis of 2009, adverse external conditions, especially in connection with the price of export commodities, both agricultural and mineral, contributed to the deterioration of domestic economics. Additionally, the expansion of criminal networks associated with drug production and distribution and money laundering was connected with the growth of widespread corrupt connections between criminals, on the one hand, and politicians, police forces, the judiciary and business corporations, on the other. It was not accidental, thus, that political instability and violent protests expanded throughout Latin America. In some cases, most notably Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil criminal violence expanded significantly, affecting especially social activists. Furthermore, in a couple of cases, i.e. Venezuela and Nicaragua, full authoritarian regressions culminated polymorphic processes of democratic backsliding.
The trends of democratic decay of the last seven or eight years have been correlated with the crisis of political parties and the complete breakdown of public confidence in political institutions. Perú is, without doubt, the clearest example of this syndrome.
The eruption of the Covid-19 pandemics has contributed to further deterioration of the economic situation and the deepening of the political crisis.

 

THEMES

1. The represidentialization of political systems and the paradoxical weakening of incumbents.
2. The 2021-2022 electoral cycle.
3. The federal system. How does it work? Relationships between presidents, governors and city leaders.
4. Public-private “anelhos”.
5. The public sector and the State´s infrastructural capabilities.
6. Public policies in the health system and the expansion of social aid networks.
7. The judiciary and the politicization of justice.
8. The impacts of the pandemicas upon political parties and the party system.
9. “Right” and “Left” in the new scenario.
10. New trends in public opinion.
11. New patterns of social action in civil society.
12. The impact of social networks and the changes in digital communication.
13. Social protests and its causes.
14. The reshaped international system and the role of international organizations.

 

Deadline for article shipments: March 30, 2021