Elite Origins of the First Wave of Democracy in Latin America

• In Event: Waves of Democratization and Authoritarianism in Latin America

Abstract

This paper uses archival data, including the transcripts of congressional debates and newspapers from the period, to examine the emergence of democracy in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. These were the first three countries to establish functioning, albeit not fully inclusive, democracies in Latin America in which the political opposition could and did win elections. I make three general claims. First, the adoption of the secret ballot was crucial to the establishment of contestation in these countries. Second, the political opposition, which included landowning elites, was the main actor promoting the adoption of the secret ballot. Third, splits within the governing elite, not the emergence of new social and political actors, enabled the enactment of the secret ballot in these countries over the objections of many of the traditional elites.

Author

• Raul L Madrid, University of Texas/Austin