“Explaining the Emergence of Democracy in the Southern Cone”

• In Event: The Evolution of Democratic Institutions

Abstract

Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay were among the first countries in Latin America to democratize, enacting reforms that expanded the franchise and established the secret ballot in the late 19th and early 20th century. Scholars have attributed these reforms to socio-economic modernization and the emergence of new social classes, inequality and class-based protest, and partisan competition, among other factors. The proposed paper uses a mix of quantitative and qualitative data including roll-call votes, congressional debates, and census and electoral data to evaluate these different explanations.

Author

• Raul L Madrid, University of Texas/Austin