In this article, we will address the topic of Democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean from different perspectives and approaches, with the aim of providing a complete and detailed vision of this topic that is so relevant today. We will analyze its impact in various areas, its evolution over time and the challenges it poses in contemporary society. In addition, we will examine the different opinions and positions on the matter, as well as the possible solutions and alternatives that have been proposed to address this issue. With this exhaustive analysis, we aim to offer our readers a broad and enriching overview that allows them to better understand the importance and complexity of Democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean.
0.900–1.000 0.800–0.899 0.700–0.799 0.600–0.699 | 0.500–0.599 0.400–0.499 0.300–0.399 0.200–0.299 | 0.100–0.199 0.000–0.099 No data |
The Democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean can be compared according to the different definitions of democracy. The V-Dem Democracy indices considers the Latin American and Caribbean countries with the highest democracy scores in 2023 as Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Jamaica and countries with lowest democracy scores as Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela. Democratic backsliding can be observed in parts of Latin America and the Caribbean. Democratization is reported by V-Dem Democracy Report 2024 in Brazil, Dominican Republic, Honduras and Bolivia.
The table below shows Latin American and Caribbean countries scored on 2 high-level V-Dem Democracy indices and 4 mid-level Democracy Component indices published in 2024 evaluating the state of democracy in year 2023.
Country | Democracy Indices | Democracy Component Indices | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Electoral | Liberal | Liberal | Egalitarian | Participatory | Deliberative | |
Costa Rica | 0.868 | 0.816 | 0.953 | 0.886 | 0.648 | 0.945 |
Uruguay | 0.845 | 0.77 | 0.922 | 0.821 | 0.768 | 0.849 |
Argentina | 0.84 | 0.69 | 0.803 | 0.769 | 0.616 | 0.696 |
Chile | 0.838 | 0.786 | 0.956 | 0.723 | 0.661 | 0.939 |
Jamaica | 0.798 | 0.678 | 0.847 | 0.829 | 0.59 | 0.807 |
Barbados | 0.796 | 0.678 | 0.849 | 0.825 | 0.295 | 0.887 |
Brazil | 0.784 | 0.692 | 0.887 | 0.592 | 0.643 | 0.925 |
Trinidad and Tobago | 0.753 | 0.635 | 0.84 | 0.788 | 0.577 | 0.928 |
Suriname | 0.753 | 0.631 | 0.837 | 0.713 | 0.572 | 0.773 |
Panama | 0.73 | 0.571 | 0.76 | 0.541 | 0.518 | 0.737 |
Colombia | 0.704 | 0.565 | 0.793 | 0.528 | 0.648 | 0.695 |
Peru | 0.699 | 0.576 | 0.819 | 0.519 | 0.622 | 0.506 |
Dominican Republic | 0.685 | 0.438 | 0.577 | 0.46 | 0.595 | 0.837 |
Ecuador | 0.646 | 0.467 | 0.689 | 0.488 | 0.759 | 0.54 |
Bolivia | 0.586 | 0.353 | 0.53 | 0.595 | 0.632 | 0.541 |
Paraguay | 0.579 | 0.426 | 0.697 | 0.315 | 0.535 | 0.493 |
Honduras | 0.534 | 0.394 | 0.695 | 0.389 | 0.544 | 0.675 |
Mexico | 0.534 | 0.299 | 0.476 | 0.452 | 0.654 | 0.545 |
Guyana | 0.512 | 0.332 | 0.578 | 0.686 | 0.513 | 0.38 |
Guatemala | 0.505 | 0.309 | 0.536 | 0.294 | 0.489 | 0.46 |
El Salvador | 0.388 | 0.111 | 0.151 | 0.315 | 0.469 | 0.261 |
Haiti | 0.214 | 0.066 | 0.152 | 0.128 | 0.259 | 0.597 |
Venezuela | 0.211 | 0.055 | 0.115 | 0.285 | 0.482 | 0.067 |
Cuba | 0.176 | 0.058 | 0.151 | 0.771 | 0.236 | 0.3 |
Nicaragua | 0.17 | 0.027 | 0.042 | 0.306 | 0.28 | 0.033 |