Democracy in Latin America
Democracy in Latin America

Summary/Abstract: People and pundits pontificate about Democracy as if it were something universal. Nothing could be more wrong. In practice, when Democracy is debated as a form of government, the debaters are usually thinking about a particular version of Democracy, one that is dearest to their hearts… and one that has been shaped by their own culture.When we look at Democracy around the world, we can see that, in fact, there are practically no two countries with exactly the same model of Democracy: they are all quite different.The Economist has recently stated that Democracy is in crisis, all over the world. There are fewer democratic governments in 2019 than there were 10 years ago; and even those who claim to be democratic are, as we write this, being questioned about how really democratic they are.In Latin America, as in other parts of the planet, the forms of government are shaped by culture. And the cultures ion Latin America are all Social Pyramid styles of culture, as Huib Wursten has described in his published articles.Social Pyramid cultures are hierarchical, collectivistic, and high on Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI). The styles of government, and the styles of Democracy functioning in these countries, are all heavily influenced by these characteristics

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