With the looming issues created by the COVID-19 pandemic, governments across the globe have gone through major changes, for better or for worse, as a response to the crisis. This article highlights Latin America’s unique and monumental reaction to the pandemic, the decline of democracy. Latin American democracy has gone through its fair share of changes and failures since it first became prevalent as a result of the Cold War. Latin American democracy, with its very shaky and humble beginnings, had survived through the neoliberal era as well as the rise and fall of the pink tide, albeit barely. However, even to this day, calling democracy in Latin America unestablished or weak would be an extreme understatement, at least compared to some other more established democracy. To make matters worse, it seems that this COVID-19 pandemic has provided the necessary conditions for the ultimate decline of democracy in Latin America. The recent pandemic has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands as well as debilitating the lives of millions of Latin Americans. Taking advantage of the desperate situation and the massive unrest among the people, government officials have, in many regards, turned to authoritarian-like conduct, reminiscent of the dictators of the Cold War and even the Caudillos of the early 20th century. Although it is highly unlikely that Latin America will again begin to foster authoritarian leaders such as the likes of Fidel Castro, Augusto Pinochet, and even Juan Peron, the actions by Latin American government officials in lieu of the COVID-19 pandemic show eerie similarities. While there are surely no indications of lifetime dictatorships or mass murder, evident in Latin America’s recent history, government officials have extended their office terms, weakened certain government actions, and censored critics, as a “necessary response” to the pandemic. Although Latin America may not completely regress into the remnants of the early 20th century and the Cold War era, it seems evident that democracy in Latin America, after having failed numerous times, is declining to its potential downfall.
Citations:
Dawson, A. S. (2015). Latin America since independence: A history with primary sources. New York: Routledge.
Wood, J. A., & Alexander, A. R. (2019). Problems in modern Latin American history: Sources and interpretations. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
