State Decay and Democratic Decadence in Latin America

Abstract

It is rather puzzling that democracy, being such a simple and reasonable political programme, has been able to arouse throughout history fierce passions and dogged resistance, bringing about revolutions and counter-revolutions, bloody civil wars, protracted popular struggles and brutal repressions of all sorts. Was all this drama - the drama of the West since the time of Pericles - just the result of a simple malentendu? Wouldn't it be more reasonable to think instead that the implantation of democracy reflects a peculiar outcome of class conflicts, something that goes beyond an innocent procedural arrangement? Looking at the historical experience of Brazil, for instance, how could we possibly account for the fact that it was much easier to abolish slavery - and the Empire that rested on slave labour - than to democratize Brazilian capitalism?