A century of constitution-making in Latin America: an inclusiveness-based comparative analysis (1917-2016)

Abstract

Inclusiveness has been increasingly recognized as one of the key elements that shape the outcome of a constitution-making process (CMP). This article surveys all the CMPs in Latin America from 1917 to 2016 to determine their level of inclusiveness. A novel aspect of this study is that it distinguishes between two types of inclusiveness, procedural and effective. Therefore, it provides a more in-depth assessment of the degree of inclusiveness during the CMPs. We found that although most CMPs can be described as procedurally inclusive, only a few of them met minimal democratic conditions; consequently, most CMPs could not be described as effectively inclusive. On the other hand, we also identified a relationship between higher procedural inclusiveness and higher democratic conditions. Lastly, we noticed that both procedural inclusiveness and democratic conditions have gradually risen through the years, especially in the last three decades.