A Century of Constitution-Making Processes in Latin America: An Inclusiveness-Based Comparative Analysis (1917-2016)

Abstract

Inclusiveness has been increasingly recognized as one of the key elements that shapes the outcome of a constitution-making process (CMP). This essay surveys all the CMPs that took place in Latin America from 1917 to 2016 in order to determine their level of inclusiveness. A novel aspect of this study is that it distinguishes between two types of inclusiveness, procedural and effective, and 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 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. Finally, both procedural inclusiveness and democratic conditions have gradually risen through the years, particularly in the last decades.