Latin America: Presidential Power and the Opposition in the Twenty-first Century

Abstract

At the end of 2017 Latin America has entered the electoral super cycle, which runs until the end of 2019. In the region will take place the elections of all levels: presidential, legislative, local, as well as referendums. The countries covered by the electoral race, provide 80 per cent of regional GDP, ballot will involve about 2/3 of the voters in the region. Fourteen Heads of State will be elected in the countries with a presidential form of Government. Elections are held in an atmosphere of political instability, discredit of the power structures, the degradation of the ruling elites, fragmentation of party systems, volatility of the preferences of the electorate. In the region, there are strong antielite moods, a slowdown of democratic processes, and the low level of support for democracy. This article analyzes the reasons for this situation. Considerable attention is paid to the characterization of the political systems prevailing in the countries of the region and focuses on the evolution of the institute of Presidency in the 21st century, the causes of the emergence of a new leadership and the formation of regimes of personified authorities. The author is of the opinion that the imbalances of presidential systems laid down in the regulatory and legislative framework, contribute to the consolidation of different models of ideological personification colors and offer opportunities for concentrating power in the hands of the head of State. Hyper power of the Presidents and the weakening of the control functions of parliaments contributed to the flourishing of corruption that has taken epidemic proportions in recent years and among the highest echelons of almost all countries. Corruption scandals in turn cause presidential resignations and impeachments, lead to institutional instability. The fight against corruption becomes the main leitmotif of election campaigns. The article presents the results of the election campaigns of 2015-2017, traces the dependence of electoral preferences of the population of the region from the situation in the economy and the social conditions, and underlines the special role of the new middle class in the political life. It is argued that Latin America is on the threshold of the emblematic changes but to predict election results and the nature of future change is not possible.