After the re-democratizing wave in Latin America and the Third World, there is great interest in analyzing whether presidentialism is compatible with the establishment of stable democracies. From a comparative perspective, the first part of this work presents the arguments against presidentialism, according to its theoretical-methodological scope. Then the criticisms of this system in the historical experiences of the Southern Cone countries are analyzed. Finally, the preference of many Latin Americans for a semi-presidential system, according to the model of the French Fifth Republic, stands out. It is concluded that in most of the cases considered here, it is not possible to know if a semi-presidential or parliamentary system would improve the opportunities for the consolidation of democracy, but it is important that social scientists empirically study the conditions for the stabilization of presidential democracies.
Keywords:
Political Systems, Latin America, Presidentialism, Parliamentarism, Democracy
Author Biography
Bernhard Thibaut, Universidad de Heidelberg
Cientista político alemán, investigador del Instituto de Ciencias Políticas de la Universidad de Heidelberg, Alemania.
Thibaut, B. (1993). Presidencialismo, parlamentarismo y el problema de la consolidación democrática en América Latina. Estudios Internacionales, 26(102), p. 216–252. https://doi.org/10.5354/0719-3769.1993.15406
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