"Explores challenges to democracy in the Andes - Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela - through the lens of political crises caused by elected leaders who abuse their power, often with broad public approval"--
This book gathers contributors in Latin American studies, political science, and public policy to examine challenges to democracy in the Andean region of South America. They offer chapter-length case studies of Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia. They focus on regime crises caused by elected leaders who seek to undermine constitutional constraints on their power, and explore the political dynamics of executive aggrandizement, noting that while military coups are rare in the region, instead there are self-coups, when a president closes Congress, suspends the constitution, and rules by decree. In addition to country case studies, the book features background chapters on historical patterns in the regions political crises. Other chapters consider the rights of Indigenous peoples and chart democratic erosion during the COVID-19 pandemic. The final chapter summarizes debates over models of democracy. Editors Maxwell A. Cameron and Grace M. Jaramillo are affiliated with the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia. The book is a successor to previous work conducted under the aegis of the Andean Democracy Research Network at the University of British Columbia. Annotation ©2022 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
