The Latinobarómetro poll is taken in 18 countries and published exclusively in The Economist
LESS THAN half of Latin Americans are committed democrats and a growing number are indifferent towards their country’s political regime. A large majority remain deeply dissatisfied with the way their democracies work in practice and they place little trust in their institutions or in each other.
But the broad trend, expressed in recent protests in several countries, comes over loud and clear. Compared with the late-1990s, when the transition from dictatorship to democracy was still fresh in many countries, support for democracy in the region has waned . Only 49% say that democracy is their preferred form of government. Support for authoritarian government is low, at 13%.
Support for democracy in Brazil and Mexico, Latin America’s two giants, is well below the regional average. Another worrying trend concerns the profile of the typical democrat in Latin America. Younger people and especially those of the upper classes tend to be indifferent towards the political regime . That points to the disdain of elites for democracy.
The reasons for disillusionment are not hard to detect. Only 22% say their country is governed for the benefit of everyone, rather than the powerful few, though that is up from 17% in 2018, reflecting the common effort to fight the virus. Only 17% think the distribution of wealth in their country is fair. Clear majorities think that access to health care, education and justice is unequal.
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