Latin America Erupts: When Does Competitive Authoritarianism Take Root?

Democratically elected as Bolivia's first indigenous president in 2005, Evo Morales eroded democracy and began a transition to competitive authoritarianism in the 2010s. By November 2020, however, both Morales and his successor, the right-wing president Jeanine Áñez, had fallen after failing to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of democracy Vol. 32; no. 3; pp. 63 - 77
Main Authors Velasco Guachalla, V. Ximena, Hummel, Calla, Handlin, Sam, Smith, Amy Erica
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press 01.07.2021
Subjects
Authoritarianism
Autocracy
Civil liberties
Civil society
Competition
COVID-19
Democracy
Democratization
Elections
International organizations
Political leadership
Presidents
Term limitations
Brazil
Venezuela
Colombia
Bolivia
Latin America
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Summary:Democratically elected as Bolivia's first indigenous president in 2005, Evo Morales eroded democracy and began a transition to competitive authoritarianism in the 2010s. By November 2020, however, both Morales and his successor, the right-wing president Jeanine Áñez, had fallen after failing to consolidate authoritarian rule. Why do some aspiring authoritarians succeed while many fail? A comparison of Bolivia to Brazil and Venezuela illuminates the challenges of both eroding democracy and institutionalizing new competitive authoritarian regimes. Aspiring autocrats must mobilize and control civil society in both stages of autocratization—a challenge that led to the fall of both Morales and Áñez.
ISSN:1045-5736
1086-3214
1086-3214
DOI:10.1353/jod.2021.0034