This paper examines the approval of government bills in Chile, evaluating the effect of presidential prerogatives and policy substance, and considering both bill-specific and contextual effects. The results show that presidential prerogatives over financial policy as well as the ability to affect the congressional agenda through urgent bill scheduling, significantly influence government bill approval. As expected, government success is enhanced during the honeymoon period. However, changes in public approval of the president do not appear to exert a significant effect on the passage of presidential bills.
This article maps current constitutional adjudication systems in 17 Latin American democracies. Using recent theoretical literature, the authors classify systems by type (concrete or abstract), timing (a priori or a posteriori), and jurisdiction (centralized or decentralized). This approach captures the richness and diversity of constitutional adjudication in Latin America, where most countries concurrently have two or more mechanisms. Four models of constitutional adjudication are currently in use. In the past, weak democratic institutions and the prevalence of inter partes, as opposed to erga omnes, effects of judicial decisions, prevented the development of constitutional adjudication. Today, democratic consolidation has strengthened the judiciary and fostered constitutional adjudication. After discussing the models, the authors highlight the role of the judiciary in the constitutional adjudication bodies, the broad range of options existing to initiate this adjudication process, and the prevalence of amparo (habeas corpus) provisions.
This article updates our earlier finding that democracies outperformed
dictatorships in 1950-90 by achieving lower infant mortality rates at
every level of development. Now we show that this holds even post-Cold
War and after the latest wave of democratization. Using 1990-97 data, we
again find that democracies outdo dictatorships, though the difference
is somewhat smaller now. One key finding is relevant to policymakers:
foreign direct investment and aid both significantly reduce IMRs in
democracies, but not in dictatorships. Giving money to dictatorships,
whether in the form of aid or investment, makes either no difference or
even hurts children born there.
Este trabajo muestra que la participación electoral en Chile hoy no es menor a la observada hasta antes de 1973. La alta tasa de participación en 1988 representa una comprensible anomalía. Después de 15 años sin votar, los chilenos participaron entusiastamente en el plebiscito. Pero a partir de entonces, la tasa de participación tendió a la baja hasta llegar a fines de los 90 a niveles similares a los observados antes del quiebre democrático de 1973. Usando un marco teórico que aborda la participación como una función basada en costos y beneficios, discute la participación electoral en Chile en un contexto internacional, subrayando las diferencias y similitudes de los patrones existentes antes de 1973 y después de 1988, enfatizando tanto lógicas de inscripción como de participación electoral. Al hacerlo, aborda la tensión que existe entre un electorado estable y un número creciente de personas no inscritas para votar. Por último, identifica algunas propuestas que permitirían eliminar las trabas institucionales que han llevado a la formación de dos clases de adultos, aquellos que estando inscritos están obligados a votar y los que al no estar inscritos no pueden sufragar. Puntualmente, argumenta que al automatizar la inscripción se puede incorporar a todos sin tener siquiera que entrar a discutir la obligatoriedad del voto.
Chilean democracy is today more consolidated and inclusive than before the military dictatorship or at any point since the center-left Concertación government came to power. Yet the 1973 coup and Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship remain a defi ning moment in Chilean history. After all, democracy has been built on the foundations set in place by the country's 1980 Constitution. Although the Constitution has been amended several times, it is a reminder that Pinochet is the father of today's Chile, and the Concertación coalition a deserving stepfather. Four consecutive Concertación governments have helped heal deep social and political wounds and have presided over the most successful period of growth and progress in the nation's history. I discuss the shortcomings of Chilean democracy before 1973 and the status quo of democracy. Although I acknowledge the threat these might pose to further democratic consolidation, they are evidence of a healthy and working democracy.
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