WOLA: Advocacy for Human Rights in the Americas
5 Nov 2018 | Podcast

Electoral Rules and Democracy in Latin America with Cynthia McClintock

Dr. Cynthia McClintock and Adam Isacson

The State of Democracy in the Region After a Long Year of Elections

We’re at the end of a long year of elections in Latin America. Since late 2017, there has been presidential voting in Honduras, Chile, Costa Rica, Paraguay, (Venezuela), Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil. Adam Isacson, Director for Defense Oversight at WOLA speaks with Dr. Cynthia McClintock, professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University and author of the new book Electoral Rules and Democracy in Latin America. Dr. McClintock’s thesis is that countries in the region that hold second-round runoff elections have tended to have more stable and legitimate governments. This is ever more important as the so-called “third wave” of democratization in Latin America appears to be receding.