Suchergebnisse

Michelle Bachelet se impuso en las elecciones presidenciales de 2006 porque expresaba una combinación de continuidad (con los gobiernos de la Concertación) y cambio (por su condición de mujer y su promesa de renovar el gabinete). Desde que asumió, sin embargo, diversos episodios no previstos provocaron una caída de su popularidad: las protestas estudiantiles, la caótica implementación del Transantiago y la indecisión en algunos temas claves la han forzado a implementar dos cambios de gabinete en menos de un año y medio de gobierno. El artículo sostiene que Bachelet, sin descuidar las señales de cambio, debe recuperar la esencia de la Concertación, la gestión eficiente de una economía social de mercado y el sólido respaldo de los partidos políticos que integran la coalición. (Nueva Soc/GIGA

This paper discusses the electoral rules used in Chile since 1833, highlighting how difficult it was to change them after first adopted. It is then analyzed the current system, emphasizing its strengths & weaknesses. It is argued that the current system can be best understood as an insurance against an electoral defeat since it imposes high thresholds on a party that seeks to transform its electoral majority into a commanding majority of seats in the legislature. It is shown that the Concertacion has found it difficult to transform its electoral majority into a majority control of the legislature. Using electoral simulations, it is shown that the conservative coalition (given its share of votes) gets a larger share of seats with the current system than with any other alternative district magnitude. Tables, Graphs, References. Adapted from the source document.

Defining populism as an effort to weaken democratic institutions, I propose in this article that political parties can help prevent the emergence of populism in Latin America. The stronger & more accountable the political parties, the less likely that populist leaders will emerge in Latin America. In this article, I define political parties as groups of office-seeking politicians who stay together after they lose an election. In this way, I do not rely on a shared ideology as a necessary condition for a true political party to exist. In addition, this definition allows me to distinguish political party from electoral coalitions formed for a single election & from parties that form before an election & disappear immediately after. By analyzing recent & historic Latin American cases that support this thesis, I suggest that countries where stable & strong political parties exist are less likely to experience populist phenomena. I also argue that populist experiences in those countries are always associated with weakening political parties. Yet, the existence of political parties is a necessary, not a sufficient, condition to prevent the emergence of populism. 2 Figures, 14 References. Adapted from the source document.