Democratic Crises in Latin America and the Responses of Regional Institutions: An Evaluation of the Case of the OAS

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the role the Organization of American States (OAS) in addressing the democratic crises the Latin American countries have experienced since the 1990s. It is argued that despite initial successes such as the OAS’ response in the cases of Perú and Haiti in the 1990s or in the mediation in Venezuela in 2003, after 2009, the efficiency of the OAS was much lower. The first two sections of this chapter are devoted to the analysis of the concept of democratic crisis and the role of international institutions in the protection and promotion of democracy. The two last sections of the chapter examine the democratic crises in Latin America and the role of the OAS in the solution of these crises.