On Sunday, the new mayor of Chilpancingo, the crime-ridden capital of Mexico’s Guerrero State, was gruesomely murdered after just six days in office. Guerrero is one of the places worst affected by drug smuggling, cartel violence, and turf warfare. As Javier Corrales and Will Freeman argue in the newest issue of the Journal of Democracy, organized criminal groups in Latin America have money, firepower, and a stranglehold on political life — making them incredibly difficult to defeat. How can countries in the region curb the violence and revive democracy?
The Journal of Democracy essays below, free for a limited time, wrestle with the crisis of organized crime in Latin America and how democracies can gain the upper hand in defeating gangs and cartels.
How Organized Crime Threatens Latin America
Drug cartels possess the power of militaries, the profits of corporations, and the coercive capacity of a state. They will not be eliminated any time soon. But the region’s democracies can seek to raise their costs, limit their influence, and curb the violence.
Javier Corrales and Will FreemanWhy Latin America’s Democracies Are Stuck
This is the toughest time for Latin America’s democracies in decades. Democratic stagnation makes them ripe targets for illiberal populists and other would-be authoritarians who will feed the region’s worst vices.
Scott Mainwaring and Aníbal Pérez-LiñánThe Bukele Model: Will It Spread?
The Salvadoran president’s “iron fist” policies have become one of the most popular political brands in Latin America. But the very reasons that explain his success in El Salvador point to why his repressive approach will not succeed elsewhere.
Manuel Meléndez-Sánchez and Alberto VergaraWhy Democracy Survives Populism
Populism is a mortal threat to liberal democracy, but it rarely hits the mark. The evidence shows that these would-be strongmen require an extraordinary set of circumstances to succeed, which is why they so rarely do.
Kurt WeylandLatin America’s New Turbulence: Trouble in the “Northern Triangle”
Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador are weighed down by high crime, sluggish economies, and heavy reliance on remittances. And when significant political change has taken place, it has resulted in frightening political fragmentation.
Forrest D. Colburn and Arturo Cruz S.The Criminal Subversion of Mexican Democracy
In recent years, Mexico has stumbled into an encounter with collective violence, this time in the form of the “drug war.” Among its many harms is the damage it is doing to Mexican democracy.
Andreas SchedlerLatin America’s Growing Security Gap
Striking the right balance between freedom and security is hard, especially in Latin America. Hybrid forces combining military and police elements may be the best means for meeting security challenges without imperiling freedom.
David Pion-Berlin and Harold TrinkunasOnline Exclusives:
How the World’s Most Popular Dictator Wins
El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele may be overwhelmingly popular, but he wasn’t going to let his electoral ambitions hinge on being well-liked. Instead, he rigged the playing field before the first vote was cast.
Manuel Meléndez-SánchezEcuador’s Democratic Breakdown
The small Latin American country was a brief democratic bright spot. But it appears to have fallen victim to a clash between populists and anti-populists, without a democrat in sight.
Will FreemanIs Central America Doomed?
Of course not. But the region’s democratic hopes are fighting an uphill battle against corruption, crime, and a violent past.
Mateo Jarquín, Rachel A. Schwartz, and Kai M. Thaler
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Image Credit: U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Osvaldo Equite