During the third wave of democratization, a transformation of political institutions to democracies in the developing world, the majority of countries in Latin America shifted from military regimes to democracies. While Latin America has been identified as the third most democratic region in the world, after Western Europe and North America, democracy in the region must overcome huge obstacles Western counterparts do not experience as harshly, such as widespread poverty, poor education, and gaping income inequality. After the third wave occurred between 1980 and 1990, Latin America has failed to consolidate democracies within the region due to lack of political participation, poor functioning of government, and corruption. Poor educational
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Corruption undermines the rule of law in a country, therefore weakening the democracy. A survey by the Global Agenda in 2014 asked “What are the biggest challenges facing Latin America in 2015?”. The number one answer given by Latin American citizens was corruption. The greatest example of corruption in the region can be seen in Brazil. The Petrobras scandal, uncovered in 2013, of the state run oil company revealed that more than $5.3 billion was illegally allocated to various business and political leaders. The Petrobras scandal, along with the accusation against president Dilma Rousseff for illegal movement of government funds, resulted in her impeachment in September 2016. In addition, of the 513 members of the lower house of Congress, 303 face charges or are being investigated for serious crimes. In the Senate, the same goes for 49 of 81 members. Distrust of democracy as the best form of government for the region has resulted from the continued election of corrupt politicians. According to the annual Latinobarómetro poll, satisfaction with democracy in Latin America is lower than it is in any other region and is at its lowest point in almost a decade, at 37 percent. Corruption threaten the stability of democracy in Latin America because it has caused the spread of discontent with the state of
Corruption undermines the rule of law in a country, therefore weakening the democracy. A survey by the Global Agenda in 2014 asked “What are the biggest challenges facing Latin America in 2015?”. The number one answer given by Latin American citizens was corruption. The greatest example of corruption in the region can be seen in Brazil. The Petrobras scandal, uncovered in 2013, of the state run oil company revealed that more than $5.3 billion was illegally allocated to various business and political leaders. The Petrobras scandal, along with the accusation against president Dilma Rousseff for illegal movement of government funds, resulted in her impeachment in September 2016. In addition, of the 513 members of the lower house of Congress, 303 face charges or are being investigated for serious crimes. In the Senate, the same goes for 49 of 81 members. Distrust of democracy as the best form of government for the region has resulted from the continued election of corrupt politicians. According to the annual Latinobarómetro poll, satisfaction with democracy in Latin America is lower than it is in any other region and is at its lowest point in almost a decade, at 37 percent. Corruption threaten the stability of democracy in Latin America because it has caused the spread of discontent with the state of