State Capacity In Latin America

State capacity generally be defined as a state 's ability to provide political (public) goods such as security, political process participation, infrastructure, education, public health, and sound economic management to persons living within designated borders. State capacity in Latin America and the Caribbean region has collectively increased as a result the region overcoming a long history of civil war, corrupt authoritarian rule, and economic stagnation. The region is mostly characterized by developing countries that have benefited from democratization and economic liberalization. However, the region still remains vulnerable to historical dire and stubborn internal threats such as corruption, organized crime, and poverty. These internal …show more content…
Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Nicaragua have leaders possessing regional hegemonic aspirations which have used their constitutions to broaden presidential powers, thereby weakening accountability mechanisms. Presumably, they have turned to power politics because they lack well-functioning democratic institutions and thus the capacity to administer their territory effectively. It is also likely these countries feel threatened by the region 's developing democracies. Weak governance creates vulnerabilities and proliferates the persistent threats within this region such as organized crime and poverty, thus directly influencing and challenging the capacity of neighboring states in the region to address the …show more content…
Non-state actors participating in organized crime with the freedom of movement to operate in ill-governed or ungoverned spaces pose the most serious threat to the region. Security performed by a strong state consists of a state 's capacity to effectively control its military and police forces, possesses a monopoly on the legitimate use of force, has secure borders, and protects the lives and property of their citizens. A good majority of the states in Latin America and the Caribbean region contend with organized crime facilitated by corruption. Columbia, like Brazil and Mexico, is a prosperous country with a stable democracy capable of providing its citizens most key public goods, however the state only has the capacity to control two-thirds of its territory with the remaining third controlled by insurgent groups and drug traffickers. Mexico also grapples with ill-governed spaces exploited by drug traffickers. Some of the drug trafficking actors are affiliated with the Mexican government who use their positions to conduct illicit activities. To compensate for weak police forces, militarized state responses to organized crime networks continues to be common place in the region. In addition to Mexico, Brazil and El Salvador have also used paramilitary and militarized forces to address organized crime. Finally, homicide rates in this