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The Impact of Economic Versus Institutional Factors in Elite Evaluations of Presidential Progress Toward Democracy in Latin America

University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida

Robert R. Barr

University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, Virginia

Matthew J. Lebo

Stony Brook University, New York

Elites’ support for democracy and their satisfaction with political leadership are important factors in evaluating Latin American leaders’ progress toward consolidating their democracies. However, we know surprisingly little about how elites understand or define democracy and thereby evaluate leaders in terms of progress toward democracy. Much literature on opinions of elites focuses on their relative interest in democratic values and formal institutions. But is progress in these two areas really of utmost importance to elites? To better understand elite views of democracy, the authors use new survey data in which elites assess current politicians’ progress toward democracy. They find that the importance of perceived progress in democratic values—civil rights and civil liberties—and formal institutions is minor compared to the impact of perceptions of economic progress; elites’ evaluations of democratic progress depend primarily on their perceptions of economic success and only secondarily on perceptions of achievement of democratic values.

Key Words: Latin America • elites • opinion • democracy • institutions

Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 39, No. 10, 1194-1219 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0010414006287234


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