Edited by Claudia N. Avellaneda, Professor, O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University Bloomington, USA, Nathalie Méndez, Associate Professor, Alberto Lleras Camargo School of Government, Universidad de los Andes, Colombia and Ricardo A. Bello-Gómez, Assistant Professor, School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University - Newark, USA

‘This authoritative and comprehensive Handbook is an indispensable resource for students, scholars, and practitioners working on Latin American politics. Dozens of subject specialists combine their expertise with historical perspective, secondary sources, and relevant data to illuminate key actors, institutions, and policies shaping the region.’

• ContentsIntroduction to the Handbook of Latin American Politics xviiClaudia N. Avellaneda, Nathalie Méndez and Ricardo A. Bello-GómezPART I  SOCIAL ACTORS1 Agrarian movements and peasant struggles in Latin America 2Mauricio Velásquez2 Labor unions in Latin America: political action and organizationalinnovation 14Omar Manky3 Progress and pretense: the politics of LGBTI rights in Latin America andthe Caribbean 26Juan Moncaleano and Angela Guarin4 Religious movements 44Bibiana Ortega-Gómez and Carolina Cepeda-Másmela5 Social movements in Latin America 55Henry Veltmeyer6 The representation of women in Latin American politics 66Flavia Freidenberg7 The role of Afro-descendants in Latin American politics 89Angie Edell Campos Lazo and Jorge Rafael Ramirez8 The role of civil organizations in Latin American politics 106Erli Margarita Marín-Aranguren and Francisco Daniel Trejos-Mateus9 The role of indigenous peoples in Latin American politics 119Salvador Martí i Puig and Victor Tricot SalomonPART II  INSTITUTIONS IN LATIN AMERICA10 Central banks and monetary policies 131Esteban Pérez Caldentey and Matías Vernengo11 Constitutional courts in Latin America 146Juan Carlos Rodríguez-Raga and Santiago Virgüez-Ruiz12 Electoral rules in Latin America 164Eduardo Alemán13 From shadow to erosion: judicial politics in Latin America 177Josafat Cortez-Salinas and Camilo Saavedra-Herrera14 Informal institutions and social norms in Latin America and theCaribbean: a cognitive institutionalist approach 188Andrés Casas and Pablo Abitbol15 Legislatures in Latin America 200Patrick Cunha Silva and Danilo B. Medeiros16 Media and politics in Latin America 213Carolina Matos17 Presidency and cabinet politics 225Magna Inácio18 Stability and change: different perspectives for understanding LatinAmerican party systems 242Laura Wills-Otero and Laura Daniela Guerrero19 Subnational tensions 255Kent Eaton20 The armed forces, crime, and protests in Latin America 265David Pion-BerlinPART III  CHALLENGES TO DEMOCRACY21 Democratic backsliding in Latin America 278Benjamin Garcia Holgado and Eugenia Artabe22 How much have we learned from Latin American populisms? 292Felipe Burbano de Lara23 New left turns in Latin America 303Maxwell A. Cameron and Agustín Goenaga24 The role of the far right in Latin American politics 314José Antonio Sanahuja and Camilo López BurianPART IV  INTERNATIONAL ACTORS25 International NGOs in Latin America 325Susan Appe and Jairo Rivera Vásquez26 Latin American regionalism: between resilience and crisis 337Julissa Castro-Silva and Cintia Quiliconi27 Politics in the age of disinformation: the role of social networks in LatinAmerica 347Erica Guevara and Ignacio Siles28 The role of international financial institutions in Latin America 359Pablo Fleiss and Marcelo Bisogno29 United States policy towards Latin America in the early twenty-firstcentury 374Michael E. AllisonPART V  POLICY CHALLENGES IN LATIN AMERICAN POLITICS30 An ever-promising and challenging public space: urban policy in LatinAmerica 388José Sánchez Cetina and Alejandra Medina31 The current and future normative landscape of cannabis and coca in LatinAmerica 400María Alejandra Vélez and Lucas Marín Llanes32 Environmental politics in Latin America: Amazon in the eye of the storm 420Felipe Roa Clavijo and Sebastian Camilo Bonilla Gamba33 Gangs and urban security 431Sebastian Bitar34 Inequality and poverty 442Bilyana Petrova35 Land reform 455Julio A. Ramos Pastrana36 Latin American political culture 468José Álvaro Moisés37 Migration in Latin America 480Rafael Alonso Hernández López and Jéssica Natalia Nájera Aguirre38 Officeless inclusion? Social class and popular sectors in Latin Americanpolitics 490Nicolás M. Somma39 Political economy: Latin America in its growth labyrinth 504Julio A. Ramos Pastrana and Gustavo Torrens40 Protecting the elderly: the design of pension systems in Latin America 517Oscar Becerra and David Forero41 Race and politics in Latin America 530Kwame D. Dixon and Lisa Lawrence42 Social conflict in Latin America 540Celia Wilson Garcia and Lorenza B. Fontana43 Social policy in Latin America: two-tiered welfare regimes at a crossroads 551Fabián A. Borges44 The dichotomy of human rights in Latin America: between externalintervention and self-determination 562Alfonso Jaime Martínez LazcanoPART VI  PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION45 Agenda setting in the Latin American policy process 573Juan Guillermo Vieira Silva46 Bureaucratic autonomy in Latin American politics 583Gabriela Spanghero Lotta, Iana Alves de Lima, Mariana CostaSilveira and Rayane Vieira Rodrigues47 Civil service in Latin America: legalism, patronage and merit 597Pablo Sanabria-Pulido, Jose Acevedo and Ricardo A. Bello-Gómez48 Clientelism in Latin America 609Hélène Combes and Gabriel Vommaro49 Competitive neopatrimonialism in Latin America 619Diego Salazar Morales50 Decentralization in Latin America: assessing progress and futurechallenges 632Ricardo A. Bello-Gómez, Nicolás Lagos and Claudia N. Avellaneda51 State development and capacity in Latin America 647Juan Fernando Ibarra del Cueto52 The role of corruption in Latin American politics and political life 660Elizabeth Pérez-Chiqués53 What we mean by transparency in Latin America 672Mauricio Astudillo-Rodas and Tzu-An ChiangPART VII  COUNTRIES54 Argentina: institutional weakness, economic volatility, and the quest forsustainable reform 689Sebastian M. Saiegh55 Bolivian politics under the new MAS: polarization and internal divisions 700Carla Alberti56 Brazil 711Cláudio Gonçalves Couto and Ricardo Corrêa Gomes57 Chile 724Carmen Le Foulon and Julieta Suárez-Cao58 Colombia: democracy and state capacity in a post-armed conflict society 734Nathalie Méndez and Juan Federico Pino Uribe59 Costa Rica: political representation crisis threatens democratic stability 749Ronald Alfaro-Redondo60 Cuba 762Daniel I. Pedreira61 Dominican Republic, navigating democracy: authoritarian legacies,democratic reforms, and social challenges 777Anselmo Muñiz and Carlos Morel62 Ecuador: understanding political polarization across the tightrope ofdemocracy 791Julio Zambrano and Lorena Amézquita Castro63 El Salvador: the return to authoritarianism – violent peace and democraticerosion 807Ainhoa Montoya64 Guatemala: precarious democracy and the menace of impunity 819Kevin Pallister65 Haiti, men mwen (here I am)! Biding, revolution, and pauperization 832Patrick Sylvain66 Honduras: political development, party system change, and prospects fordemocratic consolidation and effective government 845Stephan A. Garner Cruz and Alan Zarychta67 Mexico 858Francisco Javier Aparicio68 Nicaragua: the resurgence of authoritarianism 870Shelley A. McConnell69 Panama: the high price of governability 883Harry Brown Araúz and Carlos Garcimartin70 Paraguay: embedded authoritarian democracy 895Andrew Nickson71 Peru: democratic advances and democratic backsliding amid formidablechallenges 907Cynthia McClintock72 Uruguay: an emerging high-income country with a consolidateddemocracy 922Verónica Pérez-Bentancur, Rafael Piñeiro-Rodríguez and Fernando Rosenblatt73 Venezuela 932Raúl Sánchez Urribarrí and Jessica Velásquez Urribarrí

Edited by Claudia N. Avellaneda, Professor, O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University Bloomington, USA, Nathalie Méndez, Associate Professor, Alberto Lleras Camargo School of Government, Universidad de los Andes, Colombia and Ricardo A. Bello-Gómez, Assistant Professor, School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University - Newark, USA

‘This authoritative and comprehensive Handbook is an indispensable resource for students, scholars, and practitioners working on Latin American politics. Dozens of subject specialists combine their expertise with historical perspective, secondary sources, and relevant data to illuminate key actors, institutions, and policies shaping the region.’

• ContentsIntroduction to the Handbook of Latin American Politics xviiClaudia N. Avellaneda, Nathalie Méndez and Ricardo A. Bello-GómezPART I  SOCIAL ACTORS1 Agrarian movements and peasant struggles in Latin America 2Mauricio Velásquez2 Labor unions in Latin America: political action and organizationalinnovation 14Omar Manky3 Progress and pretense: the politics of LGBTI rights in Latin America andthe Caribbean 26Juan Moncaleano and Angela Guarin4 Religious movements 44Bibiana Ortega-Gómez and Carolina Cepeda-Másmela5 Social movements in Latin America 55Henry Veltmeyer6 The representation of women in Latin American politics 66Flavia Freidenberg7 The role of Afro-descendants in Latin American politics 89Angie Edell Campos Lazo and Jorge Rafael Ramirez8 The role of civil organizations in Latin American politics 106Erli Margarita Marín-Aranguren and Francisco Daniel Trejos-Mateus9 The role of indigenous peoples in Latin American politics 119Salvador Martí i Puig and Victor Tricot SalomonPART II  INSTITUTIONS IN LATIN AMERICA10 Central banks and monetary policies 131Esteban Pérez Caldentey and Matías Vernengo11 Constitutional courts in Latin America 146Juan Carlos Rodríguez-Raga and Santiago Virgüez-Ruiz12 Electoral rules in Latin America 164Eduardo Alemán13 From shadow to erosion: judicial politics in Latin America 177Josafat Cortez-Salinas and Camilo Saavedra-Herrera14 Informal institutions and social norms in Latin America and theCaribbean: a cognitive institutionalist approach 188Andrés Casas and Pablo Abitbol15 Legislatures in Latin America 200Patrick Cunha Silva and Danilo B. Medeiros16 Media and politics in Latin America 213Carolina Matos17 Presidency and cabinet politics 225Magna Inácio18 Stability and change: different perspectives for understanding LatinAmerican party systems 242Laura Wills-Otero and Laura Daniela Guerrero19 Subnational tensions 255Kent Eaton20 The armed forces, crime, and protests in Latin America 265David Pion-BerlinPART III  CHALLENGES TO DEMOCRACY21 Democratic backsliding in Latin America 278Benjamin Garcia Holgado and Eugenia Artabe22 How much have we learned from Latin American populisms? 292Felipe Burbano de Lara23 New left turns in Latin America 303Maxwell A. Cameron and Agustín Goenaga24 The role of the far right in Latin American politics 314José Antonio Sanahuja and Camilo López BurianPART IV  INTERNATIONAL ACTORS25 International NGOs in Latin America 325Susan Appe and Jairo Rivera Vásquez26 Latin American regionalism: between resilience and crisis 337Julissa Castro-Silva and Cintia Quiliconi27 Politics in the age of disinformation: the role of social networks in LatinAmerica 347Erica Guevara and Ignacio Siles28 The role of international financial institutions in Latin America 359Pablo Fleiss and Marcelo Bisogno29 United States policy towards Latin America in the early twenty-firstcentury 374Michael E. AllisonPART V  POLICY CHALLENGES IN LATIN AMERICAN POLITICS30 An ever-promising and challenging public space: urban policy in LatinAmerica 388José Sánchez Cetina and Alejandra Medina31 The current and future normative landscape of cannabis and coca in LatinAmerica 400María Alejandra Vélez and Lucas Marín Llanes32 Environmental politics in Latin America: Amazon in the eye of the storm 420Felipe Roa Clavijo and Sebastian Camilo Bonilla Gamba33 Gangs and urban security 431Sebastian Bitar34 Inequality and poverty 442Bilyana Petrova35 Land reform 455Julio A. Ramos Pastrana36 Latin American political culture 468José Álvaro Moisés37 Migration in Latin America 480Rafael Alonso Hernández López and Jéssica Natalia Nájera Aguirre38 Officeless inclusion? Social class and popular sectors in Latin Americanpolitics 490Nicolás M. Somma39 Political economy: Latin America in its growth labyrinth 504Julio A. Ramos Pastrana and Gustavo Torrens40 Protecting the elderly: the design of pension systems in Latin America 517Oscar Becerra and David Forero41 Race and politics in Latin America 530Kwame D. Dixon and Lisa Lawrence42 Social conflict in Latin America 540Celia Wilson Garcia and Lorenza B. Fontana43 Social policy in Latin America: two-tiered welfare regimes at a crossroads 551Fabián A. Borges44 The dichotomy of human rights in Latin America: between externalintervention and self-determination 562Alfonso Jaime Martínez LazcanoPART VI  PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION45 Agenda setting in the Latin American policy process 573Juan Guillermo Vieira Silva46 Bureaucratic autonomy in Latin American politics 583Gabriela Spanghero Lotta, Iana Alves de Lima, Mariana CostaSilveira and Rayane Vieira Rodrigues47 Civil service in Latin America: legalism, patronage and merit 597Pablo Sanabria-Pulido, Jose Acevedo and Ricardo A. Bello-Gómez48 Clientelism in Latin America 609Hélène Combes and Gabriel Vommaro49 Competitive neopatrimonialism in Latin America 619Diego Salazar Morales50 Decentralization in Latin America: assessing progress and futurechallenges 632Ricardo A. Bello-Gómez, Nicolás Lagos and Claudia N. Avellaneda51 State development and capacity in Latin America 647Juan Fernando Ibarra del Cueto52 The role of corruption in Latin American politics and political life 660Elizabeth Pérez-Chiqués53 What we mean by transparency in Latin America 672Mauricio Astudillo-Rodas and Tzu-An ChiangPART VII  COUNTRIES54 Argentina: institutional weakness, economic volatility, and the quest forsustainable reform 689Sebastian M. Saiegh55 Bolivian politics under the new MAS: polarization and internal divisions 700Carla Alberti56 Brazil 711Cláudio Gonçalves Couto and Ricardo Corrêa Gomes57 Chile 724Carmen Le Foulon and Julieta Suárez-Cao58 Colombia: democracy and state capacity in a post-armed conflict society 734Nathalie Méndez and Juan Federico Pino Uribe59 Costa Rica: political representation crisis threatens democratic stability 749Ronald Alfaro-Redondo60 Cuba 762Daniel I. Pedreira61 Dominican Republic, navigating democracy: authoritarian legacies,democratic reforms, and social challenges 777Anselmo Muñiz and Carlos Morel62 Ecuador: understanding political polarization across the tightrope ofdemocracy 791Julio Zambrano and Lorena Amézquita Castro63 El Salvador: the return to authoritarianism – violent peace and democraticerosion 807Ainhoa Montoya64 Guatemala: precarious democracy and the menace of impunity 819Kevin Pallister65 Haiti, men mwen (here I am)! Biding, revolution, and pauperization 832Patrick Sylvain66 Honduras: political development, party system change, and prospects fordemocratic consolidation and effective government 845Stephan A. Garner Cruz and Alan Zarychta67 Mexico 858Francisco Javier Aparicio68 Nicaragua: the resurgence of authoritarianism 870Shelley A. McConnell69 Panama: the high price of governability 883Harry Brown Araúz and Carlos Garcimartin70 Paraguay: embedded authoritarian democracy 895Andrew Nickson71 Peru: democratic advances and democratic backsliding amid formidablechallenges 907Cynthia McClintock72 Uruguay: an emerging high-income country with a consolidateddemocracy 922Verónica Pérez-Bentancur, Rafael Piñeiro-Rodríguez and Fernando Rosenblatt73 Venezuela 932Raúl Sánchez Urribarrí and Jessica Velásquez Urribarrí