While there is much literature analyzing the politics of implementing economic reforms, very little has been written on the social and political consequences of such reforms after they have been implemented. The basic premise of this book is that the convergence of many social, economic, and political ills (such as high levels of poverty, income inequality, criminal violence, and the growth of the informal sector) in the context of unprecedented levels of political democratization in Latin America presents a paradox that needs to be explained. What Kind of Democracy? demonstrates how the myriad social problems throughout the region are intimately linked both to a new economic development model and the weaknesses of Latin American democracy.

This volume brings together prominent scholars from Canada, the United States, and Latin America, representing several different disciplines to analyze ongoing processes of economic, social, and political change in the region. The contributors are Werner Baer, Manuel Barrera, Juan Alberto Fuentes, Yoshiaki Nakano, Claudio Paiva, Luiz Carlos Bresser Pereira, Jean-François Prud'homme, Jorge Schvarzer, Francisco Weffort, and Francisco Zapata.

Philip Oxhorn is Associate Professor of Political Science at McGill University.

Philip D. Oxhorn's profile page

Graciela Ducatenzeiler is Associate Professor of Political Science at the Université de Montréal.

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“The essays in this excellent volume examine the nature of Latin America’s emerging democracies and market economies, with particular emphasis on Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. . . . A very balanced and extremely thoughtful volume which enhances our understanding of post-authoritarian Latin America. The conceptual chapters at the start and finish are particularly insightful.”

—Howard Handelman, Canadian Journal of Political Science

“In this insightful volume, the editors critically assess Latin America’s political economy in the 1990s, arguing that the convergence of extreme poverty, income inequality, crime, and the gray market present a paradox.”

—Foreign Affairs