Chairs:

• Christian Viera Álvarez – christian.viera@uv.cl
• Catalina Lagos Tshorne – clagos@tcchile.cl
• Diego Pardo Álvarez – diego.pardo@uai.cl
• Luis Gonzalo Inarra Zeballos – luinarra@gmail.com
• Aurora Rozas Moreno – aurora.rozasmoreno@gmail.com

SPEAKERS

Alfonso	Santiago
Miguel Angel	Erroz Gaudiano

In Latin America, since our emancipations, crises have been constant companions, and on many occasions, they have resulted in violent and fratricidal conflicts. Today, it seems that we are facing a crisis of the political regime, particularly of democracy. But does this moment have any particularity that has not been experienced before? Does it have special magnitude, or is it a characteristic of our latitudes to live with instability? Answering this question requires considering that the political reality of our region is not homogeneous, yet there are some shared elements that help explain, at least in part, the systemic instability of the region.

For starters, we are characterized by a more or less strong presidential system. On this matter, Gargarella has pointed out that one of Latin America’s difficulties lies in the “engine room,” that is, in the way power is organized.

If these institutional difficulties are acknowledged, one could argue, as Madison did in the early days of constitutionalism, that the proper functioning of institutions cannot rely on the virtue or angelic character of their members. On the contrary, “the test of a good institutional system was that it could function acceptably even if public offices were occupied by ‘demons.’”

What matters is the institutionality itself, which endures over time and transcends the individuals who occupy office. And this idea, so basic and commonsensical, is not so self-evident today. In various places, we are observing how certain practices are undermining institutions. If this phenomenon continues, it could entail a high democratic cost, damaging the fundamental rules of the rule of law and the distribution of functions in the exercise of state power.