In recent years, the American continent has witnessed a steady erosion of democratic principles. Compared to five years ago, more countries now show low overall democratic performance, although most still fall within the medium range. The most dramatic declines have occurred in Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, with El Salvador and Guatemala also showing sudden and worrying setbacks. A growing number of governments, particularly in Central and South America—including Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, and Peru—have increasingly turned to militarisation and states of emergency as tools to address violent crime. These measures have had a detrimental impact on civil liberties and the rule of law, especially on indicators such as personal security and freedom of expression.
Moreover, the region has experienced a worsening climate for press freedom and civic space. By 2022, ten countries in the Americas had shown significant declines in freedom of expression, media freedom, or the right to association and assembly—up from seven in 2017. Despite these concerns, the region still performs relatively well in terms of democratic representation. About 78 percent of countries scored highly on the ‘elected government’ indicator, which assesses whether national leadership is determined through free and fair elections. This contrast reflects the complex and often contradictory state of democracy in Latin America: while electoral systems remain intact in many countries, core democratic rights and institutions are under increasing strain.
As Latin America faces several high-stakes elections in 2025, the region’s democratic pulse beats with both hope and unease. The rights to vote and to be elected remain fundamental but are increasingly strained by political polarisation, institutional pressure and weakening public trust. This article examines key electoral trends in the region and argues that rights-based safeguards are critical to preserving democratic integrity in the face of what seems like a fast-approaching and almost inevitable regression.
Democratic backsliding
A growing body of evidence points to a regional pattern of democratic backsliding—defined as the legal erosion of institutional checks, political pluralism and electoral fairness. As International IDEA (2023) highlights, backsliding is often incremental, using legal mechanisms to restrict opposition, capture institutions and tilt the playing field.
In Latin America, this has taken the form of disqualifying opposition candidates, weakening electoral commissions, undermining judicial independence and expanding executive powers—trends visible in countries like Venezuela, Nicaragua and El Salvador. Term limits are eroded or circumvented, while media capture and disinformation fuel polarisation and distrust.
Such tactics pose a direct threat to the right to political participation, freedom of expression and access to justice, all of which are essential components of a human rights-based democracy.
The ongoing democratic recession in Latin America is driven by three main factors: economic crises, which deepen inequality and poverty, increasing public frustration and inelastic demands; the failure of democracies to deliver key political goods, such as justice, dignity, equality before the law, and fair wealth distribution—often undermined by corruption, populism, and the misuse of power; and the declining performance of governments, whose inability to meet public policy demands has led to near-universal alternation of power in presidential elections since 2018. This crisis is also reflected in the high-level political elite, with 22 presidents convicted of corruption and 19 leaving office before completing their terms in nine countries. Many leaders have violated democratic norms, prioritising personalism over institutions, which has weakened political parties and eroded public trust in them.
Citizens increasingly express their discontent through abstention, blank or null votes, and a general detachment from politics, paving the way for authoritarian tendencies and populist leadership. While support for democracy remains high in principle, the system is seen as failing to meet its promises—no longer fulfilling the hope once embodied by Argentina’s Raúl Alfonsín that ‘with democracy, we eat, heal, and are educated’. As frustration grows, calls for strong-handed solutions gain traction, and democratic principles like freedom of the press, party pluralism and even constitutional limits become negotiable in the face of perceived inefficiency. This democratic downturn is understood as a temporary but dangerous phase, leaving the region vulnerable to autocratic drift and delaying the path toward democratic consolidation.
Voting transparency: the ultimate test for Latin democracy
Democracy has not always been the norm in Latin America. For much of the 20th century, the region was dominated by authoritarian regimes, military dictatorships and electoral processes that were neither free nor fair. The transition to democracy in the late 20th century marked a significant turning point, making elections not only a procedural necessity but a hard-won symbol of political renewal. According to the Inter American Institute of Human Rights (Instituto Interamericano de Derechos Humanos) notes, elections have since become central to legitimising authority, facilitating peaceful transfers of power and strengthening citizen participation. Over the ensuing decades, reforms have tried to expand inclusivity to reach more voters, enhance technical quality of equipment used to vote and process the ballots whilst positioning electoral bodies as key institutional actors.
These electoral bodies—independent and professional—emerged as guardians of integrity. Parallel advances in civic education, campaign finance transparency and political pluralism helped solidify the role of elections as moments of democratic reaffirmation, not rupture.
However, that model now appears fragile. The pandemic years catalysed an erosion of confidence in democracy across the region. Declining voter satisfaction, rising inequality and renewed authoritarian ambitions threaten the progress of past decades. A study by Vanderbilt University found that in 12 of 15 Latin American countries, over 75 per cent of adults believe that wealthy individuals influence electoral outcomes to their advantage—a perception that is not unfounded, because nearly half of the countries in the region lack limits on political donations outside of election periods or do not cap campaign spending by candidates. This regulatory weakness underscores the urgent need to strengthen campaign finance legislation, oversight and enforcement, both to ensure fair electoral competition and to restore public trust. Loose rules on political financing also create opportunities for organised crime to infiltrate politics, undermining democratic institutions and compromising elected officials from the outset of their mandates.
Reinforcing democratic preparedness
This year of 2025 sees several key elections scheduled across Latin America, in Ecuador, Bolivia Argentina, Chile and Honduras. These offer a test of whether regional institutions, civil society and multilateral observers (like the Organization of American States OAS), can uphold basic electoral standards and protect the rights of all citizens—especially those historically marginalised.
How can Latin America prepare for the democratic risks of 2025 and beyond? International IDEA (2023) offers key institutional lessons:
- Empower independent electoral bodies, insulating them from political interference and ensuring transparency in appointments.
- Limit incumbency advantages, such as access to state resources, and enforce term limits rigorously.
- Strengthen political pluralism, including safeguards for opposition parties, civil society and independent media.
- Promote public trust through civic education, participatory reforms and open data.
In parallel, regional and international bodies—such as the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR), and UN electoral missions—should maintain robust monitoring, early warning mechanisms and support for democratic norms.
Democracy in Latin America remains under pressure—but not without the resilience and fight of civil organisations, students, young or first-time voters, academia, independent journalists and human rights activists. This year of 2025 is set to test whether electoral systems can deliver credible results, whether institutions can resist authoritarian temptations and whether citizens can reclaim their role as democratic protagonists.
A human rights-based approach to electoral integrity is not a privilege, it is a necessity. It ensures that democracy is not reduced to ballots alone, but makes sure to include the dignity, voice and equality of all. As we look to 2025, safeguarding elections means safeguarding human rights.
This week we are delighted to publish a new post by Sara Cristina Benítez-Mongelós, the blog’s regional correspondent for Latin America. You can read her previous posts here, here and here.
The GCHRP Editorial Team
