Latin America’s Four Political Models

Authoritarians are stepping up their offensive against democracy promotion, and democracy-assistance organizations will have to meet the challenge.

By world standards, Latin Americans ideologically are slightly to the right. But their attitudes are moving leftward, a trend with potential implications for democratic stability in the region.

A review of Strong Parties and Lame Ducks: Presidential Partyarchy and Factionalism in Venezuela, by Michael Coppedge and Democracy for the Privileged: Crisis and Transition in Venezuela, by Richard S.…