Latin American regimes followed diverging paths during the Third Wave of democratization. Although a few democracies consolidated (Chile, Uruguay), many others (Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru, Venezuela) suffered repeated and often severe institutional crises. Most accounts place Argentina's post-1983 democracy in this latter, “crisis-ridden” category. During the 1980s, the country suffered three military rebellions, severe distributive conflict, and an eventual descent into hyperinflation. Although the economy stabilized during the 1990s, the government of Carlos Menem concentrated and abused power to such a degree that Argentina was viewed as a leading case of what Guillermo O'Donnell (1994) called “delegative democracy.” Finally, the political–economic crisis of 2001–02, during which massive protests led to the resignation of two presidents within two weeks, again brought Argentina's democratic institutions to the brink of collapse.

Yet Argentine democracy differed in important ways from other crisis-ridden regimes in Latin America. First, Argentina was one of only a handful of Latin American countries that remained fully democratic during the 1990s. The fairness of elections was unquestioned, basic civil liberties were broadly protected, and unlike many other countries in the region (including Chile), the military played virtually no role in politics. Second, the country's core democratic institutions proved remarkably robust. Argentine democracy survived a series of extraordinary tests, including the 1989–90 hyperinflationary crisis, the Menem government's radical economic reforms, and, most recently, the most severe depression in the country's history. Few Latin American democracies have survived such economic shocks.