In Latin America, there is disappointment with the current democratization project because of its limited definition, and the appropriation of the concept of citizenship by dominant sectors. Democracy is understood to be a partial and very specific form of government that functions under the most basic concept of representation based on one person, one vote. This approach focusses almost exclusively on political parties alternating in office and leaving aside questions of real participation and ways to reduce social inequalities.1 The democratization project has been reduced, therefore, to ‘formal democracy’ that guarantees electoral processes in particular fair and competitive elections to renew political representatives at each election. This democracy project has enormously benefited the political elite, especially political parties, which have monopolized the political process and have resisted changing the status quo.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the so-called ‘third wave of democratization’ brought to the region a new citizenship regime which emphasized individual liberties and universal suffrage. Hence, democratic regimes have extended political and civil rights while social and economic rights have been under attack (or dismissed) as governments prioritize fiscal balance over social policy.

Consequently in Latin America, there have been some institutional reforms and more ‘transparency’ in its public affairs. However, the fundamental structures of inequality and the vertical controls over society remain untouched, making a viable democracy unlikely for ordinary people. Moreover, there is a disconnection between voting and the conditions of peoples’ lives.