Political Parties and Democratization in the Southern Cone of Latin America

Abstract

This article focuses on parties as the main anchors of democratic consolidation and seeks to present the main factors that have affected their development in two systems that could be argued to be amongst the most stable in Latin America, those of Argentina and Chile. It argues that some of the main variables affecting that development have been, besides systemic variables: the professionalized electoral campaign; external variables including technological transfers resulting from the foreign assistance received by centre and centre-left parties; the proscription of parties by authoritarian regimes; and shocks such as electoral defeat, loss of office and economic crises. Whilst electoral campaigns show a high level of professionalization in Argentine and Chilean parties, it is moderated by the preservation - or re-acquisition - of personnel-based campaigning and mass party characteristics.