The last decades of the XX century have seen a spectacular advance of Direct Democracy in many countries of Latin America, not only in respect of the numbers of referendums held (which have doubled in each of the last three decades), but also because of the inclusion of several tools of direct democracy in the national constitutions. 

Nevertheless, a detailed analysis shows the weaknesses of this apparent advance of democracy. As we will see with more detail, most of the referendum celebrated in Latin America arose due to the initiative of representative institutions (parliament or executive), and only eight arose from a popular initiative launched through the collection of voters signatures, and all of them in a single country: Uruguay [After this report was written, a revocatory referendum was conducted in Venezuela (2004) by popular initiative]. In many cases the referendum just tried to legitimise the power of the representative institution that summoned them, and in at least six cases they were used by authoritarian regimes with that objective.

On the other hand, the wealth of tools of direct democracy included in some national constitutions contrasts with the lack of experience [and political will] in their application. In most of the cases those constitutional dispositions have not been developed in a legislative form. In addition, the fact that in many cases the result of the referendum is not considered binding subtracts legitimacy to the tool and facilitates its use to manipulate the citizens and to turn it into a plebiscitary instrument for the legitimisation of power.

Researchers will appreciate this detailed report showing the weaknesses in this apparent advance of democracy in Latin America. However, the examples of the bad use of direct democracy in Latin America are not an argument against direct democracy itself, but against a messy design of those mechanisms and against a dishonest use of the tools by the political elites. Very similar examples of bad use can be found in respect of the mechanisms of representative democracy, without this being an argument against it.

>> Read more