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The Political Returns of Democratic Governance
aspects of that partnership may not be democratic – even if the results
are good. In other words, good governance does not ensure democratic
governance although it is an important component. Conversely,
the realities of democratic governance can translate into varying
inefficiencies or worse, confounding any sense of good governance.
Regional Performances
The addition of “democratic” does not fundamentally alter the
circumstances of good governance except for the political environment
which is, obviously, democratic. For Latin America and the Caribbean
the concepts span the varying experiences of the region. It ranges
from what is generally regarded as the most successful contemporary
example of democratic governance in the region, Chile, all the way to
Haiti whose experience sheds light on the frustrations of establishing
governance, let alone good and democratic governance. There is the
outlier, Cuba, where governance is misleadingly democratic and
certainly not good.
Although the methodology is open to some questions, a recent
approximation or composite index of democratic governance covering
the 1992-2006 period provides a snapshot of the region. Brazil and
Chile are the sharpest examples of sustained transitions to democracy.
If Chile by far has the best record, a second group brings in Costa Rica,
Uruguay and Panama despite some bumps on the road of their own.
This is followed by several countries with significantly lower records,
Argentina, the Dominican Republic and Mexico. Laggards include
Guatemala, Paraguay, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Honduras and
Ecuador. If the 1992-2006 time span was segmented, Colombia
would rank initially low but score higher beginning with the Alvaro
Uribe presidency.
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The Latin American experience points to the fact that democratic
governance does not ensure a higher qualitative outcome. Yet, the
open character of democratic society does invite citizen gripes regarding
government, with the knowledge that elected leadership can be voted
