Foreword
For nearly three decades, the International Republican Institute (IRI)
has worked throughout Latin America to deepen and strengthen the
region’s democratic development. In the 1980s, IRI’s work focused on
assisting nascent political parties become representative organizations,
while also lending expertise to the government institutions that began
the arduous work of adopting new electoral systems.
Because democracy is about more than elections, IRI has focused
its assistance in Latin America on working alongside local actors
to consolidate democratic governance. Although elections have
become commonplace throughout Latin America, true participatory
democracy cannot be claimed by holding elections alone. In “ballot
box democracies,” as seen in some Latin American countries, the
institutions of democratic governance have often failed to perform
to their potential. These institutions remain weak and have become
increasingly vulnerable to the pressures of organized crime, drug
trafficking, corruption and non-democratic trends, among other forces.
To help combat these pressures, IRI’s work focuses on strengthening
democratic institutions, building their capacity to deliver on the benefits
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