Party Systems in Latin America
Political parties in most Latin American countries do not play a decisive role in the mechanism of exercise of state power, which distinguishes the countries of the continent from the developed democracies and brings them closer to the developing Afro-Asian ones. The insignificant role of political parties in the state mechanisms of Latin America can be explained by several reasons, among which the extra-parliamentary method of forming the government, the hypertrophied presidential power, the leading role of the executive in the exercise of state power, the traditional influence of the armed forces on the political system, the relative weakness of the legislative bodies, the minor role of local governments.
The Constitutions stipulate that only citizens with the right to vote can participate in the activities of political parties. It is fundamental that in the texts of a number of Latin American constitutions (Peru and others) the obligation of the state not to give preference to any political party and to provide them equal opportunities during election campaigns in the use of mass media. Some constitutions (Panama 1972, etc.) place articles on political parties in the section on the political rights of citizens, combining them with the principles of electoral law.
Most Latin American constitutions are characterized by the absence of a special section on political parties (although there are exceptions: the Brazilian Constitution of 1988, the Chilean Constitution of 1980, etc.). As a rule, constitutions refer to special laws regulating in detail the activities of political parties. Usually these are laws on political parties, on the financing of election campaigns, and on public associations.
Characterizing the party systems of Latin American countries, it should be noted their instability, often caused by the instability of the state regime itself. Single-party systems with complete prohibition of functioning of other political parties except for the ruling one are a thing of the past. The exception is the Republic of Cuba with the ruling Communist Party. The two-party systems that existed in Brazil, Uruguay and other countries have been transformed into multi-party systems. Therefore, the countries of Latin America nowadays refer to the countries with a multi-party system without a monopoly acting party (Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela).
Latin America knows practically no concept of a stably organized European-style opposition, since the defeat of a political party in elections often ends with its simple withdrawal from the political arena.
A special kind of multiparty system exists in Mexico where despite the formal multiplicity of political parties in state and political life of the country since 1929 one party – Mexican Institutional-Revolutionary Party actually prevails, though in recent years the influence and role of other political parties and party blocs sharply increases.
