Levels of “presicracy” in South American presidentialist systems 1990-2010

Abstract

The following article analyzes levels of “presicracy” in ten South Americancountries, from their transitions to the current democratic period. We understand “presicracy” as a concept shaped by two dimensions: the first responds to a type of presidentialist regime in the region, where the President’s ample powers give him superiority when governing. The second one corresponds to high levels of centralization in the allocation of responsibilities and resources from the central power to the sub-national governments. Taking these into account we have created a South American “Presicracy” Index, which tells us about the distribution of power in decision making. The proposed study responds to the obstacles that South American regimes have had to overcome to consolidate their democracies over history.