Political Systems in Central America. A Compared Historical Analysis
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Temas de nuestra américa
ISSN 0259-2339 • EISSN 2215-5449
Political Systems in Central America. A
Compared Historical Analysis
Sistemas políticos de Centroamérica. Análisis histórico
comparado
Sistemas políticos da América Central. Análise histórica
comparativa
Rafael Gustavo Miranda Delgado, Ph.D.
Coordinator of Postgraduate Studies Department
Social and Economic Research Institute
Universidad de los Andes.
Venezuela
Received:15 11 2017 Accepted: 04/03/2018
Abstract in a clientelist manner and is a victim of
poverty and inequality.
This study aims to compare the
political systems in Central Amer- Keywords: Central America, political
ica from a historical perspective. systems, compared historical study, de-
Here, Central America is considered mocratization, political liberalization,
as a very diverse region in experiences quality of democracy.
and quality of democracy; Costa Rica
is the most successful, historical, con- Resumen
temporary case in the subregion. In
El objetivo de este trabajo es comparar
the rest of the countries, there are
desde perspectiva histórica los siste-
relatively young and fragile democ-
mas políticos de Centroamérica. Aquí
racies, without historical experi-
se afirma que Centroamérica es una re-
ences of democracy, with very
gión muy diversa en experiencias y en
weak States, without social
calidad de la democracia, siendo Costa
consensus, and with limited
Rica el caso histórico y contemporáneo
citizenship that is treated
más exitoso de la subregión. En el resto de
los países se observan democracias relativa-
mente jóvenes y frágiles, sin experiencias his-
tóricas de democracia, con Estados muy débiles,
sin consenso social y una ciudadanía limitada que
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15359/tdna.34-64.6 Julio-diciembre, 2018 83
Vol. 34, N.° 64Temas de nuestra américa Vol. 34, N.° 64 Julio-diciembre / 2018
ISSN 0259-2339 • EISSN 2215-5449
es tratada de forma clientelar y es vícti- differentiated. Therefore, we have
ma de la pobreza y la desigualdad. set as our objective to compare the
Palabras clave: Centroamérica, Siste-
political systems in Central Ameri-
mas políticos, Estudio histórico compa- ca from a historical perspective.
rado, Democratización, Liberalización
política, Calidad de la democracia. The paper is structured in three parts.
First, in the section titled The birth of
Resumo the Republic and the (im)possibility of
democracy, an analysis is conducted
Este estudo procura comparar os siste-
mas políticos na América Central a par- on the main variables that prevent-
tir de uma perspectiva histórica. Aqui, ed the emergence of democracy, and
a América Central é considerada uma how they printed features that were
região muito diversa em experiências e going to have continuity until well
qualidade de democracia. A Costa Rica into the 21st century, such as milita-
é o caso histórico e contemporâneo de rism, the weakness of the State and
maior sucesso da sub-região. No resto the repression of civil society. In the
dos países, as democracias são relativa- second part, Transitions toward democ-
mente jovens e frágeis, sem experiências racy, the first experiences of political
históricas de democracia, com Estados
liberalization are compared. Finally,
muito frágeis, sem consenso social e
uma cidadania limitada, que é tratada in Quality and challenges of the pres-
como uma clientela e vítima da pobreza ent democracy section, the current
e da desigualdade. state of democracy is characterized
without leaving aside its effects in so-
Palavras chave: América Central, Sis- cio-economic aspects.
temas políticos, Estudo histórico com-
parativo, Democratização, Liberalização The Birth of the Republic and
política, Qualidade da democracia.
the (Im)possibility of Democracy
Introduction The countries known today as the
republics of Central America, ex-
Central America is a subregion cept Panama, have a significant
where its countries share import- common history. From the colonial
ant geopolitical traits and histor- period, they belonged to the Capi-
ical elements that show a certain tanía General de Guatemala (Cap-
synchronization, but the specific taincy General of Guatemala), and
nature of the national character has they won their independence from
configured political systems clearly the Spanish Empire in 1821. The
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Republics were driven by the Plan country of the former federation,
of Iguala that gave independence and without a local army to fight
to Mexico. Then, from 1822 un- against the colonial power; in this
til 1823, they were annexed to the country, the conflicts between liber-
First Mexican Empire; in 1824, they als and conservatives did not reach
formed part of the Federal Republic greater virulence because they were
of Central America, until successive little defined, nor were there greater
civil wars dissolved it in 1838, giv- de facto powers due to the precar-
ing way to the independent States. ious material conditions (Bendel
Meanwhile, Panama gained its inde- and Krennerich, 2005; Krennerich,
pendence from the Spanish Empire 2005a; Somoza, 2005; Zovatto,
in 1821; then, it formed part of the 2005; Seligson, 2005; Prieto, 1979).
Gran Colombia up to the so-called
War of Hundred Years and the Unit- In Nicaragua, the conflict between
ed States’ invasion in 1903. liberals and conservatives took a sig-
nificant virulence and geographical
After these independence process- dimension; these movements had
es, as in most of the Latin America their bases in León and Granada,
republics, there were fights between respectively, and the conflict was
regional caudillos, as well as between transformed into a civil war that
liberals and conservatives in each was resolved with the intervention
of these countries. In Guatemala, of the mercenary William Walker in
a conservative and clerical regime favor of the liberals. Walker reached
with José Rafael Carrera (1839- the presidency of the country by vi-
1865) emerged during the so-called olating the constitution, but he was
Thirty Years Regime. Despite the quickly expelled giving way, from
early drafting of the Constitution of 1857, to a relatively stable period
1824, and the fact that the Consti- called the thirty years of conserva-
tution of 1841 established the direct tive government, which further re-
election of the president and par- duced the few political freedoms. In
liamentarians, in El Salvador, the Panama, a few days after declaring its
changes of presidents were resolved independence from Colombia, the
by violence. The power in Hondu- Hay-Bunau Varilla Agreement was
ras was also dominated by econom- signed and allowed the American
ic forces and the de facto regional tutelage; it granted the sovereignty
military forces. Costa Rica was the over the territory of the canal, the
furthest away and impoverished power of military intervention, and
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the monitoring of elections to the and the Catholic Church. However,
United States. This situation lasted the authoritarianism and the violent
until 1960 (Krennerich, 2005b; Ben- succession of presidents continued.
del, Krennerich and Zilla, 2005). It is worth noting that in Honduras,
during this period, liberals and con-
From this first moment, some ele- servatives were setting up the histori-
ments of politics and political econ- cal parties in the country: the Liberal
omy can be identified; they differ- Party was founded in 1891, and the
entiate Costa Rica from the rest of National Party (PN) was formally
the region. Moreover, while Panama founded in 1923. Likewise, in Pan-
has a specific history that leads it ama, the Liberal Party and the Con-
away from the history of the rest of servative Party alternated in power,
the Central American countries, it although the elections were also
shares critical elements such as the fraudulent and the alternations were
American intervention and the low personalistic. In Costa Rica, where
achievement of political freedoms. the liberal force had been dominant
from the birth of the Republic, the
In 1871 in Guatemala, the liberal liberals also bound together around
revolution triumphed; in the mean- a party, the Republican Party; until
time, the liberals came to power then, the most significant popular
successively in El Salvador and Hon- expression of the region was in 1889,
duras and were going to have a sig- when an electoral fraud in the pres-
nificant influence in the rest of the idential elections of the year was
region. This liberal period was char- prevented (Torres, 1993; Bendel and
acterized by the modernization of Krennerich, 2005; Somoza, 2005;
the State and socio-economic struc- Krennerich, 2005a; 2005b; Krenner-
tures, the separation of Church and ich, Bendel, Krennerich and Zilla,
State, the privatization of communal 2005; Zovatto, 2005).
lands, exports of coffee, and the lib-
eral reforms, especially those applied The early years of the 20th century
by Justo Rufino Barrios (1873-1885) were particularly conflictive in the
in Guatemala, Marco Aurelio Soto region. In Honduras, several civil
(1876-1880 and 1881-1883) in wars successively broke out until the
Honduras, and José Santos Zelaya dictatorship of Tiburcio Carias An-
(1893-1909) in Nicaragua; these dino (1933-1949), supported by the
facts broke down the traditional military and the United States. In El
power of the landlords, the military Salvador, Maximiliano Hernández
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Martínez (1932-1944) came to pow- In Nicaragua and El Salvador, the
er by a coup d'état against the elected 1940s and 1950s were of political
president, Arturo Araujo, from the continuity and stability, and during
Salvadoran Labor Party; Hernán- the 1960s and 1970s, the repression
dez brutally repressed the peasant was accentuated due to the weaken-
demonstrations, a fact known as ing of hegemony, until the State ter-
the matanza (massacre). In Nicara- ror emerged. In Nicaragua, although
gua, Anastasio Somoza García came there were significant socio-eco-
to power in 1931; he inaugurated a nomic changes, and the dictator
dynastic dictatorship with traits of Anastasio Somoza was assassinated,
sultanism, based on militarism and the Somoza family with the Con-
the American intervention. In Pan- servative Party of Nicaragua con-
ama, the first coups took place in tinued to dominate the country for
its republican history between 1931 forty years. However, in the 1970s,
and 1941. Also, in Guatemala, au- the regime lost its national and in-
thoritarian governments successive- ternational allies when the massive
ly rose, including the long periods fraud and corruption became more
of Manuel Estrada Cabrera (1898- evident, political actors radicalized,
1920) and Jorge Ubico (1931-1944); and the state repression increased;
Ubico outlawed political parties un- besides the social effects the 1977
til a civil-military junta restored the earthquake left behind. In El Salva-
constitutional guarantees, includ- dor, the oligarchy, coalesced into the
ing political parties (Torres, 2015; Revolutionary Party of Democratic
Torres, 1993; Somoza, 2005; Kren- Unification (PRUD), and the mili-
nerich, 2005a; 2005b; Krennerich, tary formed a coalition to keep the
Bendel, Krennerich and Zilla, 2005; political domination of the country,
Bendel and Krennerich, 2005). especially after the coup of 1961
when the military institutionalized
In the 1940s and 1950s, and especial- their power (Krennerich, 2005b;
ly in the 1960s and 1970s, Central Krennerich, 2005a; Torres, 2015;
America had important econom- Torres, 1997; Wood, 2005).
ic growth rates that, even if these
caused important levels of inequality, In Guatemala, the attempt to ma-
mobilized the masses, generating a nipulate the presidential elections
crisis of hegemony and conflicts be- gave way to the Guatemalan rev-
tween elites; each country resolved olution, led by the United Front of
these conflicts differently. Arevalistas Parties, and that same
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year their leader, Juan José Arévalo caudillos and implemented one of the
(1945-1951), won the country's first most ambitious social reforms in the
free elections, ending the liberal cau- region for its time, which included
dillismo and introducing significant the incorporation of social guaran-
reforms that included the limitation tees in the Constitution, labor codes
of presidential power, the legaliza- and the creation of the Costa Ri-
tion of political parties, and numer- can social security, thus, founding
ous socio-economic reforms in favor the bases of modernity, of a strong
of impoverished people. Arevalo's redistributor State, and of democra-
successor, Jacobo Arbenz (1951 - cy in the country. All these reforms
1954), deepened the agenda of struc- affected diverse interests, especially
tural reforms, including the proposal those of the coffee-grower oligarchy
for agrarian reform, which generated that gathered around the National
the opposition of the Guatemalan Unity Party. Calderon became more
oligarchy and the American inter- authoritarian and refused to hand
ests. The oligarchy and the United over power after losing the presi-
States never organized a party or dential elections, giving way to a
a democratic opposition; instead, civil war in which the José Figueres’
they staged a counter-revolutionary militias, constituted by irregular re-
coup d'etat with the support of the cruits of the agrarian and urban pet-
Church, the military, and the Amer- ty bourgeoisie, and financed by the
ican interests; the coup brought coffee-grower bourgeoisie, fought
Castillo Armas to power who, mas- against the labor militias led by the
sacring the peasant and trade union Communist Party: Figueres’ militia
movements, repressed the politi- won the civil war (Zovatto, 2005;
cal and socio-economic freedoms Torres, 2015; Camacho, 1983).
achieved so far (Torres, 2015; Selig-
son, 2005; Bendel and Krennerich, Up to this point, we have found
2005; Torres, 1981). some differences between Costa
Rica and the other countries of Cen-
In Costa Rica, in the 1940s, signif- tral America; however, the differ-
icant political and socio-economic ences were not so evident as they are
reforms were also introduced. In in the contemporary world. During
1940, Rafael Angel Calderón Guar- this period, electoral fraud and vi-
dia (1940-1944), postulated by the olence were also reported in Costa
Republican Party, won the elections, Rica. There are also shared struc-
giving an end to the cycle of liberal tural processes that pointed toward
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democracy, such as the social policies The material benefits that resulted
in Guatemala, but that the critical in the entire region from the agri-
situations resolved in different ways. cultural exports, and that, in Gua-
temala and Costa Rica, coincided
In Honduras, the military continu- with governments that applied spe-
ously intervened during the decade cific social policies, made the social
of the 1940s, and when the Presi- relations tense to the point that
dent Juan Manuel Galvez (1949- this tension was resolved by civil
1954) started a process of political wars and the emergence of guerrilla
liberalization, and the president groups. Societies were divided be-
José Ramón Villeda Morales (1957- tween the violence of the State and
1963) wanted to implement agrari- that of the guerrillas.
an reform, coups overthrew them.
The military became the main polit- In the 1970s, the guerrilla fights
ical actors, marginalizing parties and began and intensified in the 1980s
suspending the elections. (Somoza, in Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El
2005; Queen, 1981). Salvador. The guerrilla groups were
mainly driven by the rejection of
In Panama the National Guard staged social exclusion and the military
a coup d'état in 1968, leading General dictatorships, of the electoral fraud,
Omar Torrijos to the power; he closed and the anti-American and anti-oli-
the parliament and banned political garchic feeling.
parties; his government was an au-
thoritarian and personalistic one. In Nicaragua, the Sandinista rev-
olution triumphed in 1979. The
As noted, until now political mo- entrance of the Sandinista Nation-
dernity had not existed in the re- al Liberation Front (FSLN) to Ma-
gion in the sense that there was a nagua gave an end to forty years of
differentiation of political power in the Somoza family's dictatorship.
regards to the economic and mili- With broad popular support, the
tary power: the first was exclusively FSLN began a set of political and
a continuation of these last two. On socio-economic reforms which in-
the contrary, the political and social cluded the land reform, but the tra-
conditions were precise in order for ditional powers, with the support
the system to polarize to levels that of the United States, organized the
made it impossible a harmonization Contra (a counter-revolutionary
within the political field. movement), triggering a civil war.
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The Sandinista victory gave impe- 1997; Krennerich, 2005b; Colburn,
tus to other actors in Central Amer- 2009; Wood, 2005; Turcios, 1997).
ica to challenge the traditional pow-
ers. In El Salvador, the guerrillas In these countries, the civil soci-
coalesced into the Farabundo Martí ety has been very active from this
National Liberation Front (FMLN); moment, but the political parties
but unlike Nicaragua, they failed to have not always been able to har-
achieve victory by the force of the monize themselves on a positive
Contra; however, they managed to agenda of policies. Moreover, their
set up more horizontal relations in expressions have not been entirely
the civil society, especially in ru- democratic, in the first instance,
ral areas, transforming the country due to the absence of these spaces,
into another scenario of civil war. and, then, because of the absence
In Guatemala, the Guatemalan of democratic effectiveness.
National Revolutionary Unity (in
Spanish Unidad Revolucionaria Na- In Honduras, there was no civ-
cional Guatemalteca, URNG-MAIZ) il war, and guerrilla forces did not
did not come to power either. In- have much popularity; the guerrilla
stead, a group of young military of- movement consisted of about twen-
ficers gave a coup in 1982, break- ty men who were easily annihilated.
ing the continuity of the dominant The 1980s were of relative political
military group; General Efraín Ríos stability, and for the first time in
Montt assumed the presidency. He the history of the country, a civilian
inaugurated an era of violence and assumed the presidency thanks to
was the main actor of ethnocide the agreement between the Unit-
against the Mayan population. Be- ed States and the Honduran army,
sides, in the 1970s, the mobilization which included the commitment
of workers and peasants defined its to allow, several times, the Ameri-
interests and achieved its autonomy. can military to make the Honduran
The Christian movements and their territory the basis of the Contra, the
political and ideological doctrine of American investment for the mod-
liberation theology had, and have, ernization of weapons, the training
crucial importance in the formation of the Honduran army, and, finally,
of these popular political actors. the transfer of the presidency of Hon-
The de facto powers could not con- duras from the military to civilians.
trol or disrupt the social struggles In Panama, at the end of the 1970s,
that emerged (Torres, 2015; Torres, also under American pressure, the
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only legitimizer of the dictatorship, Transitions to Democracy
political parties were legalized, and
the separation of powers and direct Costa Rica is the country that soon-
elections were reintroduced. After er reached democracy in Central
Torrijos' death, elections were held America; even along with Venezu-
in 1984, when Nicolas Barletta was ela and Colombia, it was one of the
elected in the middle of a recognized few countries in which democracy
electoral fraud: the ruling Demo- remained after the second count-
cratic Revolutionary Party support- er-wave of democracy, and along with
ed him. However, the armed forces, India, it holds the oldest continuous
under the figure of General Manuel democracies in the periphery coun-
Antonio Noriega, kept de facto pow- tries. From 1953, free and competi-
er; thus, Barletta was forced to re- tive elections have been celebrated;
sign before completing the first year since then, the National Liberation
of mandate, and the 1989 elections Party (PLN) and coalitions of the
were suspended, when the opposi- opposition parties have alternated
tion candidate emerged as clear win- peacefully. In 1983, these opposi-
ner; this caused the American inter- tion parties coalesced into the Social
vention that, in four days, overthrew Christian Unity Party (PUSC).
Noriega and left a thousand civilian
casualties (Torres, 2010; Torres, The following presidents took office
2015; Ruhl, 2010; Nasi, 1990; Ben- since the establishment of democra-
del, Krennerich and Zilla, 2005). cy: José Figueres Ferrer (1953-1958)
of the PLN, Mario Echandi (1958-
This moment was of high rele- 1962) of the National Union, Fran-
vance for the historic moment of cisco José Orlich (1962-1966) of
the region and has effects to date. the PLN, Jose Trejos (1966-1970)
In Nicaragua, El Salvador, and of the National Union, again José
Guatemala, vibrant civil societies Figueres (1970-1974) of the PLN,
were configured; while in Hondu- Daniel Oduber (1974-1978) of the
ras and Panama, the main actors PLN, Rodrigo Carazo (1982-1986)
of changes were the elites. Nowa- of the National Union, Luis Alber-
days, the gap between civil society to Monge (1982-1986) of the PLN,
and the political system is wider in Oscar Arias (1986-1990) of the
the last two countries. PLN, Rafael Calderon (1990-1994)
of the PUSC, José Figueres Olsen
(1994-1998) of the PLN, Miguel
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Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría (1998- winner and losers candidates and
2002) of the PUSC, Abel Pacheco in the civil society. The State had
de la Espriella (2002-2006) of the a fundamental importance in con-
PUSC, again Oscar Arias (2006- flict resolution, the redistribution of
2010) of the PLN, and Laura Chin- income, and in the social and eco-
chilla (2010-2014) of the PLN. nomic change. Today, Costa Rica,
Uruguay, and Chile are considered
After the civil war, unlike the rest the highest quality democracies in
of Central America, Costa Rica Latin America (Torres, 2015; Main-
institutionalized essential political waring and Scully, 1997; Torres,
and civil liberties and democracy. 1996; Mainwaring and Perez-Liñán,
José Figueres Ferrer won the civil 2005; Morlino, 2014; Mainwaring
war, but he did not appropriate the and Perez-Liñán, 2016; Prieto, 1979;
power; he signed an agreement with Zovatto, 2005).
Otilio Ulate, the winner of the 1948
elections, so that the so-called Jun- Since the elections of 1951, a cen-
ta Fundadora de la Segunda República tripetal bipolar dynamic was set up,
(Founding Junta of the Second Re- which had the National Liberation
public) presided over the country for Party (PLN), founded by Figueres, as
eighteen months, and then Ulate main force, and with which Figueres
would assume the power. The agree- was going to win the first democratic
ment was implemented. During the elections with the highest majority
period of the Founding Junta of the ever reached (65% of the votes). The
Second Republic, the Calderon PLN had the support of the middle
Guardia’s reforms remained, and class, and in its early years, it applied
even capital taxes were set, affecting an agenda with a social democrat
the oligarchy. A system of universal profile that allowed to accompany
social security was created, and pub- democracy with higher socio-eco-
lic education with quality was guar- nomic freedoms. It also had cen-
anteed. The banking was national- ter-right actors in opposition, as the
ized, and rural credit was expanded. Social Christian Unity Party; both
Finally, the army was abolished. are heirs of the civil war: the PLN
Costa Rica and Uruguay were able from Figuerismo (Figueres' political
to develop the most extensive social movement) and the PUSC from
states in Latin America; the dem- Calderonismo (Calderón Guardia's
ocratic mechanisms, such as elec- political trend). These two blocks
tions, enjoyed prestige among the formed a system of institutionalized
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political parties with deep roots in in 1984, and in Panama in 1989.
the civil society; they held about These elections cannot be consid-
90% of the presidential and parlia- ered democratic due to the limited
mentary votes. The low polarization competition that excluded the en-
was also present in civil society, tire spectrum of the left wing; in a
which was characterized by a robust context of war, there were high lev-
democratic culture (Torres, 2015; els of military intervention, without
Zovatto, 2005; Hernández, 2011). division of powers or freedom of the
press, but there was progress in polit-
Despite the instability and political ical liberalization.
violence in neighboring countries,
and the economic difficulties of the In Honduras, with the presidential
1980s, Costa Rica has managed to elections of 1982 and 1986, the
maintain its democracy without in- two historical parties of the coun-
terruption. All disputes are resolved try returned with one of the largest
within the democracy. It is this crit- participation in the region. For the
ical situation that gives us the most first time in the history of the coun-
abundant elements to understand try, the Liberal Party (PL) and the
the current difference between conservative National Party (PL)
high-quality Costa Rican democracy resolved the conflict of their patri-
with the minimum quality democra- monial interests through elections.
cies in the rest of Central America. In the end, the military began to be
The crisis of hegemony and the civil subordinated to civilians. Howev-
war in Costa Rica led to democra- er, the military continued to be the
cy, while in the rest of the region main de facto actors; additionally,
violence and authoritarianism con- the continuity of the American in-
tinued. What was achieved with tervention and violations of human
democratic reforms in Costa Rica rights do not allow us to consid-
was unsuccessfully attempted with er this regime as democratic. In El
revolutions in the rest of the region. Salvador, with the traditional allies
from the Christian Democratic Par-
In the rest of Central America, the ty (PDC) and the American support,
political liberalization initiated with the military appointed a civilian as
the wave of presidential elections acting president, Álvaro Magaña
that began in Honduras in 1981 (1982-1984); then, in a context of
and continued in El Salvador in war and exclusion of the left parties,
1982, in Guatemala and Nicaragua José Napoleón Duarte (PDC) and
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Alfredo Cristiani were elected for Colburn and Cruz, 2012; Cajina and
the National Republican Alliance Lacayo, 1999; Ortega, 1997).
(ARENA). Guatemala elected the
constituent assembly in 1984 and a In 1989, under George H. W. Bush's
new president in 1985. For the first presidency, the United States invad-
time in 20 years, a civilian was ap- ed Panama with a large military mo-
pointed as president, the Christian bilization to arrest General Noriega.
Democrat Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo Thus, the dictatorship ended, and
(1986-1991) who had to overcome the country elected Guillermo Enda-
several coup attempts (Torres, 2015; ra (1989-1994) as president with
Salomón, 1996; Reina, 1981; Somo- high abstention the same year; he
za, 2005; Taylor, 2009; Krennerich, was sworn in at an American mili-
2005a; Wood, 2005; Bendel and tary base. Then, in 1994, the first
Krennerich, 2005). competitive elections took place to
elect Ernesto Pérez Balladares (1994-
In Nicaragua, after the triumph of 1999) as president, and in 1999,
the Sandinista revolution in 1979, Mireya Moscoso won the presiden-
presidential elections were held in cy (1999-2004). Even though these
1984: Daniel Ortega (1985-1990) last two elections were competitive,
was elected as president. By the neither were free nor democratic,
time of the elections, the FSLN con- because democracy is a form of gov-
trolled all the powers of the coun- ernment of the State, and the Pan-
try through the Provisional Junta amanian State did not have control
of National Reconstruction. The of its sovereignty, nor the monopoly
legitimacy that the FSLN received of violence until 1999 when Ameri-
to overthrow the Somoza’s sultanic can troops fled the country. Panama
dictatorship allowed the revolution- can be considered as a sovereign and
ary group to reunite diverse mass po- democratic state as of 2000. Also,
litical organizations, and, thus, a bi- during the 1990s invasion, neo-lib-
polar logic of political competition eral policies were implemented in
between Sandinistas and anti-San- the socio-economic field; they min-
dinistas settled. For Nicaragua, the imized the State even further. Even
years of Sandinista government though the civil society was more
were the worst period of economic active, it was also a mess.
crisis that whichever country in Lat-
in America has lived (Torres, 2015; The beginning of democracy in
Torres, 1997; Krennerich, 2005b; Honduras can be dated to the first
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free and competitive elections in essential element was the incorpora-
the country; they led Rafael Leonar- tion of the FMLN into the demo-
do Callejas (1990-1994), of the PN, cratic life in the form of a political
to the presidency and signified the party, which, along with the ARE-
first peaceful alternation of power NA extreme right party, formed
and the start of a democratic cul- centrifuge bipartisanship. The high
ture. This period coincided with the competition between these parties
beginning of peace in the region and and their mutual supervision have
the end of the Cold War. In 1994, assured that the public administra-
the alternation in the presidency tion showed the highest levels of
continued with Carlos Roberto Re- efficiency and the lowest corruption
ina (1994-1998), of the PL, when he levels for Central America, except
won the elections, consolidating the Costa Rica. In the early years of
Honduran bipartisanship that has democracy, the ARENA party ob-
been characterized by agreements tained important control when it
between elites; these agreements in- won the presidential elections with
cluded the distribution of privileges. Armando Calderón (1994-1999),
A series of personalistic factions ex- Francisco Flores (1999-2004), and
ist in the Honduran parties. These Elias Antonio Saca (2004-2009).
factions compete between them- These elections were characterized
selves without a coherent program- by a low turnout, especially in the
matic agenda, nor an ideologically rural areas where the inhabitants
differentiated one. Both parties can did not see, in the democracy, their
be located on the right wing. The le- potential to resolve their immediate
thal factions correspond to territori- problems, due to a significant asym-
al and commercial elements; for ex- metry in the power of election cam-
ample, the PL was funded by United paign financing and a weakly dem-
Fruit Co. and the PN by Cuyamel ocratic institutionality in general.
Fruit Co. (Salomón, 1996; Torres, The ARENA party showed greater
2010; Ruhl, 2010; Somoza, 2005). cohesion than the FMLN that suf-
fered splits; but even if the FMLN
In El Salvador, democracy can be was not able to win the presidency
dated from the presidential elections in the early years, it obtained im-
of 1994, the first free, competitive, portant positions at the local and
and plural ones. Only the signature legislative level (Colburn, 2009;
of the peace agreement in 1992 set Krennerich, 2005a; Wood, 2005;
up the conditions for democracy. An Torres, 2015).
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In Guatemala, the main political and only the right-wing has an in-
actors have not been committed to stitutionalized space because, after
democratic rules. Even though with nearly four decades of military vi-
the negotiations of peace in El Sal- olence, the Guatemalan guerrilla
vador and the distension of interna- movement has not had the same ca-
tional relations with the fall of the pacity that the Salvadoran and Nic-
Berlin Wall the military had no sig- araguan guerrillas have had to trans-
nificant influence on the elections form themselves in political parties.
that led Jorge Serrano Elias (1991- The Guatemalan National Revo-
1993) to the presidency, Serrano, lutionary Unity (URNG), which
himself, accused of corruption, engi- brings together the former guerrillas,
neered a coup that was foiled by the did not take part in the first elec-
rejection of the civil society in gen- tions and has been systematically
eral and by the military. The Guate- ceding space. The democratic and
malan Congress appointed Ramiro progressive forces, such as the in-
de León Carpio (1993-1996), for- digenous, gender, and human rights
mer ombudsman and human rights movements, have not been able to
defender, as president. This moment coalesce into political parties and
can be considered the beginning are weak and fragmented. The right-
of democracy in Guatemala, as the wing candidates represent groups
institutions demonstrated sufficient that disappear after each election, so
strength to guarantee the subordina- that these groups cannot be consid-
tion of the military and the demo- ered as parties. However, the right-
cratic rules of the game. This dem- wing does have strong organizations,
ocratic beginning also significantly including with veto power, such as
contributed to the peace agreement the Coordinating Committee of
signed in 1996; and the agreement Associations and Chambers of Ag-
contributed to democratization. riculture, Commerce, Industry, and
Finance (CACIF). The Guatemalan
As of this moment, the elections State remains weak; it does not have
have been free and competitive. the monopoly of violence in large
However, the voter participation part of its territory due to the pres-
has been among the lowest in Lat- ence of drug traffickers and is one of
in America, and the majority of the the States at the world level that has
indigenous population has not been the lowest social investment. That is
incorporated to the political life. why Guatemala remains one of the
The political spectrum is reduced, poorest countries in Latin America
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(Torres, 2015; Seligson, 2005; Ben- of civil society. Finally, the period
del and Krennerich, 2005; Torres, culminates with the presidency of
2010; Rojas, 2010; Torres, 1981). the conservative candidate Enrique
Bolaños (2002-2007). These three
In Nicaragua, the first free and presidencies were marked by a neo-
competitive elections marking the liberal economic agenda and politi-
beginning of democracy were con- cal instability. (Torres, 2015; Martí i
ducted in 1990 and led the winner, Puig, 2015; Krennerich, 2005b; Col-
Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, to the burn and Cruz, 2012; Vargas, 1995).
presidency (1990-1997); she led
the right-wing coalition National A bipolar logic continued, but not a
Opposition Union. This moment is bipartisan one, mainly because since
considered the beginning of democ- the Alemán-Ortega pact there were
racy in the country, not only for the no effective differences of program-
qualities of the elections but for the matic agenda, and the caudillo who
significance of resolving such rapid was leading each group was the most
change of power from the Sandini- important element.
stas to anti-Sandinista movement
within the political space. In Central America, during the pe-
riod under analysis, with the excep-
After these elections, the political tion of Costa Rica, we find impov-
violence decreased, the Contra de- erished and unequal countries, with
mobilized, the Sandinista Popular disrupted societies, where the mili-
Army reduced by more than half, tary were the only organized politi-
and social organizations emerged cal actors. Nevertheless, changes in
with significant impetus. Chamor- the international context, with the
ro focused on creating a right-wing fall of the Berlin Wall and, at the
party, and the FSLN concentrated regional level, with the triumph
on recovering from defeat and orga- of the Sandinista revolution, fo-
nizing a party. The Somoza’s forces mented the hegemonic crisis of the
also created a party, the Nationalist military and militarism and a tran-
Liberal Party, which led Arnoldo sition that began in a state of war
Alemán to the presidency (1997- and, then, managed to obtain the
2002). Alemán and the Sandinista commitment of the main political
leader Daniel Ortega signed a pact to actors in the region, at least as a
distribute the positions of power, re- facade, with the rules of the demo-
gardless of the merit or the demands cratic competition.
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El Salvador and, then, Nicaragua Quality and Challenges of the
managed to create civil societies Present Democracy
with significant levels of mobili-
zation because their processes of Talking about quality and challeng-
transition were from the bottom up. es of democracy in Central Ameri-
However, as we will see, this transi- ca is an important step forward for
tion was co-opted in Nicaragua, and the region because it means that
the economic forces have not au- the conflictivity in all the countries
tomatically transformed their eco- of the region develops in a political
nomic power in political power any and democratic space.
longer. In Honduras and Panama,
the de facto powers led the democra- However, nowadays in Honduras, we
tization from the top down, so that can find a breakdown of the democ-
the gap between civil society and racy in the coup d'état of June 28,
political society widened. Moreover, 2009. Manuel Zelaya (2006-2009)
in Guatemala, the inability to trans- was elected president, supported by
form the guerrilla movement into a the Liberal Party, in a context where
political party with a programmatic the bipartisanship was systematically
agenda has also resulted in a politi- losing support, expressed in the con-
cal system characterized by a signif- tinuous increase of abstention and
icant gap between political actors the questioning of the electoral re-
and fragmented social actors. sults. However, Zelaya quickly moved
away from the traditional way of do-
In all countries, the democratiza- ing politics of bipartisanship and from
tion and the first years of democra- traditional support groups such as the
cy coincided with deep economic business sector. This situation caused
crisis and neoliberal policies that tension in the relations between the
have maintained the socio-econom- President and the other de jure and de
ic inequalities and the weakness of facto powers, especially at the end of
States, allowing in all the region, 2008 when a presidential decree in-
except Costa Rica, that traditional creased the minimum wage by more
actors, like the economic forces and than 50 percent. At the beginning of
their corporate pressure groups, keep 2009, the conflictivity between the
control of public policies, reducing powers sparked when Zelaya intended
the political sphere. to call for a referendum to allow his
presidential re-election, just after the
Supreme Electoral Tribunal declared
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this act illegal; this situation resulted oligopoly, and the center-left Free-
in his removal from office, without a dom and Re-foundation Party (LI-
preliminary hearing or judicial pro- BRE) and the Anti-Corruption Par-
cess. Undoubtedly, this is the greatest ty (PAC) emerged; these two parties
expression of contemporary institu- obtained the second and fourth po-
tional weakness in Central America. sition in these elections respective-
The civil society remained on the ly. This expansion of the spectrum
streets for more than five months, of the political offer, which allows
denouncing the coup d'état and de- a left political option out of biparti-
manding better living conditions, sanship for the first time in history, is
while they were heavily punished, one of the most important events in
with a balance of 10 people dead and the republican history of the coun-
numerous injured (Sosa, 2014; Rojas, try. The civil society also looks more
2010; Torres, 2010). vigorous and less tolerant to corrup-
tion and lack of institutionality.
The extreme institutional weakness,
the high levels of crime that make The challenge to improve the qual-
Honduras one of the most violent ity of the Honduran democracy
countries in the world, the criminal- implies that new parties overcome
ization of social, peasant, indigenous their tendencies towards faction-
and identity (as the LGBTI commu- alism and personalism, and so they
nity) protests, the neo-liberal policies can build programmatic parties with
that maintain the State weak vis-à- differentiated agendas that articu-
vis the economic powers, the decline late the demands of the civil society.
of social investment, the rising in-
equality, the clientelist practices, and In Nicaragua and El Salvador, the
the corruption in general continued former guerrillas, now converted in
during the presidencies of Porfirio political parties, have reached the
Lobo (2010-2014) and Juan Hernán- presidency. In 2007, the FSLN, with
dez (2014-currently in office). Daniel Ortega, won the presidency;
Ortega remains in office after win-
The positive note is that the coup ning the election for the periods
d'etat has re-politicized the Hondu- 2012-2017 and 2017-2022. Also,
ran citizenship, which is especially in El Salvador, the FMLN won
evident from the presidential elec- the elections with Mauricio Funes
tions of 2013 when the traditional (2009-2014) and Salvador Sánchez
parties lost their historical electoral (2014-2019).
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After more than 15 years, Daniel 2010; Martí i Puig, 2016; Martí i
Ortega returned to the Presidency of Puig, 2008; Martí i Puig, 2013; Martí
Nicaragua, but this time through free i Puig, 2009; Perez, 2012).
and competitive elections; in these
tight polls, the FSLN faced a divid- In El Salvador, the FMLN won the
ed Liberal Party. Ortega is another 2009 elections with Funes, an inde-
case of personalism in the history of pendent candidate, in the midst of a
Nicaragua. Under the Alemán-Orte- campaign with high levels of aggres-
ga pact, he has been able to obtain siveness and political violence. The
the re-election in two opportunities, FMLN victory resulted in the divi-
in elections every time less free, less sion of the right and the emergence
competitive and highly questioned. of the Great National Alliance
The re-election was possible thanks Party (GANA); there was also a
to the clientelism financed by in- distance between the President and
ternational agreements, such as the the FMLN. During the governments
ALBA that has allowed considerable of the FMLN, politics has been judi-
material improvements for the im- cialized, and El Salvador remains a
poverished population, negotiations poor country with a weak State and
with the business sectors that have is one of the most violent countries
guaranteed them their material inter- in the world; however, unlike Nic-
ests, and his approach to the Cath- aragua, there are no considerable
olic Church by adopting conserva- accusations of corruption (Roody,
tive positions and clerical rhetoric. 2016; Roody, 2012; Ramos, Loya,
Especially after the reforms of 2014 and Arteaga, 2009).
that allows Ortega to be re-elected
indefinitely, he has concentrated the Nicaragua and El Salvador share high
power of the State in his figure and levels of poverty that prevent citizen-
has been systematically undermining ship to be fulfilled, and high levels of
the division of powers, which places polarization that hinder social con-
the FSLN as an actor with hegemon- sensus. In Nicaragua, the FSLN has
ic pretensions. Additionally, Ortega accumulated more power than the
and his wife, Rosario Murillo, ex- FMLN in El Salvador. The FSLN has
ercise tight control over the FSLN; been using non-democratic resources
thus, the presidential couple has be- for such purposes and has been fac-
come the main actors of the Nicara- ing a divided right-wing; and even,
guan life (Anderson and Dodd, 2009; in its rhetoric, it does not include is-
Colburn and Cruz, 2012; Rocha, sues of justice and social policies. In
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addition, being a small country, Nic- Party won the presidential elections
aragua has clientelist policies that during and after the American inva-
have reached a significant percentage sion, except for the elections of 2009
in the population. In the meantime, when Ricardo Martinelli was elected,
the FMLN has been respecting the despite the union of the traditional
democratic game and has been facing parties. Panama has maintained the
a united and more solvent right-wing economic growth, but this dyna-
in public management. mism has not had the same rhythm
to reduce poverty and has increased
In Nicaragua, a little democratic inequality; this situation has gener-
left-wing faces a right with little so- ated a perception of corruption and
cial conscience. Instead, in El Sal- inability or disinterest on the part
vador, the multiplicity of difficulties of the government to address the
seems to overwhelm the administra- social demands of those who are re-
tive capabilities of both parties. lated through the clientelism. The
Political Parties do not have either
In Panama, Costa Rica, and Gua- programmatic agendas or discipline
temala, non-traditional candidates (Guevara, 2016; Brown and Moon,
were elected presidents in the most 2013; Luna and Sánchez, 2009).
recent presidential elections. In Pan-
ama, Ricardo Martinelli, a self-called The spectrum of the offer of political
anti-political outsider entrepreneur, parties in Costa Rica was significant-
triumphed in the presidential polls of ly reduced when the party system
2009. In Costa Rica, for the first time became increasingly centripetal, and
in its democratic history, Luis Guill- the historical, social democratic Na-
ermo Solis was elected president tional Liberation Party converged to-
without the support of any of the ward the center-right generating the
blocks of the traditional bipolarity misalignment of the political system.
in the presidential elections of 2014. This situation coincided with the pro-
Likewise, in Guatemala, Jimmy Mo- cess of economic complexification in
rales won the presidency in 2016; he the country and with greater compe-
is a recognized actor and comedian tition in the international economy
without previous party ties or experi- that broke the traditional social dem-
ence in public administration. ocratic pact and increased inequality.
For this reason, since the presiden-
In Panama, the Democratic Revolu- tial elections of 2002, a third force
tionary Party and the Panameñista in the political party system emerged
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from the center-left. This third force of an outsider without a defined pro-
is composed of former members of grammatic agenda. Even though the
the PLN, which obtained the second rule of law has been strengthened, as
place in the presidential elections of shows the arrest of the former pres-
2006 and won the presidency in 2014: ident Alfonso Portillo for several
the Citizen Action Party (PAC). In offenses occurred during his man-
Guatemala, the political party sys- date. The Guatemalan democracy
tem remains reduced to the right and has many challenges ahead, such as
shows the highest fragmentation in the capacity of the political system
Latin America, the parties are person- to give answers to the most pressing
alistic without defined programmatic problems of the civil society. Final-
agendas and disappear with ease; and ly, Panama is a country with politi-
despite some improvements of the cal stability, but where the political
economic growth, poverty and in- sphere is very reduced; this calls the
equality continue (Hernandez, 2011; quality of democracy into question.
Torres, 2015; Alfaro and Gomez,
2016; Alfaro and Gomez, 2014; Alfa- Conclusions
ro and Gomez, 2012; Feoli, 2009; Az-
puru and Blanco, 2008). Central America is a very diverse
region in experiences and quality of
Changes in Costa Rica show the democracy; Costa Rica is the most
capacity of its mature democracy to successful, historical, and contempo-
adapt to social demands. The new rary case in the subregion. The rest
political actors are formally insti- of democracies are relatively young
tutionalized, are political parties and fragile democracies, without
with differentiated programmatic historical experiences of democracy,
agendas, and have emerged to give with weak States, without social con-
a response to the misalignment. The sensus, and limited citizenship that is
challenge of the quality of democra- treated in a clientelist manner and is
cy in Costa Rica is that the executive a victim of poverty and inequality.
can make its policies effective with
the high party fragmentation in the However, from a historical perspec-
legislative power. In turn, the Gua- tive, Central America has at pres-
temalan system of political parties ent achieved a significant political
has not had the same ability to adapt liberalization that allows raising the
in order to have a broader offer that analysis of political systems in terms
allows the arrival to the presidency of quality of democracy.
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