Latin America and the Caribbean is the most democratic region in the developing world. Their democracies – although terminated – are today the predominant political system in the region; but it wasn’t always like that. That more than four out of every five people live today in countries whose governments have been democratically elected, more than a statistical figure, represents a historical achievement resulting from a collective effort: social movements, political agreements, profound transitions and shared will to advance development through democracy and to resolve political differences peacefully within the framework of common rules.
Today, even though the majority of the population expresses a preference for democracy as a political system, less than half declare themselves satisfied with its functioning. Here is a first warning of the UNDP Democracy and Development Report 2026: The fact that democracies last in Latin America and the Caribbean does not guarantee their sustainability. This also depends on its ability to respond effectively to the expectations of citizens.
That perception expresses something deeper than a current discontent. It speaks of a disenchantment and a growing distance between institutions and citizens, whose expectations have evolved in part as a result of democratic expansion and progress in human development. There is a high electoral participation, which demonstrates a democratic vocation, but millions of people feel that after the elections, their demands do not weigh in public decisions, while inequalities, insecurity and lack of quality services limit their opportunities. Democracy is not valued only for its rules, but for its ability to improve people’s lives.
Democracy, human development and the State
Therefore, democracy, human development and the State cannot be thought of separately: democracy opens the space to deliberate and make collective decisions. Human development allows people to expand their capabilities, exercise their rights and participate with greater autonomy. The State is the bridge that turns these decisions into effective policies and tangible results in people’s lives. When that bond is renewed and reinforced, it has the potential to generate a virtuous dynamic. When it fails, citizen frustration grows.
In recent decades, this link in the region has been imperfect. Important advances were achieved in human development, through improvements in health, education and income. Rights were also expanded and social protection systems were strengthened. However, progress did not reach all sectors with the same intensity. More than 70% of the population considers that governments respond mainly to particular interests. This perception of inequality does not only affect material well-being. It also alters the way democracy works, because it conditions who has the real capacity to influence, demand and be heard.
Economic inequality and political inequality
When economic inequality translates into unequal political influence, representation is distorted. Some groups manage to weigh much more than others on the public agenda while large sectors are left out of the decisions and their effects. The crisis of representation of political parties gives way to personalistic and rootedless leaderships that deepen this gap. New pressures are added to this tension, such as growing toxic polarization, technological acceleration and the impact of AI on public debate and the information ecosystem. Disagreement is an essential part of any plural society, but the possibility of peacefully processing the conflict is broken when the adversary stops being seen as a legitimate competitor and becomes an existential threat. In this climate, politics loses its basic function: organizing differences without turning them into a rupture.
The digital transformation is also changing democratic life. Social networks are already a central source of information, although more than 60% of people say they distrust them. That contradiction marks a good part of the current public conversation. Disinformation, algorithmic manipulation, digital violence and the lack of ethics in the use of artificial intelligence fragment the social fabric, impoverish citizen deliberation and can erode electoral trust.
Organized crime, migration, climate crisis
Organized crime poses an even more direct threat. In several territories it no longer acts only as an illegal network dedicated to illicit activities. It disputes authority with the State, imposes rules, conditions local leadership, finances campaigns and captures institutional spaces. When the State does not guarantee security or rights, other powers fill that void. The result is not only more violence, but a democracy with less real freedom to participate and decide.
Human mobility at scale and intra-regional shows another side of these tensions. Many people migrate because they do not find opportunities, protection or stability in their countries. At the same time, migration has become fertile ground for discourses of rejection. In 2024, just over half of Latin Americans considered the arrival of immigrants to their country harmful. This data shows how uncertainty can turn into fear and that fear into exclusion, eroding solidarity and weakening the foundations of democratic coexistence.
The climate crisis pushes in the same direction. In the Caribbean, every hurricane, economic shock or security crisis hits small, indebted States that are highly exposed to natural disasters. In the region as a whole, pollution and the loss of biodiversity force us to decide who bears the costs of the transitions and who has a voice in these decisions. Part of the democratic future of Latin America and the Caribbean is also defined there.
Renew democracy
The greatest risk for democracies in Latin America and the Caribbean is no longer open ruptures of the democratic order, as in the past, but rather its erosion and hollowing out from within. In many cases, the deterioration can progress gradually, with institutions that continue to function, elections held and governments changing, but with citizens increasingly convinced that the system is not responding. That silent wear and tear can end up being as damaging as the more visible crises.
Faced with this reality, the challenge is not to replace democracy, but to renew it. It is not about aspiring to immediate comprehensive transformations, but about identifying areas where different strategically oriented actions can promote positive dynamics, deactivate vicious cycles and contribute to rebuilding the legitimacy of the democratic system.
To do this, it is necessary to protect, above all, the conditions of political competition, especially through electoral integrity as the basis of democratic legitimacy. This implies correcting distortions in the distribution of power: strengthening the independence of control bodies, limiting the undue influence of money in politics, recovering the representation capacity of the parties and protecting the information ecosystem and the quality of public debate.
It also requires States with a real presence in the territory and resilient institutions and policies, capable of sustaining progress when crises arrive.
The region still has time to turn pressure into renewal and disenchantment into democratic momentum. It will be one of the decisive tasks of this generation.
Latin America and the Caribbean has already demonstrated that it can change its political trajectory when it acts collectively for the common good. It did so by leaving behind a good part of the authoritarianism of the 20th century, advancing development and equality, and expanding democratic rights. Now it faces a different task: ensuring that democracy is revalued as the best known system to expand opportunities, protect freedoms and respond to citizen demands.
The future of democracy and development will ultimately depend on our collective ability to sustain that effort. The region still has time to turn pressure into renewal and disenchantment into democratic momentum. This will be, without a doubt, one of the decisive tasks of this generation.
This article presents a preview of the Report on Democracy and Development, entitled “Democracies under pressure: Reimagining the futures of democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean 2026”, prepared by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Latin America and the Caribbean.
*This article was originally published in Latin America 21.
