Since the 1980 s, Latin America has moved away from authoritarian military regimes to regime more democratic with civilian rule. However, most of Latin American democratic nations have an electoral democracy, rather than a liberal democracy like the one in the United States. In a liberal democracy, there is an active concern for freedom of speech in all matters, and for respecting the cultures, languages, and beliefs of minority peoples. An electoral democracy, however, is one where government leaders are chosen through contested elections. Most countries of Latin America have achieved an electoral democracy, and are working on achieving a liberal democracy.
Elections hold great importance in Latin America because they can legitimize democratic regimes.
For democracy, an election must be contested. It is not enough for a government to hold rigged elections that the incumbent cannot lose. There must be a multitude of parties, and the elections must be fair and free from external intimidation. A contested election has to be fair in the act of casting a ballot, and the environment must be safe for political debate. Each party should be given the right to express their views, and neither the parties nor the voters should be subject to intimidation by the government or any of the competing political parties.