Democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Compilation of Selected Indices
Released: 2019-11-20T00:00:00

Introduction

The current trajectory of democracy around the world is an issue of interest for Congress, which has contributed to U.S. democracy promotion objectives overseas. For decades, U.S. policy has broadly reflected the view that the spread of democracy around the world is favorable to U.S. interests. This report provides a regional snapshot of the political climate in Latin America and the Caribbean, based on the U.S. Department of State's description of each country's political system and selected nongovernmental (NGO) indices that measure democracy trends worldwide.

For additional information on democracy in the global context, see CRS Report R45344, Global Trends in Democracy: Background, U.S. Policy, and Issues for Congress , by Michael A. Weber.

For related information about democracy in Latin American and the Caribbean, see the following products:

CRS In Focus IF10460, Latin America and the Caribbean: U.S. Policy Overview , by Mark P. Sullivan; CRS Report R45547, U.S. Foreign Assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean: FY2019 Appropriations , by Peter J. Meyer and Edward Y. Gracia; CRS Report 98-684, Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections , by Carla Y. Davis-Castro; and CRS Report R45733, Combating Corruption in Latin America: Congressional Considerations , coordinated by June S. Beittel.

CRS also publishes reports on specific Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Source Notes

This report compiles information from the U.S. State Department and data from four nongovernmental (NGO) indices. For a discussion about definitions of democracy and critiques of democracy indices, see CRS Report R45344, Global Trends in Democracy: Background, U.S. Policy, and Issues for Congress , by Michael A. Weber. CRS does not endorse the methodology or accuracy of any particular democracy index.

In parentheses following the country name in the tables below is the nature of the country's political system, as described in the U.S. State Department's 2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices . While the publication focuses broadly on human rights conditions in each country, the first sentence of each country report provides a characterization of the country's political system. This U.S. government information is included here for comparison with findings from the democracy indicators published by NGOs.

Bertelsmann Stiftung, a private foundation based in Germany, has published the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) biannually since 2006. Key regional findings and country reports are available in English (BTI publishes the full regional report in German). BTI 2018 evaluates the quality of democracy, a market economy, and political management in 129 developing and transition countries. For political transformation specifically, BTI ranks countries using 18 indicators grouped into five criteria: (1) stateness, (2) political participation, (3) rule of law, (4) stability of democratic institutions, and (5) political and social integration. Based on the criteria, BTI assigns a category: democracy in consolidation, defective democracy, highly defective democracy, moderate autocracy , and hardline autocracy . In its regional report, BTI notes that since 2008, it "has recorded a decline in the quality of democracy in Latin Americaânot dramatic, but continual." BTI evaluates all Central and South American nations. With the exception of Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica, BTI does not evaluate Caribbean nations.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), based in London and New York, has offices and analysts in various countries. Since 2006, EIU has produced a democracy index that provides an annual snapshot of the state of democracy for 165 independent states and two territories. The EIU classifies countries as full democracies , flawed democracies , hybrid regimes , or authoritarian regimes based on an aggregate score of 60 indicators in five categories: (1) electoral process and pluralism, (2) civil liberties, (3) the functioning of government, (4) political participation, and (5) political culture. According to the EIU's Democracy Index 2018 , the Latin America and Caribbean region's overall score went down from 6.26 in 2017 to 6.24 in 2018 (on a 0 to 10 scale). The two countries in the region classified in 2018 as full democracies are Uruguay and, new to the group, Costa Rica. EIU's Democracy Index 2018 identified three countries in the region as authoritarian regimes: Nicaragua moved to join Venezuela and Cuba. EIU evaluates all Central and South American nations. With the exceptions of Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, EIU does not evaluate Caribbean nations.

Freedom House is a U.S.-based NGO that conducts research on democracy, political freedom, and human rights worldwide. It has published Freedom in the World since 1978, and the current report covers 195 countries and 14 territories. Freedom House assigns each country 0 to 4 points on 25 indicators (10 political rights indicators and 15 civil liberties indicators) for a total of up to 100 points. The scores determine numerical ratings for political rights and civil liberties freedoms on a scale of 1 (most free) to 7 (least free). The political rights and civil liberties ratings are averaged to produce an overall status of free, partly free , or not free. Freedom House's report covering 2018 found that Nicaragua was the country with the greatest decline in the world regarding conditions for political rights and civil liberties as compared to 2017. Venezuela had the third-greatest decline; Brazil, El Salvador, and Guatemala also made the top 20 for steepest declines. The report's analysis is based on data that are detailed in full on the Freedom House web page on "Countries," which ranks the state of democracy for 197 countries and 15 territories. This web page lists the top three aggregate scores in Latin America and the Caribbean: Uruguay, Barbados, and Chile; the region's lowest aggregate scores are those for Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Cuba. Freedom House evaluates democracy in all Central and South American and Caribbean nations.

The Varieties of Democracy Institute (V-DEM), headquartered at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, collects democracy data through its research team in collaboration with country experts. In 2017, V-Dem published its first global report measuring the status of democracy with an index. Democracy Report 2019 includes the Liberal Democracy Index, which examines 71 indicators included in the Liberal Component Index and the Electoral Democracy Index. V-Dem groups 179 countries into four categories: liberal democracy , electoral democracy , electoral autocracy , and closed autocracy . The current report notes "the regional average for Latin America is down to 0.51 in 2018, bringing the region back to about 1996-levels." V-DEM evaluates all Central and South American nations. With the exceptions of Barbados, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, V-DEM does not evaluate Caribbean nations.

Table 1 looks at Caribbean countries' global democracy rankings according to EIU's Democracy Index 2018 , Freedom House's Freedom in the World 2019 , V-Dem's Democracy Report 2019 , and Bertelsmann Stiftung's 2018 Transformation Index. Table 2 compares the same reports for Mexico and Central America, as does Table 3 for South America. Each report evaluates a different number of countries, so there are missing rankings for some countries. Countries are listed alphabetically in each table.

Figure 1 shows the global rank and classification of all Central and South American and Caribbean countries according to the Political Transformation Rank, a component of the 2018 Bertelsmann Stiftung Transformation Index (BTI).

Figure 2 shows the global rank and classification of Central and South American and Caribbean countries according to the EIU's Democracy Index 2018 .

Figure 3 shows the aggregate scores of all Central and South American and Caribbean countries according to the Freedom House country web page for Freedom in the World 2019 . Countries receive 0 to 4 points on 25 indicators (10 political rights indicators and 15 civil liberties indicators) for a total of up to 100 points.

Figure 4 shows the political rights and civil liberties scores of all Central and South American and Caribbean countries according to Freedom House's Freedom in the World 2019 . The scale used is 1-7, with 1 indicating the most free conditions and 7 the least free.

Figure 5 shows the liberal democracy index rank and classification of all Central and South American and Caribbean countries according to the Varieties of Democracy Institute's Democracy Report 2019 .

Table 4 provides resources for further information about democracy indicators in Central and South America and the Caribbean, although many cover other geographic areas as well. The sources are organized alphabetically by title. This is not an exhaustive list.