From Guns to the Ballot Box: Prospects for Democracy in Latin America
Tatiana Petrova Rizova

Abstract
Evidence shows that Latin American democracies are healthier than ever. With few exceptions, competitive electoral processes tend to be the only legitimate means of recruiting political talent throughout the region. In the past, the military establishment has been the main cause of democratic retreat in the region. I argue that keeping the military in its barracks is most likely in countries that meet the following three conditions: (1) a longer democratic experience, (2) higher popular support for democratic governance, and (3) international condemnation of previous coup d’etat attempts. Democratic regime breakdown, then, is far less likely in the Southern Cone that it is in Central American countries.

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