ABSTRACT
DESPITE THE FACT that almost all Latin American presidents today are civil-ians and have been elected, the region remains stereotyped in popular imagination as dangerous and ruled by ephemeral leaders according to their personal whim. The region is famous as well for high-minded constitutions that promise many wonderful benefits and rights but rarely seem to be implemented in practice. Furthermore, newspaper headlines in the region frequently feature largescale investigations, charges, and countercharges of corruption.
