ABSTRACT
HOW MUCH SHOULD we measure democratic progress in Latin America according to the model provided by polyarchy —that is, in terms of elections, rights, and rule of law, regardless of what kinds of social and economic conditions exist in a country? In other words, how much should the procedures, such as elections and checks and balances, of liberal democracy, and civil liberties, such as freedom of speech and equality before the law, be valued for themselves? Alternatively, how much should we judge democratic progress by the diff erence democracy has made (or not made) in people’s lives, the real world where they live?
