ABSTRACT
IT COULD BE argued that democracy-majority rule through elections-is possible without the rule of law. Th at is, we have plenty of examples of governments that qualify as democracies but are characterized by rampant corruption. Still, the quality of democracy would certainly seem to depend on whether citizens are protected from arbitrary authority and can hold offi cials accountable for their actions-and whether they think their fellow citizens obey the law. As Figure 14.1 indicates, not even one in three Latin Americans were confi dent of this last condition in 2011 (the last year that Latinobarómetro asked the question).
