ABSTRACT
AS THE FIRST decade of the twenty-fi rst century drew to a close, most of the political scientists, journalists, and policy makers following Latin American aff airs seemed optimistic that the countries of the region were fi nally, aft er nearly 200 years of political independence, on track to enter a new era of stability, economic development, and democracy. Th e military were staying in the barracks, the students were studying, rebels were laying down their arms and founding political parties, poverty rates were falling, and the United States was no longer supporting dictatorships. Of course, just about everyone tempered this optimism with recognition of risks and concerns, but few doubted that progress had been made, and few doubted that the model of democracy preferred by Latin Americans was liberal, representative democracy.
