ABSTRACT
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Latin America is plagued by severe political and institutional crises that in some countries have brought democratic rule almost to the point of collapse. As a result, much of the hope and expectations that existed in the 1990s about the ability of the new democracies to provide for higher levels of political stability and economic progress in the region have rapidly evaporated. Today, pessimism, uncertainty and even despair have begun to typify the general mood existing among many Latin Americans about the immediate future of their countries.
