Desafección cívica, polarización ideológica y calidad de la democracia: una introducción al Anuario Político de América Latina

the year 2006 was marked by extraordinary electoral activity all over the continent. this year has also shown a higher than normal level of conflict between countries, amounting in some cases to serious diplomatic friction. in addition, there were evident domestic problems touching almost every country: enduring deficits of human development despite an economic expansion, the systematic exclusion of important social groups from the political arena, and an increasing level of political disaffection among the population as a whole. some countries were paralyzed by conflicts and stalemates between the branches of government, and in a broader sense, serious shortcomings have been observed in respect to "democratic governability". although democracy is firmly in place in most of the continent and elections are the main vehicle for selecting governments, we are now facing problems to which, years ago and for understandable reasons, political scientists did not give sufficient attention. the political reality of the region has become so fluid and the new challenges are so varied and significant, that an annual comparative chronicle on the political processes lived by each country constitutes, to our understanding, a fundamental and necessary tool for research. this article is meant to offer an introduction to this political data yearbook of latin america