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The effect of the democratic experience on the structure of legitimacy in Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

The article refers to a paradox that is present in Latin America and the Caribbean nowadays: on the one hand, adherence to democracy has increased exponentially; on the other hand, satisfaction with the system has decreased substantially. Could the temporal factor explain this contradiction? This article presents how the age of citizens and the democratic longevity of Latin American countries influence individual provisions regarding democracy in terms of diffuse and specific support. We applied factor analysis and a multivariate multilevel model. Our results provide evidence for the relationship between experience with the democratic regime and support for the most diffuse dimensions of legitimacy, but this has not been confirmed for the more specific dimensions.

democracy; democratic legitimacy; Latin America and the Caribbean; diffuse and specific support; authoritarian regimes

Centro de Estudos de Opinião Pública da Universidade Estadual de Campinas Cidade Universitária 'Zeferino Vaz", CESOP, Rua Cora Coralina, 100. Prédio dos Centros e Núcleos (IFCH-Unicamp), CEP: 13083-896 Campinas - São Paulo - Brasil, Tel.: (55 19) 3521-7093 - Campinas - SP - Brazil
E-mail: rop@unicamp.br