The Vice Presidency and the Problems of Presidential Succession in Latin America: Old and New Challenges to Presidentialism

After Vice-President Temer supported the impeachment of President Rousseff in Brazil, the vice presidency has (again) received criticism in Latin America. The newly raised criticism echoes a long-standing critique of the vice presidency as a source of conflict and instability. This article, however, argues that the criti- cism suffers from a misconception and that it is confounded with three problems of presidential succession in- herent to presidential systems: the problems of loyalty, legitimacy and presidential substitution. Through a comparative and historical analysis based on a new database on rules of succession in Latin America, the article discusses how these problems have been met and attempted resolved through reforming the rules of succession, and how the recent presidential interruptions in the region present a new problem of presidential substitution that challenges the extent to which the rules of presidential substitution are fit to resolve presidential crises.Luego de que el vicepresidente Temer apoyó el juicio político de la presidenta Rousseff en Brasil, la vicepresidencia (de nuevo) ha sido criticada en América Latina. Se renueva una larga trayectoria de críticas a la vi- cepresidencia por ser una fuente de conflictos e inestabilidad. Sin embargo, este artículo argumenta que la crítica adolece de una conceptualización equivocada que confunde el problema de la vicepresidencia con tres proble- mas de sucesión en sistemas presidenciales: los problemas de lealtad, de legitimidad y de sustitución presiden- cial. Con el uso de una base de datos nueva sobre las reglas de sucesión en América Latina, el artículo, mediante un análisis comparativo e histórico, discute cómo los sistemas políticos han respondido a estos problemas a través de reformas constitucionales a las reglas de sucesión y cómo las recientes interrupciones presidenciales en la re- gión desafían el grado en el que las reglas de sustitución presidencial puedan resolver las crisis presidenciales.publishedVersio

The Political Limits of Presidential Impeachment: Lessons from Latin America

Impeachment is an important check on executive authority in presidential democracies. It is the constitutional tool for removing power-hungry presidents who threaten democracy, break the law, or get involved in corruption or other scandalous behaviour. Further, the mere existence of impeachment as a constitutional check on presidents may deter presidential misconduct. However, as recent examples in Latin America show, impeachment also opens the door for partisan interests and opportunistic political behaviour. Impeachment is a real threat for presidents without a legislative basis of support, while those with majorities are shielded, despite likely wrongdoings. In Brazil, the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff in 2016 generated popular disillusionment with all political actors, paving the way for right-wing populist Jair Bolsonaro as president. In turn, despite a large and increasing number of impeachment requests on very serious grounds uncovered by congressional investigations, President Bolsonaro has thus far averted an impeachment process. In Peru, political polarisation, fragmentation, and continued presidential instability shows that impeaching a president may be an ineffective and even a counterproductive tool when the problem at hand is deeper and broader than the misconduct of the chief executive. Finally, whereas an impeachment may successfully remove a president, it does not provide a successor, often the vice-president, with a legitimate mandate or political backing to lead the country out of the crisis. It may actually reduce rather than enhance the legitimacy and governance capacity of the executive. External actors, such as the United States or the European Union, must be aware that impeachments are not an "easy fix." On the contrary, they may not address personal misbehaviour; instead, deep structural problems may lie behind the severe political crisis upon which impeachments mount. Therefore, external actors need to decode the underlying crisis, which could be one of representation, and address it by supporting constructive solutions that emphasise the accountability of political actors and institutions as well as responsive public policies

Las consecuencias sobre el régimen de las interrupciones presidenciales en América latina

[ES] Este artículo trata el fenómeno de las interrupciones presidenciales durante la Tercera Ola de la democratización en América Latina. En este periodo ha habido 18 casos de esos tipos de interrupciones en la región. El artículo plantea que las interrupciones presidenciales demuestran que los regímenes presidenciales, contrariamente a los argumentos de Linz, son capaces de manejar conflictos políticos intensos mediante el uso de procedimientos flexibles y en algunos casos cuasiparlamentarios y que las interrupciones presidenciales constituyen formas nuevas de mantener al presidente responsable por sus acciones.[EN] This article deals with the phenomenon of presidential interruptions in democracies during the Third Wave in Latin America. During the Third Wave there have been eighteen cases of presidential interruptions in Latin America. The article argues that the presidential interruptions demonstrate that presidential regimes, contrary to Linz’s arguments, are capable of handling intense political conflicts through the use of flexible and in some cases quasi-parliamentary procedures, and that the presidential interruptions constitute new forms of holding presidents to account for their actions

Coup with Adjectives: Conceptual Stretching or Innovation in Comparative Research?

Was Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff victim of a coup or removed through a legal process of impeachment? The heated debate on the 2016 ousting of Brazil’s president testifies to the growing controversy around the definition of coups. Focusing on Latin America, we show that the use of coups with adjectives have become more frequent in public and scholarly debates. Occurring at a time when coups are becoming rarer, we argue that this development is linked to prevalence-induced concept change, meaning that when instances of a concept become less prevalent, the understanding of the concept expands. The meaning of coups has expanded through a proliferation of adjectives. Coups with adjectives are not new, but recent usage changes the concept from a classic to a family resemblance structure. Although this strategy can avoid stretching and increase differentiation, we urge caution and warn against harmful consequences, whether conceptual, theoretical, or practical.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Norge i Latin-Amerika

Despite long traditions for contact with Latin America, increasing trade and investments in the region and important contributions to the recent peace process in Colombia, Latin America is often depicted as a "forgotten region" in Norway. Through a series of thematic analyses of the extent of Norway's contacts with Latin America, the authors of this anthology seeks to correct this perceived image of a "forgotten region"

Golpes con adjetivos: ¿presición o confusión?

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Norge i Latin-Amerika

Despite long traditions for contact with Latin America, increasing trade and investments in the region and important contributions to the recent peace process in Colombia, Latin America is often depicted as a "forgotten region" in Norway. Through a series of thematic analyses of the extent of Norway's contacts with Latin America, the authors of this anthology seeks to correct this perceived image of a "forgotten region".På tross av lange tradisjoner for kontakt med Latin-Amerika, økende handel og investeringer i Latin-Amerika og viktige bidrag og engasjement i fredsprosessen i Colombia, blir ofte Latin-Amerika fremstilt som en glemt region her hjemme. Forfatterne av denne boken søker å korrigere dette inntrykket gjennom en rekke tematiske analyser som viser bredden av vår kontakt med regionen

Mobilisation against International Human Rights: Re-domesticating the Dominican Citizenship Regime

El artículo analiza la movilización doméstica en contra de la implementación de los derechos humanos internacionales en el ámbito del régimen de la nacionalidad en la República Dominicana. Mientras que los promotores de derechos humanos ganaron todas las batallas legales en el Sistema Interamericano de Derechos Humanos, los grupos que movilizaron en contra de los derechos humanos en la República Dominicana movilizaron más eficientemente a nivel doméstico, y ganaron la guerra en las instituciones dominicanas. El artículo demuestra que la movilización en contra de los derechos humanos fue una respuesta consciente a la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos y el caso de 'Yean 'y 'Bosico'. La movilización unió a todos los actores políticos dominantes en el Congreso y en las cortes en acciones legales y políticas para redefinir y re-domesticar el control sobre el régimen de nacionalidad dominicano en base de una definición más restrictiva del 'ius soli. 'Esta movilización culminó con la salida de la República Dominicana de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos en 2014. El caso dominicano demuestra que una reacción negativa ("backlash") a derechos humanos puede demostrarse inicialmente de maneras muy sutiles y que para mejorar el cumplimiento a derechos humanos internacionales es imprescindible movilizar no sólo a nivel internacional sino también dentro de las instituciones domésticas. English: This article traces and analyses the domestic mobilisation against the implementation of international human rights with respect to the citizenship regime in the Dominican Republic. Whereas the human rights promoters won every legal battle on the right to citizenship in the Inter-American System of Human Rights, groups mobilising against human rights, the pro-violation constituency, were more effective domestically and won the war in all domestic institutions. As a response to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the 'Yean 'and 'Bosico 'case', 'all dominant political actors mobilised successfully in Congress and the courts to redefine, and re-domesticate, the citizenship regime in several steps that restricted the 'ius soli 'based right to citizenship. This process, or battle for control over the definition of the citizenship regime, ended in the Dominican exit of the IACtHR in 2014. The case demonstrate that backlashes to international human rights may come in many subtle forms, and that to enhance compliance to international human rights it is essential to accompany international litigation with mobilisation in domestic institutions

La vicepresidencia y los problemas de la sucesión presidencial en América Latina. Viejos y nuevos retos para el presidencialismo

After Vice-President Temer supported the impeachment of President Rousseff in Brazil, the vice presidency has (again) received criticism in Latin America. The newly raised criticism echoes a long-standing critique of the vice presidency as a source of conflict and instability. This article, however, argues that the criti- cism suffers from a misconception and that it is confounded with three problems of presidential succession in- herent to presidential systems: the problems of loyalty, legitimacy and presidential substitution. Through a comparative and historical analysis based on a new database on rules of succession in Latin America, the article discusses how these problems have been met and attempted resolved through reforming the rules of succession, and how the recent presidential interruptions in the region present a new problem of presidential substitution that challenges the extent to which the rules of presidential substitution are fit to resolve presidential crises