Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
Rule of law crumbles — again — in Latin America
Rule of law crumbles — again — in Latin America
Apr 4, 2025 12:29 PM

It’s no secret that most of Latin America has struggled for a long time with the idea, habits, and practices of rule of law. When one consults rankings such as the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom (which measures for rule of law), it’s a depressing picture, despite notable exceptions like Chile.

There are many reasons for this. Among others, they include a deep long-standing distrust of formal institutions which pervades many Latin American societies as well as the fact that Latin American populists have always regarded rule of law as obstructing their political and economic agendas—agendas that have produced even more dysfunctionality in their wake. Hence, Latin American caudillos of all stripes, ranging from Argentina’s Juan Perón in the past to Bolivia’s Evo Morales in the present, have consistently derided rule of law as a “bourgeois” institution.

Then there is the prevalence of widespread indifference on the part of many ordinary Latin Americans to rule of law. When I have spoken about rule of law while lecturing in countries ranging from Mexico to Argentina, I have witnessed a great deal of shrugging of the shoulders in response from well-educated audiences.

Perhaps that’s because establishing rule of law—let alone preserving it—just isn’t very easy. For rule of law goes beyond adherence to formal procedures. It also requires a widespread and consistent embrace of very specific norms and principles on the part of the population and those who make and administer law.

An excellent summary of these norms and principles was delineated by the twentieth century legal scholar, Lon Fuller, in his important 1964 book The Morality of Law. Part of his argument was that rule of law itself depends upon acceptance of a type of inner morality concerning basic fairness—something that Latin American populists and their enablers have never shown much interest in, especially if it conflicts with the Marxist sentiments that are just beneath the surface of a good deal of political and intellectual life throughout the region.

A recent egregious example of the type of problems encountered by rule of law in Latin America was highlighted by Mary Anastasia O’Grady in a recent Wall Street Journal article. Entitled “The President of Peru Stages a Coup,” O’Grady illustrates how Peru’s President, Martín Vizcarra, has just dissolved the Congress and set new elections for January 2020. He did so in clear violation of Peru’s Constitution. This states that the government may only dissolve Congress after two no-confidence votes. There has been only one vote of no-confidence during this government’s term, and that dates back to 2017.

O’Grady’s article provides an excellent overview of the particularities of the dispute. But she also demonstrates how the president’s clearly unconstitutional act is now fueling demands on the part of leading members of Peru’s hard left for the same type of process that lead to Venezuela’s left-populists consolidating their power and now dictatorship over that very troubled nation.

What makes this situation even sadder is that Peru has made, as O’Grady underscores, considerable economic progress since the late 1990s, including with regard to important institutional prerequisites for sustained economic development such as respect for private property. The problem is that violations of a presumably just constitution can’t help but reinforce skepticism among the political class and citizenry more generally about rule of law.

In the long-term, the rich and powerful can always take themselves in a situation of degenerating rule of law. The middle class and poor, however, cannot. They are the real losers in a situation of degenerating rule of law. We can hope that Peru doesn’t have to find this out the hard way. I wish that I was optimistic, but I’m not.

Image: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores [CC BY-SA 2.0]

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Fab labbing, Fu-Fu, and the ovine entrepreneur
The BBC reports today a great illustration of human creativity and the intersection of technology and subsidiarity. MIT has set up what they called Fab Labs (Fabrication Labs) in what many might consider the least likely places for technological invention. These Labs consist of basic tools and software than enable people in sometimes remote and rural locations to invent and fabricate the technology they need in their daily work. MIT professor Neil Gershenfeld: In a world of Fab Labs, you...
Spendthrift republicans
A wonderful piece by Deroy Murdock today on NRO. Though most fiscal conservatives understandably vote Republican, the record substantiates the theory that spending is less responsible when Congress is dominated by one party—either party—than when each party has enough votes to frustrate the other. Others have drawn attention to the problem of Republican pork, but Murdock does so in an especially devastating way. ...
The right pass at the right time
If you haven’t heard of this story yet, read about what Notre Dame head football coach Charlie Weis did this past weekend. His expression passion for a dying boy, 10-year-old Montana Mazurkiewicz, transcends sports. Weis honored a promise to Montana despite the fact that he is a first-year coach in the big business of college football, in what might be the most scrutinized and storied programs in the country. In a personal visit to the boy last week, in addition...
The nose of a camel: The federal government and education
Federal involvement in education has grown steadily throughout the nation’s history, encroaching on what is still viewed by American’s as mostly a state and local responsibility. Kevin Schmiesing looks at a new book that examines U.S. education policy, the red tape and bureaucracy that has resulted, and the opposition to federal control that arose from parochial school administrators. Read the full text here. ...
Hurricane relief – Small organizations to the rescue
In the wake of overwhelming need of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, thankfully a number of us are voicing irritation with the inquiry, “How important do you think that faith-based organizations are to helping people”? Before ANY organization — government agency of any kind or national nonprofit — made a move, faith organizations had already moved. In San Antonio, where several Russian students were among New Orleans evacuees, Victory Fellowship, a faith-based, privately funded substance abuse treatment program, simply did the...
Questions about the Red Cross
The Remedy, the Claremont Institute‘s blog, links to an article in the Los Angeles Times by Richard M. Walden, head of Operation USA, that raises concerns about how the Red Cross spends the money it receives for specific disasters. Walden levels some important and serious charges against the Red Cross, and may or may not be convincing depending on if you approve of the Red Cross’ fund-raising precedents and other activities. But Walden is undeniably right is when he raises...
Breathing with one lung?
Bishop Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Vienna and Austria, the Russian Orthodox Church’s representative to the European Union, is once again urging a Roman Catholic-Orthodox alliance bat secularism, liberalism and relativism in Europe — and lands outside it. “The social and ethical teachings of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches are extremely close, in many cases practically identical,” Bishop Hilarion said. “Why, then, should we not be able to reveal our unity on all these major issues urbi et orbi?” Since the election...
Submerged subsidiarity
Because too much has already been said about the recent gulf hurricanes, I won’t put in my two cents. I will, however, direct the reader to the most insightful take on this situation that I have yet to stumble across. As you read it, think again about the importance of the definitions of the words we use, such as ‘responsibility’ and ‘authority’ as are discussed in the mentioned article. ...
Journalism professor calls for Helter Skelter
In 1969 Charles Manson and his gang set out to ignite a race war that pitted the wealthy white establishment against underprivileged blacks. The apocalyptic battle would be called “Helter Skelter,” after the Beatles’ song written by Paul McCartney. The white Manson reasoned that America’s angry black population would eventually win this war; at which time he and his group would emerge from their Mojave Desert hideout to assume leadership over what he perceived to be an inferior race. es...
CAFTA, prudence, and volleyball
After receiving some responses to a previous post (CAFTA/Culture of Life: Enemies?), I thought I would post the the exchange with my most recent dissatisfied critic. Here’s to volleying! (I have edited the emails for confidentiality.) Mr. Phelps, It was with great interest that I recently read your blog entry “CAFTA/Culture of Life: Enemies?” as for some strange reason it recently appeared on the Google Alerts. I found it amusing how you worked John Paul’s teachings in without actually quoting...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved