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Guatemala's Party Universe: A Case Study in Underinstitutionalization

2008; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 50; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1548-2456.2008.00006.x

1548-2456

Omar Sánchez,

Social Policy and Reform Studies

Abstract The article examines the degree of institutionalization of the Guatemalan party universe across four areas: the pattern of interparty competition; the rootedness of parties in society; the legitimacy accorded to parties and democratic institutions; and the nature of internal party organization. Guatemala displays an extremely inchoate party structure across all these variables. There is no stability in the identity of the main parties in the polity. After more than two decades of electoral democracy, no single party has been able to avert a drift into electoral irrelevance or outright disappearance. With respect to the basic facets of internal party organization, Guatemalan parties exhibit a feebleness so pronounced that their very status as parties is questionable. In general, Guatemalan “parties” only fulfill Sartori's minimalist definition as organizations that field candidates for public office, but offer nothing more substantive.