Disrupting Institutionalized Party Systems: Evidence from Central America

• In Event: Learning from Global Democratic Challenges and Innovations Mini-Conference III: Democracy, Dictatorship, and Democratic Backsliding in Central America

Abstract

Democratic erosion in Central America has often coincided with party system disruptions. This article compares Honduras and El Salvador, which scholars recently labeled as having some of the most institutionalized party systems in Latin America and the Caribbean, to deepen our knowledge of realignment and dealignment in the region. In Honduras, the 2009 coup fueled the rise of new parties, like the left-wing Freedom and Refoundation (LIBRE) party, which gradually forced a realignment. In El Salvador, the rise of Nayib Bukele and his New Ideas (NI) party led to the breakdown of traditional parties and the party system's borderline collapse. Using the AmericasBarometer survey waves, this article examines the individual-level determinants of support for challenger and traditional parties, and possibly, the emergence of new political divisions, as a function of (1) socio-demographic features, (2) ideology, (3) attitudes toward democracy, (4) and the organizational features of parties.

Author

• Lucas Perelló, Florida Atlantic University