Economic Crises, Military Rebellions, and Democratic Survival

Chapter 7 analyzes the survival of democracy since 1983 in Argentina, which had been plagued by a history of authoritarian actors and five democratic breakdowns between 1930 and 1976. The democratic regime has also endured three long and severe economic crises since 1983. Normative commitments to democracy on the part of political parties, labor, social movements, and business, and the policy moderation of all key actors (a profound contrast to the situation during the country’s previous democratic experience of 1973–76) have played a key role in Argentina’s democratic survival. The source of these normative commitments and the shift to policy moderation was the brutal and inept military dictatorship of 1976–83. That experience was so catastrophic for Argentina that political leaders across the political spectrum came to value democracy. They acted to uphold the democratic system even during severe economic downturns, hyperinflation, sharp increases in inequality, and dramatic increases in poverty and unemployment. When groups of officers engaged in military rebellions during a particularly difficult period for the Argentine economy, masses and elites were unified in rejecting them.