While the transition to democracy in a lot of Latin American countries in the 1980s happened because of specific factors depending on the country, you can see some similarities and patterns among them. The biggest one was authoritarianism‘s loss of legitimacy. Changing attitudes regarding dictatorship caused the populations of these countries to turn against their governments. This happened relatively peacefully in places like Argentina and Brazil, where their respective dictatorships relinquished power somewhat voluntarily. In other countries, like Paraguay, the military turned against the government and opened the door to democratization.

These authoritarian governments losing their legitimacy happened for all sorts of reasons. The broadest explanation is that authoritarianism in and of itself lost legitimacy. Even though many countries in Latin America had experienced dictatorial governments throughout the twentieth century, the ones that held power in the 1970s and 1980s were typically the most brutal the region had ever seen. This was greatly aided by political, economic, and technical support from the United States (see my comments on the US and Operation Condor). Put crudely, the body count had become too high for many people to bear. In Argentina (the country of my study), the military relinquished power in 1983 for multiple reasons. Over 30,000 people had been murdered or disappeared over the previous seven years. Additionally, the military had picked a fight with Britain and was defeated during the Falklands War. During that war, the United States sided with Britain, therefore isolating them on the global stage. This level of pressure was enough for the military to call for new elections and usher in a return to democracy which has lasted to this day. In Chile, Augusto Pinochet‘s dictatorship decided to have a plebiscite in 1988 on whether Pinochet should stay in power for an additional eight years. Fifteen years of political repression was enough to convince 55% of voters to deny Pinochet additional time in office. Though it didn’t happen until 2000, greater democratization occurred in Mexico when the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) was voted out of power for the first time in decades. This was because of a combination of economic mismanagement, revelations about electoral fraud, and the Mexican people’s continued disillusionment stemming from the delayed and inadequate response to the 1985 Mexico City earthquake.

Furthermore, throughout the 1970s and 1980s, social attitudes were changing that made authoritarianism not as palatable as with previous generations. Not only did the increased brutality of these governments spur more people to action, but the effects of Catholic liberation theology in the wake of the Second Vatican Council primed these countries for democratization. Bishops and parish priests became some of the most vocal leaders of democratization movements throughout the region. It was also becoming increasingly apparent that the goals established by authoritarian governments in the 1970s or earlier were being unmet, or were outdated. One of the main goals of many dictatorial governments, particularly in South America, was the eradication of Soviet-inspired subversion. With the Soviet Union slowly crumbling in the 1980s, leftist politicians and guerrilla groups were seen as less of a threat than the very government dedicated to defeating them. I'm painting with a rather broad brush here, these are just general patterns I'm talking about.