Democracy can be described as a government for the people and by the people. It is a government where the people have the supreme power, and they can exercise it either directly or indirectly. A good way of applying democracy is through free and fair elections.
Democratic satisfaction is the degree to which the citizens of a particular country trust the kind of democratic leadership presented to them. In the world as a whole, democracy has taken different turns depending on the region. Latin America has also felt the Democratic wave and democratic transition has been witnessed in many Latin American countries. In this essay, the primary focus is the democratic process in Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Mexico, with the main point of concern being why Nicaragua exhibits a higher score of democratic satisfaction compared to Mexico and Venezuela. Citizens of Nicaragua, Venezuela and Mexico, exhibit different levels of democratic satisfaction; some are more satisfied with the kind of democratic rule in their country compared to others; these differences are seen due to factors like adherence to the rule of law, elections and democratic governance.
Despite the fact that Latin Americans overwhelmingly prefer democracy to other forms of government, some citizens are not entirely convinced with how their democracies are functioning. In Nicaragua, a large percentage of the population is quite satisfied with the level of democracy in the country; in Venezuela, the citizens have exhibited a slightly high rate of satisfaction while in Mexico, a large proportion of the population is not contented with the heights of democracy in the country.
As mentioned above, the electoral process is one of the pointers of democracy. It is one of the factors that the citizens use to consider whether they are satisfied with democracy or not. Mexico, Venezuela, and Nicaragua have different electoral processes, and that explains the discrepancies in terms of democratic satisfaction in the three countries. In Mexico, the president is given a six- year term, and there is only one round of election. In Venezuela, the president is given a five-year term, and there is no second round of voting. In Nicaragua, the president is given a six-year term once elected, and there could be a second round of balloting should there be a substantial degree of dissatisfaction ("Latin American Electoral Systems").
In this case, it is evident why Nicaragua holds the highest score; there is a second round of election, which ensures that the citizens are satisfied with the leader they choose. In Mexico, there is only one round of voting. Once a leader is chosen, that is a done deal - regardless of whether the elections were free and fair. In Venezuela, the situation is even more annoying because, despite the fact that the leader is accorded a five-year term, he or she can also vie even after two years of service (Nogales and Zelaya-Fenner 16). Therefore, the electoral process in Nicaragua is far much better hence the citizens exhibit a high level of democratic satisfaction.
However, democracy is far much more than just elections; it also encompasses democratic governance. How does the government respond to the opinions of the citizens in the major decision-making procedures of the country? There should be a system whereby citizens participate in government planning while the leaders in office respond with transparency and accountability. There are many aspects of measuring government performance. In this case, more attention is drawn to how the government handles the economy. This is a factor that affects the perception of the citizens to a great extent, and it is also a pointer of democracy. Venezuela had a GDP growth of 1.3% by 2013; Mexico had a GDP growth of 1.4% by 2013 and Nicaragua had GDP growth of 4.5% in the same period (“Poverty & Equity Data | Venezuela, RB | The World Bank”). Again, Nicaragua had a higher GDP growth score compared to the rest hence showing why there is more democratic satisfaction in Nicaragua. This is because the citizens are satisfied with what the government is doing regarding job creation, education, revenue collection and so forth, which has translated into a higher GDP growth rate.
Another factor that is a pointer of democracy is the rule of law, and the extent to which the government extends its duties in ensuring that the law is adhered to and followed to the latter. There are many ways to classify whether the rule of law is being adhered to; in this case, a comparison of drug trafficking levels in the three countries would be made. There was a research conducted to determine the percentage of the population that had seen any illicit drug sales in their areas of residence. Venezuela had 50 %, Mexico had 43%, and Nicaragua had 30% of their population with such knowledge (“Poverty & Equity Data | Venezuela, RB | The World Bank”). If drug trafficking was used as a way to determine how the rule of law is applied in the three countries, then it would mean that the status of law is more considered in Nicaragua compared to Venezuela, which was the least performing since it had the highest percentage in this comparison.
Freedom of the press is another very important aspect of democracy. This is the degree to which the journalists and media agencies are allowed to relay information to the general public. In some countries, there may be rules restricting the work of journalists. In other nations, the media is free and can carry out its work without hindrances. This can be viewed as participatory democracy since the public takes an active part in gaining information from media agencies and journalists.
In general, Latin America comes second in the worldwide ranks of regions that exhibit freedom of the press. Despite this, there are countries that express more freedom than others. For example, journalists in Mexico receive threats from government agencies in a bid to silence them. In statistics presented in the Press Freedom Index, Mexico was ranked 153 in the world with a score of 45.30 regarding violence towards the press ("2016 World Press Freedom Index | Reporters Without Borders"). Venezuela was ranked 117 in the world with a score of 34.40 regarding violence towards the media and Nicaragua was ranked 78 in the world with a score of 28.31 ("2016 World Press Freedom Index | Reporters Without Borders"). Therefore, Nicaragua exhibited the highest score in terms of freedom of press while Mexico had the least score.
These various factors as discussed have shown a true picture of why Nicaragua shows a significant percentage of Democratic satisfaction, followed by Venezuela then Mexico, which has the lowest score in this comparison. Despite all these comparisons, the question that remains is whether trends advance t more democracy or less democracy. In my opinion, the trends would make the countries continue making progress towards democratization. The trends have shown a positive improvement, especially from the years 2003-2013, and various statistical sources have backed that viewpoint. These trends are improving because people are getting more educated and enlightened about matters of democratization. The Latin Americans are overwhelmingly embracing education and becoming more interested in the ongoing activities of the country and knowledge of their democratic rights as citizens. There is also the factor of improved technology through television and social media sites that improve interaction and understanding of democracy.
Works Cited
"2016 World Press Freedom Index | Reporters Without Borders". RSF. N.p., 2016. Web. 22 Apr.
2016.
"Latin American Electoral Systems." Pdba.georgetown.edu. N.P., 2016. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.
"Poverty & Equity Data | Venezuela, RB | The World Bank." Povertydata.worldbank.org. N.p.,
2016. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.
Nogales, Maria-Teresa and Susan Zelaya-Fenner. Democratic Governance In Latin America: A
Regional Discussion. 1st ed. Washington, D.C: The International Republican Institute, 2016. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.
