Violencia y democratización en Centroamérica: el impacto del crimen en la legitimidad de los regímenes de posguerra

Abstract

The main purpose of this article is to show that the high levels of common violence and crime, which currently affect Latin American countries, especially post-war Central American ones, represent a threat and obstacle to democratization processes. This is so, because common violence erodes the citizens’ support to the regimes emerged from the political transitions and deteriorates the legitimacy of the political system. The article is based on the results of a series of surveys conducted with more than 6.700 citizens who live in post-war Central American countries (Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua) during 1999, as the link between victimization levels, perception of public insecurity and the level of political support for the system is analyzed.