Political Parties in Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic
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A CHALLENGE FOR DEMOCRACY Political Parties in Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic Diego Achard - Luis E. González With the collaboration of Edelberto Torres-Rivas Ricardo Córdova Macías Kevin Casas Daniel Zovatto Published by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), the Organization of American States (OAS) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) 2005 © Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) 1300 New York Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20577 © International IDEA © Organization of American States (OAS) © United Nations Development Program (UNDP) First Edition (in Spanish), May 2004 This publication can be requested from: IDB Bookstore 1300 New York Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20577 United States of America Tel. (202) 623-1753, Fax (202) 623-1709 1-877-782-7432 [email protected] www.iadb.org/pub The opinions expressed in this book are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, the United Nations Development Program or the Organization of American States. ISBN: Printed by Compañía ABC Ediciones del Sur S.A. San José, Costa Rica, August 2005 2 A challenge for democracy Contents Introduction . 5 I. Bringing All Voices Together: The state of and prospects for political parties in Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic Diego Achard and Luis E. González . 9 Foreword . 11 Executive summary . 13 Chapter 1 Introduction: Central American Political Parties . 19 Chapter 2. Party systems in the region . 27 Chapter 3. Institutional self-portraits . 45 Chapter 4. The voices of leaders . 79 Chapter 5. The voices of societies and relatively excluded groups . 107 Chapter 6. Bringing All Voices Together: Assessment and pending reforms . 127 II. The paths to political democracy in Central America . 141 Edelberto Torres-Rivas III. The crisis of political parties in Latin America . 169 Ricardo Córdova Macías IV. Political financing in Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic . 219 Kevin Casas and Daniel Zovatto 3 V. Presidential power and political parties in Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic . 275 Diego Achard and Luis E. González CD-ROM Annexes Annex 1: List of people consulted for the research Annex 2: Selection of quotes from people consulted Annex 3: Institutional framework Annex 4: Most recent electoral results, as of December 2003 Annex 5: Parties included in Section I Appendix a) Inter-American Development Bank (IDB): Strategy for Modernization of the State b) Action areas of the bank and its relationship with strategies for sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction c) Charts and tables 4 A challenge for democracy Introduction This book is the result of a joint effort by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Organization of American States (OAS), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). In producing the book and carrying out the research and studies described in it, these organizations have had support from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom. All of these agencies share a genuine concern for the consolidation of democracy, both from the standpoint of human rights and political liberties, which highlights the desirability of democracy as a political system, and from the standpoint of sustained and equitable development, for which democracy increasingly appears to be a condition. The latter point underscores the need for democracy. Increasing empirical evidence and an accumulation of academic knowledge support the idea that only with solid democratic systems, in the context of the Rule of Law, can the conditions exist for juridical security and political confidence that make possible sustained savings and investment, which are indispensable for growth. At the same time, only in a democratic context can public policies respond to the general interests of society, with which the benefits of this growth tend to be distributed more equitably. The agencies sponsoring this book have joined forces in light of the political transition being experienced by the Central American countries, Panama and the Dominican Republic. Introduction 5 The book consists of three parts. The first presents the findings of an empirical study of the state of and prospects for political parties in the indicated countries; the authors are Diego Achard and Luis E. González, consultants and coordinators of the study. Concern for the strengthening and institutionalization of political parties, within the framework of processes of democratic consolidation, is an issue that is commanding increasing attention. Despite their flaws and lack of solidity, in some cases because they have been discredited and in others because of fragmentation and weakness, parties in a democracy must not be replaced, but must be supported so that they can become stronger, and encouraged in their fundamental roles: keeping their finger on the pulse of citizens' demands and problems, formulating alternatives for responding, and implementing policies developed in accordance with their proposals, based on the results of competitive, clean and fair electoral processes. The six chapters in Part I present an assessment of political parties in the countries involved in the study. Two characteristics of Part I merit special mention. The first is suggested by the title of the study: "Bringing All Voices Together: Images of Political Parties in Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic." The methodology used by the consultants responsible for the study (information forms completed by the political parties; in-depth interviews with leaders, especially political leaders of the countries; and results of opinion surveys, as well as information from secondary sources about institutional aspects of party systems) have resulted in a singular combination consisting of the protagonists' self-portrait and a portrait by citizens, which the authors have endeavored to systematize as objectively as possible. This first part is complemented in the annexes (CD-ROM) by a list of people interviewed, relevant quotes from interviewees, basic information about the institutional framework in each country, electoral results and a list of the political parties discussed in the report. It should be noted that the study described in Part I, as the authors indicate, "does not propose a particular agenda for reforms or actions regarding the parties. The goal is to contribute to a necessary debate, with the understanding that in democracies, only the parties can act to change themselves." In the eyes of the agencies sponsoring the study, this is particularly relevant, because they believe that the specific political reform agenda in each country must be defined according to the specific institutional, cultural and historical context, although it can never contradict the common goal of strengthening the democratic system. This book would not be complete, however, if Part I were not placed in a broader context to help the countries and their protagonists identify such a reform agenda. The second part of the book attempts, through four documents, to provide input for a reform agenda that is needed, in one way or another, in all the countries. The first document, "Paths to Political Democracy in Central America," by Edelberto Torres-Rivas, places what he calls "democratic development" in the region in a historical context, while highlighting each country's particular characteristics. This approach is important, because it differs from the fairly common but largely erroneous idea found in various theories of democratic transition, that the goal of authoritarian or dictatorial governments in Latin America and the Caribbean implied a "return to democracy." This is not the case in Central American countries, 6 A challenge for democracy which face - with the obvious exception of Costa Rica, one of the continent's oldest and firmest democracies - processes of "democracy building." In these countries, the goal of the dictatorships and authoritarian governments could not have been a return to what, for the most part, they never had. And while it may be true that all roads lead to Rome, all are not equal, as the author notes in examining the different dynamics resulting from wars, external factors and different starting points. Without doing so explicitly (as this was not the essay's objective), the author emphasizes the specific characteristics of the pending reform agendas needed to move the democratic political regime - which has mainly been achieved, although it still requires perfecting - toward solid democratic political systems anchored in a true Rule of Law. The second essay, by Ricardo Córdova Macías, responds to a request by the study's sponsors to provide Central American leaders with a more general frame of reference about the crisis of the political parties, an issue that is not peculiar to the Central American sub-region. Córdova's essay, "The Crisis of Political Parties in Latin America," describes the regionwide phenomenon through an exhaustive review of the existing bibliography on the subject. This systematic documentation, which had never been done before, is valuable