The Cost of Democracy: Essays on Political Finance in Latin America
Democracy has no price, but it does have an operating cost. Financing election campaigns is a debated issue and adequately regulating such financing is one of the great challenges for all democracies, including in Latin America.
Drawing on experiences in a number of Latin American countries, this book offers a comprehensive and sober analysis of political financing practices in the region. It discusses the risks that current practices entail for democracy, and the best approaches to regulating the role of money in politics.
Table of Contents
Preface by José Woldenberg
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
I. Getting there on time: notes on the regulation of campaign finance in Latin America
1.1. Campaign finance: between mother’s milk and poison
1.2. What are the risks? The experience of Latin America
1.3. A comparative look at regulatory instruments
1.4. Lessons of campaign finance reform
1.5. Some proposed reforms
II. Considerations on campaign finance practices in the Americas
2.1. Introduction
2.2. The magnitude of electoral spending in the Americas
2.3. How is the money spent?
2.4. How are campaigns financed?
2.5. Conclusions