OSHER 431 - Democracy in Recent Latin America

With Brazil hosting the next World Cup and Summer Olympic Games, world attention will soon be focused on this region. Brazil and its close ally, Chile, are seen as among the most successful democracies in Latin America. We will contrast what recent governments in these countries have been able to accomplish by addressing problems like political participation, inequality, and poverty within a democratic framework as opposed to earlier cases of democracy that failed and were replaced by long-lasting dictatorships. Attention will be given to the Brazilian presidencies of Lula Da Silva and Dilma Rousseff and the Chilean presidencies of Michelle Bachelet and Sebastian Pi'era.