Acceso usuarios
María Celeste Ratto
Numerous economic reforms were implemented in many Latin American countries during the 1990s. The consequences of these reforms were: increases in unemployment and poverty, and stagnation of the social budget. In face of these negative results, the emergence of strong opposition from the citizens and the punishment at the polls of those politicians which had implemented such reforms, were predicted. Oddly enough, many of the presidents who implemented the reforms were reelected. What are the factors that account for the paradoxical electoral behavior of the voters? This article argues that institutional variables condition the process of accountability. Some political factors tend to affect the clarity in the process of responsibilities attributed to the government for economic outcomes. Political factors shape the electoral consequences of economic performance. It studies how different institutional designs have affected the attribution of government's responsibility for economic outcomes in Latin American countries in 1996, 2000 and 2004.
