The Support for Democracy in Latin America's Parliaments: An Analysis of the Ambivalent Democrat

Previous studies of support for democracy have emphasized the views of the populace. By contrast, this article analyzes the profile of Latin American legislative elites who do not support democracy unconditionally: the ambivalent democrats. Although several studies have analyzed the role of elites in democratic processes, the nature and importance of ambivalent democrats remains poorly understood. Thus, this analysis, without ignoring context or differences between countries, examines the characteristic values and attitudes of those deputies who, under certain circumstances, would support authoritarian governments. Results show that, contrary to literature's statements, ambivalent democrats are not strongly radical, distrustful, or intolerant.