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Political changes related to globalization apparently produce similar effects on old and new democracies. All over the world, comparative research on democratization has showed that political distrust is a common variable affecting the whole of the State and the relationship between citizens and democracy. Nevertheless, political discontent in old democracies has stimulated citizens to adopt new attitudes and modes of political participation, while in newly democratized countries citizens tend to withdraw from politics as a consequence of institutional distrust. In fact, in many new democracies, although adhering to the normative meaning of the democratic regime, distrust of democratic institutions is associated to citizens' negative feeling about political efficacy, low levels of political interest and political participation, and also preference for democratic models which exclude political parties and/or parliaments. This paper evaluates the meanings and consequences of the contemporary phenomenon of political discontent in Brazil and Latin America and discusses its implications for democratic theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses issues concerning the 1980s transitions in the historical pattern of democracy in Latin America in the midst of economic crisis that led to adverse economic conditions. It elucidates the democratic transitions in Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina which concurred with periods of economic difficulty. It emphasizes that a series of social pacts calling for cooperation among political parties and representatives of labor and business organizations can help in governing and coping with economic crisis in the 1980s since it will boost governing capacity through the harmonization of social expectations and economic realities.