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Democracy is strongly threatened, but, even so, it still resists. Although comparative literature is divided between pessimists and optimists (Freidenberg and Saavedra Herrera, 2020), or between those who see its setbacks (Bermeo, 2016; Diamond, 2020; Haggard and Kaufman, 2021) and those who highlight its resilience (Freidenberg 2024; Merkel and Lührmann 2021; Boese et al. 2021; Lieberman et al., 2022; Freidenberg 2023; or Levitsky and Way 2023), this research critically assesses the health of democracy, especially in two dimensions: electoral and liberal for 18 Latin American countries since 1978. The main argument contends that there is no single trend indicating global backsliding or, on the contrary, a generalized advancement of democracy, but rather, in any case, there are changes in different directions within the two main dimensions. While the liberal dimension is receding, the electoral dimension is being resilient. Backsliding is identifiable in relation to loss of basic commitments and the elites' disloyalty to democracy; difficulties in maintaining the currency of the Rule of Law, pluralism, respectful coexistence, and the independence of institutions; strategic manipulation of the formal rules and difficulties of access to resources and welfare; while advancements are visible in stability and cleanliness of elections, autonomy and professionalism of electoral arbitrators; alternation of power and the fact that those who govern lose elections; active participation of pro-democracy citizens; efforts for the inclusion of underrepresented groups and the building of parity democracies, among others.

Parity democracies require that women exercise politics without violence. The paper analyzes and compares how Latin American states have regulated political violence on a gender basis. From the application of the Normative Demand Index (IEN) (Freidenberg and Gilas, 2020) to the legislation of ten countries in Latin America, it is measured through different dimensions (conceptualization, coordination, protection, sanction, and repairation) and the scope of the norms and compares them with each other. The results of the investigation show the differences between the political systems of the region, having some demanding legislation (Mexico), others less (Ecuador, Panama) while the majority has a few accounts with weak regulations (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, El Salvador, Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay). These findings evidence the need to promote reforms of institutional frameworks to guarantee the protection of the political and electoral rights of women., Las democracias paritarias requieren que las mujeres puedan ejercer la política sin violencias. En esta línea, este trabajo analiza y compara la manera en que los Estados latinoamericanos han regulado la violencia política en razón de género. A partir de la aplicación del Índice de Exigencia Normativa (IEN) (Freidenberg y Gilas, 2020) a las legislaciones de diez países de América Latina se mide, a través de diferentes dimensiones (tipificación, coordinación, protección, sanción y reparación) el alcance de las normas y las compara entre sí. Los resultados de la investigación muestran las diferencias entre los sistemas políticos de la región, teniendo unas legislaciones exigentes (México), otros menos (Ecuador, Panamá) mientras la mayoría aún cuenta con regulaciones débiles (Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, El Salvador, Perú, Paraguay, Uruguay), lo que llama la atención sobre la necesidad de impulsar reformas de los marcos institucionales para garantizar la protección de los derechos políticos-electorales de las mujeres.