Voter Participation In Latin America

For the purposes of my research paper, I will examine whether educational attainment affects subsequent voter behavior in Latin America. In the context of transitioning democracy, the issue of voter participation is imperative to understanding the quality of democracy in the region. The social stratification of citizens in Latin America that emerged largely as a result of democratic transition has created a large gap between the most educated and least educated citizens. If my outcomes reflect that education does positively correlate to voter participation, this study will reveal an important finding pertaining to the quality of democracy in these developing countries. Uneducated citizens, who usually consist of low-income voters, and comprise

the majority of the population, will have a disproportionally low level of representation in governmental outcomes. Thus, evaluating this relationship is significant in determining representational quality in Latin American countries, and also understanding pertinent social issues that must be considered in order for the region to progress. In my assessment, I rely on survey data from the Latino Barometer to determine the statistical significance of education’s effect on voter participation.
Considering the vast social inequalities present in Latin America, researchers have conducted extensive analyses pertaining to democratic quality in the region. Troublingly, voter participation in Latin America has proven highly segregated, hindering the possibility of a true and equal democracy. Thus, this phenomenon begs the question as to what factors have shaped citizen involvement in the region. The research presented offers valuable insight about the purpose of education in democracy, and how extreme class divisions have impacted Latin America’s democratic transition. After discussing established research, I will run a cross tabulation analysis of how educational attainment levels affected voter participation in the most recent elections in Latin America. My examination will then conclude with a discussion of the implications of my findings.
Research in established democracies has found that education represents an important predictor of participation, and studies in Latin America reflect similar findings. Verba, Schlozman, and Brady conclude that education generally instills in individuals a level of understanding that enables them to both value their role in politics and to make rational political choices (1995). Controlling for influences such as geography and culture, Glaeser, Ponzetto, and Shleifer confirm that education not only increases participation but also allows for enduring democracy (2007). The authors find that 22 out of 26 well-educated countries uphold an enduring system of democracy, while only 26% of poorly educated countries will undergo a lasting democratic transition (Glaeser, Ponzetto, and Shleifer 2007). Education raises the benefits of civic participation, improves citizen’s communication with government, and leads people to more informed choices (Glaeser, Ponzetto, and Shleifer 2007). In Latin America (as in developed countries), education and income also represent the factors that correlate most strongly to a citizen’s overt support for democracy, with education having the highest overall influence on voter behavior (Carlin 2006; Verba, Schlozman, and Brady 1995).
Based on the above findings, it is necessary to analyze the prevalence of education in Latin America to understand how it has impacted the region’s transition to democracy.

Reimers, analyzing data from twelve countries, finds with no exception that students’ educational attainment increases or lowers in correlation to the economic status of their families. Combining his data, Reimers ultimately concludes that poor, indigenous groups “suffer disproportionately from educational exclusion,” and that 25 percent of citizens have twice as much education as the poorest 25 percent in the same city (2000). Using the examples of Brazil and Mexico, Reimers further explores the area of higher education where he finds that only 3 percent of the nations’ poorest citizens contribute college enrollment (2000). Crespo and Ferreira expand on the issue of the attainment gap, noting that quality education also lacks in poor communities. In contrast to almost all developed countries, for example, inequality of opportunity accounts for over 20% of disparities in reading achievement (Crespo and Ferreira 2011). Aside from the attainment/achievement gap, Glaeser, Ponzetto, and Schliefer consider Latin American countries “moderately educated,” with the general population having below 5.01 but above 2.68 years of schooling (as measured in 1960)

(2007).
The status of Latin American education brings forth a question relating to how educational attainment has affected the region’s voter participation.

As found in Carlin’s analysis, Klesner also concludes that education represents the factor that most strongly correlates to political participation in Latin America, although the relationship is not as strong as that seen in wealthier, more established democracies (2007). Values such as interpersonal trust, leftist democratic ideology, and post-materialist ideals all represent those analyzed among Latin American voters. Klesner’s data yield statistically significant results that indicate that higher education increases a citizen’s likelihood to sign a petition, join a boycott, engage in a lawful demonstration, or become actively involved in a social organization (2007). However, because Latin America has smaller levels of organizational involvement and education by global standards, the region has only intermediate levels of political activity (Klesner 2007). Although the principle holds true in Latin America that education positively impacts participation, lacking overall education continues to hinder democracy in the

region.
Booth and Richard (2012) recognize a model that effectively explains how education affects individuals’ political influence and activity. So far, research has shown that factors contributing to social capital – such as civil society activism, communal activism, life satisfaction, and trust – all contribute to political outcomes. However, the authors also identify individual resources as an inexorable link that corresponds to social (and thus political) capital (Booth and Richard 2012). Education, which relates to individual resources, predictably has a large contextual effect on political capital. Democratic values, such as voting, party-campaign activism, correspondence with public officials, protest, and support for general democratic norms increase with education. Conversely, the uneducated have shown more likely to support seemingly undemocratic values such as strong political institutions and confrontational tactics (Richard and Booth 2012). The studies of Latin America cited by Richard, Booth, and Klesner thus uphold the principle that education does, in fact, expand voter turnout and democratic behaviors.