During December of 2005 and January of 2006 Chileans chose their new chief executive, Michelle Bachelet, and renewed Congress for period 2006-2009. The elections transpired without disruptions and granted the governing coalition "Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia" (CPD) its fourth uninterrupted mandate since transition to democracy in 1990. Given that the constitutional reforms of 2005 eliminated the designated senators, this administration enjoys the most comfortable majority in congress since 1990. Despite it is possible to see the Chilean government immersed in a context of institutional stability and booming prices of Chilean products at the international arena, this scenario could paradoxically manifest itself in a situation of social stress that might seriously complicate the agenda of President Bachelet and her coalition.

Chile --- elections --- binominalism --- economic success --- civic-disaffection.

On 2 July 2006, Bolivia held a national referendum about departamental autonomy as part of the process of state decentralization and as an institutional response to the dire political and social crisis. The inclusion in the constitution of figures such as referendum, constitutional assembly and citizen legislative initiation was the response to the social demands and unrest given under the framework of semi-direct democracy which allowed for an institutional solution to them. Even though the law that called for the referendum defines its national character, in several articles it states that a regime of departamental autonomy will apply immediately after the new Constitution is ratified in those departments where the referendum question was approved by a simple majority of the vote. This dual interpretation with regards to the mandatory nature of the results — at the national or the departamental level — is added to the debate about the nature of the autonomies.The party of the government, whose position won in the referendum and won a majority of the constitutional assembly, sketches a proposal that includes different versions of autonomy — indigenous, regional, provincial, cantonal, communal — that run counter, in some instances, to the departamental autonomies. In sum, the referendum on departamental autonomy, far from solving the problem, has transfered it to the constitutional assembly which puts at risk the democratic legitimacy of its decisions given that the new constitution must answer the demands of diverse political and social actors. Aside from these dynamics, this experience of citizen participation in the decisiom-making process is an example of the positive impact of an institutional reform in the strengthening of the democratic legitimacy and the efficacy of political institutions.

Bolivia --- asamblea constituyente --- referéndum --- autonomías departamentales --- descentralización

This article offers a first approximation to the recent electoral process that took Alan García Pérez to his second presidency. This is a process for which is not possible to give concluding remarks, mostly because of how recent it is and the lack of information available. With the intention to inform, we make some reflections germane to the Peruvian political debate. The article describes the first and second rounds and the factors that help explain the results, especially Alan García’s victory of and the resulting party composition of Congress. In its closing section, the article advances some general conclusions about the process.

Perú --- elections --- public opinion

The paper describes the main characteristics of the 2006 Brazilian Presidential elections. It explores two defining traits of this elections: the interplay between how retrospective economic voting and views towards corruption affected vote volatility and the final result of the election. The paper concludes by pointing out implications of the current elections to the strengthening of democracy in Brazil.

Brazil --- presidential elections --- retrospective economic voting --- corruption