ABSTRACT
With the exception of Costa Rica, tyranny was the permanent fixture of the Central American political landscape before the 1980s. Generals ruled in association with the exporters of coffee and bananas in regimes that Enrique Baloyra-Herp (1983) dubbed as ‘reactionary despotisms’. Yet, by the mid-1990s in every country on the isthmus dictators or military juntas had been replaced with elected presidents (and legislators). Political systems in Central America now allow adults of at least 18 years of age (16 years in Nicaragua) to cast ballots in regularly scheduled elections—a change that would surprise any observer transported from the past. The rhythm of change, however, has not been uniform across the isthmus. Some political systems have suffered breakdowns (in Honduras) or near-breakdowns (in Guatemala). A gradual descent into electoral autocracy seems to be the best way to depict more than a decade of incumbent behaviour in Nicaragua. So, while the cessation of civil war has brought some benefits to the region, it has had much less of an effect in other countries. This chapter focuses on the nature of regime types and hints at related ones, including the causes of political change on the isthmus.
