This module graphs the many political changes that have occurred in South America during the 20th Century, and does so by focusing on the most significant and historically noteworthy changes.
All of these countries (with the exception of the colonies) were at least nominally parliamentary. Nonetheless, structures varied widely from the genuinely multi-party to the extremely authoritarian.
Multi-party system refers here to any country where regular elections took place, where political parties competed, and where orderly transfers of power took place at least occasionally. However, multi-party does not necessarily imply political stability. Many of these regimes experienced acts of terrorism, violence, and corruption. In South America, as elsewhere in the Western world, women were not eligible to vote until well into the 20th Century.
European countries had colonies in South America until after World War II. At that time Guyana and Suriname became independent. French Guiana and several small islands off the northern coast of South America remain even today part of European states.
Authoritarian regimes are those in which the constitution has or had been suspended or subverted. The range of experience was wide and does not lend itself to definitive categories. Though the distinctions made here may appear somewhat arbitrary, we note the following:
A final category describes “frequent regime changes by unconstitutional means”. States which undergo two or more unconstitutional regime changes during the time period represented by each frame are represented by this category indicated in grey but defined more closely by a coded insert or a balloon icon.
Each of the above described varieties of regimes is represented on the following maps by a different color. A legend is provided in each frame for clarification, along with pop-up balloons which can be viewed by navigating over the countries with balloon icons.
This module contains two sections. The first section maps the political history of South America by dividing the 20th Century in 7 distinct frames. The first frame depicts political conditions at the turn of the 19th Century; the second graphs the political trends that occurred after the First World War; the third maps out the period between the Great Depression and World War II; and the fourth and fifth frames depict South American politics during two phases of the Cold War. The final frame maps the political landscape in the year 2000.
The second sections allows the viewer to compare and contrast South American political systems from the beginning and end of the 20th Century, and shows just how much the political landscape has changed.