In class this week, we spent a hefty amount of time on the idea of democracy and how the quality of it plays an important role in that of the government. The required reading for this week stated that there is six requirements that a government must meet in order to follow the foundation of democracy. It first must hold free, fair, and frequent elections. It needs an effective government, access to an alternative source of information, and the right to assemble. Lastly, there needs to be freedom of expression and citizenship must be inclusive, excluding barriers for political participation.
According to dictionary.com, the definition of democracy follows closely to the requirements listed above. It states that democracy means a government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.
In Chile, the quality of democracy may be slightly different than one would think. Let’s take one requirement at a time. Chilean elections are free and are not controlled by the government. There is a time frame for how long a government position can be help for, so they are also held frequent enough. In accordance to the second requirement, the government must be effective. I personally believe that this cannot be measured because utopian societies do not exist, someone is always unhappy. When it comes to an alternative source of information, the Chilean government does not hinder the population’s ability to obtain it. They also do not stop the right to assemble, however if an assembly gets violent or somewhat out of control, the police hold the responsibility to shut the protests down. Freedom of expression is not hindered by the government, but it is by society. Personal experience of living in the country taught me that it is less than proper to talk down upon particular political or social matters in certain company. Lastly is the notion of inclusive citizenship and political barriers. Chile does indeed have laws regarding the immigration of certain people into the country and who may run for particular positions in government.
Querido Chile 