The failure of federalism in Latin America. A study compared to the federal culture of the United States of America

Abstract

Federalism in the countries of Latin America has not worked. The autonomy of the provinces has been cleverly used by the local ruling elite as a political-legal subterfuge to cover corruption and impunity. Federalism in Latin America, instead of serving to defend distinct cultures and traditions of the regions and to establish limits to power, has prevented forging the necessary checks and balances. The question that is always asked when analyzing the federal system is: why does it work in the United States and not in our countries? The answer may be that, unlike the northern country, the Latin American countries did not have their own federal culture, which justified their adoption. That is, the provinces did not have a tradition of self-government, as did the thirteen colonies that allowed them to establish a political and democratic culture among their citizens. To put an end to the areas of opacity and impunity of Latin American countries at the local level, protected by a false autonomy, it is necessary to break certain dogmas and recognize that a more effective control and supervision system is needed, standardizing and unifying principles, laws and procedure, even if it means violating the federal system.