Foreword by Luís Inácio Lula da Silva President of Brazil, 2003–10

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.411
• Published date: 01 November 2014
• Date: 01 November 2014

■Foreword

Interest groups are both a positive and negative

force in any society and their development and ac-

ceptance as permanent political fixtures, as well as

the curbing of their worst manifestation, is essential

to the success of recent democratic gains in Latin

America. The collection of articles in this volume

provides convincing evidence for their necessity.

At the same time, the contributions explorethe many

contradictions in the role of interests in a democracy

and particularly the democracies in our region.

Until recently, Latin American politics has been

known for elitism and political corruption. These

circumstances were very much the product of an ex-

clusive, narrow-based set of special interests and

power groups. Ironically, as Latin American democ-

racies develop the political antidote to exclusiveness

is more interests and interest groups to embrace the

broadest possible range of economic, social and

political groups and opinions in society, and the

prevention of excesses by power groups. In this

regard, the subtitle of this volume expressly states

the main question concerning interest groups in

Latin America: Does the surge in democracy that

Latin America has experienced over the past three

decades signify a new era for interests and interest

groups? I'd like to think it does, but turning back

centuries of history is not done overnight.

We should be cautious, however, of using a broad

brush and generalizations to refer to all Latin

American countries. Clearly realizing this, the col-

lection of articles in this volume is very helpful in

pointing out similarities and major differences

across the region. They certainly have no definitive

answers, but they provide different perspectives

on the role of interest groups in general and, in par-

ticular, assess the extent to which the interest group

system that has emerged in individual countries in

the region over the past three decades advances or

retards democratic consolidation.

In short, these articles will help the readers to

understand the region and promote an informed de-

bate about interest groups.

Luís Inácio Lula da Silva

President of Brazil, 2003-10

November, 17, 2010

Copyright #2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Journal of Public Affairs (2014)

Published online August 2011 in Wiley Online Library

(www.wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/pa.411

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