Synonyms
Presidential regime; Presidential republic; Presidential system
Definition
Presidentialism is a form of government in which, ruled by the Constitution, the President is elected by popular vote for a fixed period of time throughout which he exercises, both as chief of state and chief of government. This system of government establishes a separation of powers among the executive, legislative, and judiciary; however, Latin American Presidents have several legal attributions that grant them primacy vis-à-vis the other powers. In particular, Presidents in Latin America have the power to make laws.
Characteristics
Latin American presidentialism is characterized by the following. First, the President and Congress are elected in separate timeframes and directly by the primary voters (Congress does not have a relevant role in the election of the President). Second, the time lapse that the President remains in office is fixed. In other words, the President does not require a majority...
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Mejía-Guinand, L.B. (2018). Comparative Presidential Systems, Latin America. In: Farazmand, A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20928-9_3162
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20928-9_3162
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