Latin America and the Caribbean is today the most democratic region among developing regions and the third worldwide. More than four out of five citizens live under regimes elected through elections. However, this strength coexists with growing tension: democracies that endure, but face pressures that threaten their ability to represent, manage conflict, and generate development outcomes.

Long-standing structural challenges, such as economic and gender inequality and the crisis of political parties, are now combined with emerging threats: polarization, misinformation, the acceleration of technology, the climate crisis, and the expansion of organized crime. Together, these factors erode institutional trust and weaken the link between democracy and citizens' well-being.

More than two decades after the regional report that in 2004 warned about the gap between electoral citizenship and social citizenship, this new diagnosis confirms that the challenge persists, but in a more complex context. Evaluating rules and institutions is no longer enough: democratic sustainability depends on the capacity of systems to widen freedoms, sustain agreements, and produce concrete results for citizens.

"Democracies Under Pressure" offers a comprehensive analysis of the region's democratic situation and proposes a roadmap to move from reactive responses to building resilient state capacities: capable of anticipating risks, adapt, and deliver consistent results.