r but he does want to illustrate to the “old” power contenders what he is capable of doing if he is not included into this small elite circle of contenders. The role of elections in this ‘everyone gets a piece of the pie’ system is “a measure of power and not a means of determining who governs” (page 13). An election is another form of demonstration of power capability. It demonstrates the capability of public opinion which according to this system is just one of the important power capability available to these elites.The Latin American political system consists of many different pre-requites for power. Unlike that of the United States and Western Europe, Latin American countries do not centralize their political system on a slab of paper called “The Constitution” or in public held elections. The Constitutions of the Latin American lands are not seen as important as Ten Commandments of Moses, but just as a guideline. The United States and Western Europe view “The Constitution” as a godly drawn paper as important as The Ten Commandments that should be used in reference when deciding legal matters. Elections in the United States and W. Europe are seen as the determining factor in negotiations amongst elites. The elections give the US and W. Europe elites a ‘title’ or position with certain responsibilities no matter their political capabilities. The elections in Latin America are just a pre-requisite to membership into the circle of powerful elites or a demonstration of a power to influence popular opinion. Anderson makes one understand how the countries that make up Latin America have predictable and stable political systems. The political system is predictable and stable because it follows a pattern. This pattern is not too far off the political pattern that the North American model of political system uses. With this newfound understanding, I understand...
