''Continuísmo'' ( en, Continuism) is the practice by incumbents of keeping themselves in office beyond legal

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

for their elected office. Which often occurs as a result of or leads to democratic backsliding and the erosion of human rights. page 8 Some Latin American heads of state indefinitely extend their rule by way of reducing or abolishing term limits, via constitutional revision. Examples are

Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine Army general and politician. After serving in several government positions, including Minister of Labour and Vice President of a military dictatorship, he was elected P ...

in Argentina; Alfredo Stroessner in Paraguay; and Evo Morales in

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

. Another tactic is legislative enactment, such as with Jorge Ubico, in

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

in 1941. A third tactic is by plebiscite, such as in the cases of

Carlos Castillo Armas Carlos Castillo Armas (; 4 November 191426 July 1957) was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who was the 28th president of Guatemala, serving from 1954 to 1957 after taking power in a coup d'état. A member of the right-wing Nation ...

in Guatemala, Marcos Pérez Jiménez in Venezuela and the 1988 failed attempt by Augusto Pinochet in Chile. A further type is committing a successful self-coup, such as Getúlio Vargas in Brazil. Yet another way is the imposition of a weak successor candidate allowing rule by the outgoing incumbent, as when Emilio Portes Gil and Abelardo Rodríguez in Mexico allowed Plutarco Elías Calles, "''el jefe máximo''", to continue ruling, a period known as the Maximato. The extension of family rule occurred in Nicaragua with the Somoza family; in Argentina with Juan Perón; and then more recently with

Nestor Kirchner Nestor may refer to: * Nestor (mythology), King of Pylos in Greek mythology Arts and entertainment * "Nestor" (''Ulysses'' episode) an episode in James Joyce's novel ''Ulysses'' * Nestor Studios, first-ever motion picture studio in Hollywood, ...

and his wife Cristina Fernández de Kirchner; and in Cuba with

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

and his brother

Raúl Castro Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz (; ; born 3 June 1931) is a retired Cuban politician and general who served as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, the most senior position in the one-party communist state, from 2011 to 2021, succeedi ...

.Ebel, "Continuismo" p. 257. Despite Peru's one-term limit established by its 1979 constitution, Alberto Fujimori illegally extended his rule to ten years through two re-elections.

References

Works cited

* {{Cite book , last=Baturo , first=Alexander , title=Democracy, Dictatorship, and Term Limits , publisher= University of Michigan Press , year=2014 , location=United States , language=en Political terminology Spanish words and phrases Latin America Populism Democratic backsliding

See also

Further reading

References

Works cited