An essay on the history of citizenship in Latin America from a long-term perspective

Abstract

This essay presents a view on the history of citizenship in Latin America. The classical literature defines citizenship as a series of tensions between representations of universality and equality, derived from how prerogatives and obligations of the individual members of territorial political organizations developed through history. In addition, the literature considers citizenship as a material and symbolic status whose relative universality and equality depend on concrete historical situations. The study proposes a long-term view identifying moments in history where these tensions appear, showing periods of equilibrium and critical junctures, which allows the perception of interesting aspects of the history of political and social inclusion in Latin American countries. The period between the first decades of the twentieth century and the present day) witnessed dramatic and non-linear processes. This moment can be seen as a series of regional movements toward an equilibrium that guarantees deeper inclusion of citizens in most political and social aspects, due to broader political regimes and as states more capable of delivering effective public policies.