LocationsDisenchanted Youth, Debilitated Democracies
December 10, 2024
Youth in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are increasingly anxious about their future. Concerns about climate change, rising living costs, and unemployment rates that are three higher than that of the total population (20.3% vs 7% in 2023), are likely impacting their sense of agency and optimism.
Using LAPOP’s Americas Barometer data, this #GraphForThought explores youth preferences on democracy and their openness to radical governance solutions in LAC. Figure 1 shows that support for democracy has declined across all generations over the past decade, particularly after 2016. A decade later, younger generations remain the most disenchanted with democracy. While adults and older generations have regained some confidence in democracy after the pandemic, young people continue to be disillusioned.
Youth discouragement with democracy is not unique to the LAC region. According to the Open Society Barometer, which surveyed 30 countries around the world, age plays a significant role in shaping attitudes toward democratic governance. Among 18-to-35-year-olds, only 57% expressed a preference for democracy over other forms of government, compared to 71% among those aged 56 and above.
This discouragement does not mean that people have lost faith in democracy. In fact, the 2023 Latinobarómetro results show that 66% of people believe democracy, despite its flaws, is still the best form of government. But many individuals perceive the system is not delivering in a way that responds to their basic needs. When faced with deprivations that go against their lives or well-being, individuals might care less about democracy. For example, Figure 2 shows that, in 2023, almost 1 out of 2 people aged 18 to 35 (48%) would justify a coup if it would address high crime levels. Support is slightly stronger if we only consider those aged 18 to 25 (50%). Approval among adults and older generations is lower, albeit high, with 39% and 30% justifying such measures, respectively. Interestingly, the endorsement of this kind of political measure has grown across all age groups over the last decade, but it is among youth and young adults where it has grown the most (28% and 32% respectively between 2014 and 2023).
This, of course, is happening in the context of high levels of crime. Young men in the region face a disproportionately high risk of homicide compared to other male age groups and the general population. According to 2021 UNODC data, in the Americas, men aged 15-29 account for 45% of all homicide victims, with a rate of 53.6 per 100,000 people -twice the rate of men overall (27 per 100,000) and five times the global male rate (9.3 per 100,000). Despite a recent reduction in the overall homicide rate in LAC, political attitudes around the issue are harder to transform, and the belief that a coup is justified in cases of high criminality keeps growing.
However, there is a silver lining regarding the relationship between youth and democracy. The latest LAPOP report compares generations -from before the democratic transition, through the transition period, to the post-transition generation- and shows that today’s young adults are more committed to democracy than the young version of their predecessors. And, despite declining faith in democracy, youth remain politically active and engaged in public affairs. But this does not lessen the urgency of addressing their needs. For generations that have only known democracy, alternative forms of governance may seem like solutions to their frustrations. To safeguard democracy in LAC, governments must listen to and respond to young people's concerns. It is time to bring them back into the fold.
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