Law and Injustice in Latin America

Debates over the "judicialization" of politics--the displacement of political conflicts from elections and legislatures to the judiciary--are no longer limited to the United States. The increasingly active role of [End Page 169] courts around the world is viewed with both foreboding (by those who fear a government of judges) and optimism (by those who think it will bring social justice, an end to state abuses, or a strengthening of market economies). None of the contributors to The (Un)Rule of Law and the Underprivileged in Latin America uses the term "judicialization," but it underlies their work. While extraordinarily critical of Latin America's legal and justice systems, the authors appear to believe that these institutions can be used to reverse the region's history of extreme inequality and injustice. Lamenting the incompleteness of the region's "democratic transition," which has brought little improvement to the lives of the poor, they look not to politics but to international and national courts and other legal actors for the next steps

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