Ten years of Inter-American Democratic Charter: an international regime to defense of democracy

Abstract

September 11 marked the tenth anniversary of the signing of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. This document contains a set of principles, rules, legal and diplomatic procedures which constitute an international regime for the defense of democracy in the Inter-American system. This study reveals that ten years after its signing, this document has been invoked in various institutional crisis that occurred in Latin America. However, this article evidence that in cases of institutional crisis studied this international regime has not shown primacy over the sovereignty of member States.