A Crisis of Representation? Protest and Parties in Latin America

Does the increasing disconnect between citizens and parties create a crisis of representation which results in citizens taking to the streets? In this article, we question whether lack of connections to political parties explains protests. Using 2018 data from LAPOP, we find that protesters who are linked to political parties are actually more likely to participate in protest than those who are not. However, the overall share of protest accounted for by people plugged into the party system is decreasing. Our results raise concerns about the perils of increasing distrust of political parties in Latin American countries.