Introduction: the third wave of democratization in Latin America Scott Mainwaring and Frances Hagopian; 1. Latin American democratization since 1978: democratic transitions, breakdowns, and erosions Scott Mainwaring and Aníbal Pérez-Liñán; Part I. Three Democratic Giants with Authoritarian Pasts: Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico: 2. Argentina: democratic survival amidst economic failure Steven Levitsky; 3. The growing sustainability of Brazil's low-quality democracy Kurt Weyland; 4. The demise of Mexico's one-party dominant regime: elite choices and the masses in the establishment of democracy Beatriz Magaloni; Part II. Unexpected Democracies in Unlikely Countries: Bolivia, El Salvador, and Guatemala: 5. Bolivia's democracy at the crossroads René Antonio Mayorga; 6. Challenges to political democracy in El Salvador Elisabeth Jean Wood; 7. Democracy on ice: the multiple challenges of Guatemala's peace process Mitchell A. Seligson; Part III. Democratic Erosion in The Third Wave: Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela: 8. From 'restricted' to 'besieged': the changing nature of the limits to democracy in Colombia Ana María Bejarano and Eduardo Pizarro; 9. Peru 1980-2000: chronicle of a death foretold? determinism, political decisions, and open outcomes Martín Tanaka; 10. Explaining democratic deterioration in Venezuela through nested inference Michael Coppedge; Part IV. Conclusions: 11. Conclusions: Government performance, political representation, and public perceptions of contemporary democracy in Latin America Frances Hagopian.