Brasília, April 22, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - The "Democracy in Latin America" report, released yesterday (21) by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), emphasizes that, despite democratic advances, the region still faces serious problems that breed deep popular discontentment with elected leaders. The document points out that insufficient economic growth, profound inequalities, and inefficient judicial systems and social services cause popular unrest and undermine confidence in electoral democracy.

According to the UNDP representative in Brazil, Ambassador Carlos Lopes, the UN report praises Brazil, when it states that the country has a good index of electoral democracy. However, it indicates that Brazilians are distrustful about supporting democracy.

"The message to the Brazilian government is very clear: It needs to deepen democracy, so that democracy is not only political, because it seems that people are very satisfied with the political part but dissatisfied with the civic and social part," Lopes affirmed.

The UNDP study also shows that Brazil is among the countries with the smallest percentage of participation by women and Afro-descendants in the Legislature. In the most recent elections, the report observes, only 8.6% of the seats in Brazil's National Congress were filled by women. And, according to the study, even though Afro-descendants constitute 44% of the population, between 1995 and 1999 they occupied only 2.8% (15) of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies.

Translator: David Silberstein