but your Latin American statements are woefully outdated. Every single nation in Latin America, with the notable exception of communist Cuba, is now a democracy, with of course some having greater or lesser degrees of individual liberties, and genuine multi-party elections free from corruption.
Ironically, Chile is now one of the most successful democracies in Latin America, benefiting greatly from capitalist practices orginally put in place by a dictator!
Credible Social Democratic parties in Europe have served well to sap the communists' strength and keep them marginalized, by diverting all sane and sensible left wing thinkers to a meaningful alternative committed to parlementary democracy, human rights, individual freedom, and a mixed economy. I credit them with leaving just the true loonies for the communist party in each nation.
Off Topic » in reply to deocracy v capitalism & social democracy
Some good observations about Western Europe