La vicepresidencia en América Latina: un mal innecesario = The Vice Presidency in Latin America: an unnecessary evil
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Most Latin American countries have in their institutional design the figure of
the Vice President to address the succession of the President in case of death, illness, resignation
or inability. Although this succession function –and by extension the vice-presidential figure– are
conceived as guarantors of stability and continuity, a review of the recent political history of Latin
America shows that in practice the actual result is very different. Latin American Vice Presidents
have been remarkably frequently sources of political conflict and instability for the Executive
Branch to which they belong. This article recapitulates such critical situations, confronts the
Latin American model of Vice Presidency with other succession methods, and concludes the
convenience of replacing the rigid Vice Presidency with a different succession figure