Democracy and its Brown Areas
In this reading, O'Donnell describes some shortcomings in democracy that affect particular groups or particular regions within some Latin American countries. He calls them "brown areas." Try to imagine what it might mean to live in a "brown area." What does he say is missing in these areas? How would you know if you lived in a brown area?
The movie "City of God" presents a vivid image of one of these brown areas, a public housing project in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The NPR report on Caracas illustrates a less violent instance of more or less the same thing. What do these areas have in common?
Note that if you live in the City of God, you definitely live in a brown area. But if you live in Caracas, whether or not you are in a brown area depends on your social and economic circumstances. For some individuals, state legality is present, and for others it is not. Keep this in mind as you read the article; brown areas are not necessarily defined geographically. What do these shortcomings mean for democracy in a country as a whole? Are they getting better or worse? What is their cause?