This volume aims to fill the need for a comprehensive, up-to-date portrait of parties and party systems in Latin America. It includes chapters on all the large and medium-sized countries, as well as those smaller countries with older democratic traditions: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. The book is framed by an introduction that provides a theoretical and comparative conceptual map for charting Latin American party systems and a conclusion that looks ahead to the challenges and trends for party building in the 1990s. The 12 country case studies address five analytical themes. Finally, and most importantly, the authors characterize the nature of the party system in each country - how institutionalized it is, and how it can be classified. This book is a Stanford University Press title distributed and marketed by Cambridge University Press in all territories outside North America.