Welfare State in Latin America

towards a political typology. Comparative analysis between Uruguay, Mexico and Guatemala

Abstract

The research aims to analyze the role that political variables have in the configuration of the welfare state. The selected case studies are examples of the proposed political typology: Uruguay (high welfare state), Mexico (medium welfare state) and Guatemala (low welfare state). The research states that it is important to propose a typology with an explanatory ability, highlighting welfare states’ structural configurations, and not just describing their short-term results. A political typology of welfare states has the advantage of highlighting the most significant explanatory variables for understanding the welfare state, it’s political institutions, and especially democracy and state’s capacity.