Editing Direct election (section)

=== South America ===
Bolstered by opposition groups, institutional and constitutional change in the 1980s and 1990s led to direct elections of presidents in many South American countries.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hakim |first1=Peter |last2=Lowenthal |first2=Abraham F |date=1991 |title=Latin America's Fragile Democracies |url=http://muse.jhu.edu/content/crossref/journals/journal_of_democracy/v002/2.3hakim.pdf |journal=Journal of Democracy |language=en |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=16–29 |doi=10.1353/jod.1991.0042 |s2cid=154861342 |issn=1086-3214}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Barczak |first=Monica |date=2001 |title=Representation By Consultation? The Rise of Direct Democracy in Latin America |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1531426X00003393/type/journal_article |journal=Latin American Politics and Society |language=en |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=37–59 |doi=10.1111/j.1548-2456.2001.tb00178.x |s2cid=155019931 |issn=1531-426X|url-access=subscription }}</ref> These changes created centralized power in presidential positions, often blurring the line of separation of powers and making them powerful decision-makers over the legislature and cabinet.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Palanza |first=Valeria |date=2021-01-22 |title=The Presidency in Latin American Politics |url=https://oxfordre.com/politics/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228637-e-1674 |access-date=2023-03-13 |journal=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics |language=en |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.1674|isbn=978-0-19-022863-7 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mainwaring |first=Scott |date=1990 |title=Presidentialism in Latin America |journal=Latin American Research Review |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=157–179 |doi=10.1017/S0023879100023256 |jstor=2503565 |s2cid=252947271 |issn=0023-8791|doi-access=free }}</ref>