Features of Constitution Making in Latin America, 1900–2008
Country
Change
Year
Constituent
Body
Type
of Change
Decision
Rule
Election
Rule
Congress/
Constituent Assembly
Congress/
Constituent Assembly
Replacement
Qualified majority (2/3)/
majority
Qualified majority (2/3)/
majority
Plurality, limited
vote, open list
PR, closed list
1961
Constituent Congress
Replacement
Qualified majority (2/3),
2 legislatures
1995
Congress
Amendment
2005
Congress
Amendment
1946
Constituent Congress
1988
1994
1949
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
1994
Yes
PR, closed list
Yes
__
PR, closed list
No
Yes
PR, closed
list/SMD
PR, open list
No
Yes
Replacement
Qualified majority (2/3),
2 legislatures
Qualified majority (2/3),
2 legislatures
Majority
Yes
__
Constituent Congress
Replacement
Majority
PR, open list
No
Yes
Congress
Amendment
PR, open list
No
Yes
1998
Congress
Amendment
PR, open list
No
Yes
2001
Congress
Amendment
PR, open list
No
Yes
1943
1970
1991
1997
2005
1910
Congress
Congress
Congress
Congress
Congress
Constituent Congress
Amendment
Amendment
Amendment
Amendment
Amendment
Amendment
Qualified majority
(3/5)
Qualified majority
(3/5)
Qualified majority
(3/5)
Qualified majority (2/3)
Qualified majority (2/3)
Qualified majority (2/3)
Qualified majority (2/3)
Qualified majority (2/3)
Majority, 2 sessions
PR, open list
PR, open list
Binomial, open list
Binomial, open list
Binomial, open list
Plurality, limited
vote, open list
PR, multiple lists
PR, multiple lists
Fixed shares,
multiple lists
PR, multiple lists
PR, multiple lists
PR, multiple lists
PR, multiple lists
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
_
Yes
Yes
No
__
__
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
__
Yes
Yes
Yes
1936
1945
1968
Congress
Congress
Congress
Amendment
Amendment
Amendment
1978
1986
1991
2003
Congress
Congress
Constituent Assembly
Congress
Amendment
Amendment
Replacement
Amendment
Majority, 2 sessions
Majority, 2 sessions
Qualified majority (2/3),
2 sessions
Majority, 2 sessions
Majority, 2 sessions
Majority
Majority, 2 sessions
2004
Congress
Amendment
Majority, 2 sessions
PR, multiple lists
No
Yes
1913
Congress
Amendment
Qualified majority (2/3)
Indirect elections
No
Yes
1926
Congress
Amendment
Qualified majority (2/3)
PR, closed list
No
Yes
1936
Congress
Amendment
Qualified majority (2/3)
PR, closed list
No
Yes
Replacement
Majority
PR, closed list
Yes
__
Amendment
Qualified majority (2/3)
PR, closed list
No
Yes
1969
Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Part of
Reform
Coalition?
__
No
1949
Dom.
Replacement
President’s
Party
Dominant?
Yes
Constituent Assembly
Congress
1963
1966
Constituent Assembly
Constituent Congress
Replacement
Replacement
Majority
Qualified majority (2/3)
PR, closed list
PR, closed list
Yes
Yes
__
__
1994
2002
Congress
Congress
Amendment
Amendment
Qualified majority (2/3)
Qualified majority (2/3)
PR, closed list
PR, flexible list
No
No
Yes
Yes
1946
Constituent Assembly
Replacement
PR, closed list
Yes
__
No
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
__
No
1983
1998
2008
1983
Congress
Constituent Assembly
Constituent Assembly
Constituent Assembly
Amendment
Replacement
Replacement
Replacement
Majority
Qualified majority (2/3)
Majority
Majority
Majority
PR, closed list
Plurality, open list
PR, open list
PR, closed list
Table 2 (cont.)
Guatemala
Honduras
1945
Constituent Assembly
Replacement
Majority
PR, open list
1965
Constituent Assembly
Replacement
Majority
PR, closed list
No
Yes
1985
Constituent Assembly
Replacement
Majority
PR, closed list
No
Yes
1993
Congress
Amendment
Qualified majority (2/3)
PR, closed list
No
Yes
1957
Constituent Assembly
Replacement
PR, closed list
Yes
__
1965
Constituent Assembly
Replacement
Majority
PR, closed list
Yes
__
1982
Constituent Assembly
Replacement
Majority
PR, closed list
No
Yes
1917
Constituent Assembly
Replacement
Plurality, no lists
Yes
__
Congress
Amendment
Qualified majority (2/3)
PR closed list/SMD
No
Yes
1994
Congress
Amendment
Qualified majority (2/3)
PR closed list/SMD
No
Yes
1996
Congress
Amendment
Qualified majority (2/3)
PR closed list/SMD
No
Yes
1987
Constituent Congress
Replacement
Qualified majority (3/5)
PR, closed list
Yes
1995
Congress
Amendment
Qualified majority (3/5)
PR, closed list
No
Yes
2000
Congress
Amendment
Qualified majority (3/5)
PR, closed list
No
Yes
2005
Congress
Amendment
Qualified majority (3/5)
PR, closed list
No
Yes
Replacement
Majority
PR, closed list
1993
Mexico
Nicaragua
Majority
__
__
Panama
1946
Paraguay
1992
Constituent Assembly
Replacement
Majority
PR, closed list
1979
Constituent Assembly
Replacement
Majority
PR, open list
No
1993
Constituent Assembly
Replacement
Majority, referendum
PR, open list
Yes
__
2000
Congress
Amendment
PR, open list
No
Yes
2002
Congress
Amendment
Qualified majority (2/3),
2 legislatures
Qualified majority (2/3),
2 legislatures
Majority, referendum (1)
PR, open list
No
Yes
Peru
Uruguay
Venezuela
Constituent Assembly
Majority
Yes
1917
Constituent Assembly
Replacement
1942
Constituent Congress
Replacement
1952
Constituent Congress
Replacement
1967
Constituent Congress
Replacement
1996
Congress
Amendment
1947
Constituent Assembly
Replacement
1961
Constituent Congress
Replacement
1989
Congress
Amendment
1999
Constituent Assembly
Replacement
No
Yes
Yes
__
Yes
Plurality, limited
vote, multiple lists
No
Yes
Qualified majority
(2/3), referendum (2)
PR, multiple lists
No
Yes
Qualified majority
(2/3), referendum
PR, multiple lists
No
Yes
PR, multiple lists
No
Yes
PR, multiple lists
No
Yes
Qualified majority (2/3),
referendum
Qualified majority (2/3),
referendum
Majority
Majority, ratif. 2/3
legislative assemblies
Majority, ratif. 2/3
legislative assemblies
Majority, referendum
PR, closed list
Yes
__
PR, closed list
Yes
__
PR, closed list
No
Yes
Plurality, open list
Yes
__
Source: Database on constitutional change in Latin America (http://www.la-constitutionalchange.cide.edu/). See Appendix for sources.
(1)
(2)
The constitution was approved by absolute majority but the new constitution maintained the qualified majority of 2/3 of the 1830
constitution.
Since 1942, constitutional amendments in Uruguay could also be voted on by an absolute majority of the joint session of the assembly
and implemented after adoption by a constituent assembly and ratified by the electorate.