The separation of powers is essential in a democracy, which must be based on the rule of law.
Democracy is a political system that allows a group of individuals to organize themselves , in which power does not reside in a single person but is distributed among all citizens . Therefore, decisions are made according to the opinion of the majority through elections , where the people choose their representation in the governing bodies.
The concept has its foundations in ancient Greek and is formed by combining the words demos (which translates as "people" ) and kratós (which can be understood as "power" and "government" ). The notion began to be used in the 5th century BC , in Athens .
Democracy is also understood as the set of rules that determine the conduct for an orderly political and social coexistence . It could be said that it is a lifestyle whose foundations are found in respect for human dignity, freedom and the rights of each and every one of its members.
Democracy as a form of government
In practice, democracy is a form of government and organization of a State . Through mechanisms of direct or indirect participation, the people select their representatives . It is said that democracy constitutes an option of social scope where, according to the law, all citizens enjoy freedom and have the same rights , and social relations are established according to contractual mechanisms .
The classifications of government promoted by Plato and Aristotle still endure in their essence. While monarchy is the government that is concentrated in a single person , democracy is the government "of the multitude" ( Plato ) or "of the majority" ( Aristotle ).
In a democracy, political parties develop electoral campaigns so that their candidates can access Congress or the Senate or lead mayoralties or governorships, for example.
Classification according to type
There are several types of democracies, as established by the Constitution. When decisions are taken directly by the people, we speak of direct or pure democracy ; an indirect or representative democracy refers to the system where decisions are taken by those people whom the people recognize as their legitimate representatives , who are elected through suffrage by all citizens; and we are faced with a participatory democracy when the political model allows citizens to organize themselves to exert direct influence on public decisions.
The most common way in which democracy is exercised today is in representative systems ( representative democracy ), which can be presidential (with an executive power with a well-defined head, as is the case of republics with the president, who is assisted by ministers and secretaries), parliamentary (a group of people form the parliament around which the actions of government revolve and there is a president but his powers are restricted) or collegiate systems (a combination of parliamentary and presidential systems, where the executive power is made up of several people chosen by parliament, who take turns in the position of president).
Some important concepts when talking about democracy are the referendum (the people's right to reject or approve the provisions of the legislature), plebiscite ( vote in which the people respond to a proposal made by the government on issues of fundamental state interest: change of political form, international affairs such as border problems, etc.), popular initiative (the people present to the government a proposition on bills or issues of political or citizen concern), recall (the people can annul government decisions through popular vote and have the right to remove certain officials if they do not perform their work well) and jury (the people form the so-called popular juries to collaborate with the judicial power).
The idea of digital democracy or e-democracy refers to the use of technology to improve access to information, provide transparency and encourage political participation .
Values associated with democracy
Beyond the distribution of state powers and citizen participation through universal suffrage and other mechanisms, democracy is associated with a series of values that are also linked to freedom and the participation of citizens in political life.
Freedom of the press and freedom of expression are pillars of democracy. The media should not be subject to restrictions when reporting and pluralism of opinions should be allowed.
Likewise, a democracy must support the existence of social movements and NGOs that engage in activism to defend civil rights and promote gender equality, for example.
When coups d'état occur and dictatorships or regimes that lean towards totalitarianism or authoritarianism are established, it is common for rights to be lost and the democratic functioning of society to suffer.
Popular sovereignty, freedom and equality
For a real democracy to exist, of any of the aforementioned types, three precepts must be fulfilled: popular sovereignty , liberty and equality . The three words that define this lifestyle represented by a government chosen by the citizens.
Popular sovereignty ensures that all citizens, as intelligent and free human beings , have rights and can respond obediently to bodies established in common agreement with the rest of the citizens. It should be noted that the word sovereign derives from a Latin term meaning "he who is above all others."
Freedom in a democratic state is of a legal and individual nature. The former refers to the right of human beings to act for themselves with full right to decide over their actions, as long as their desire does not go against the laws (which have been unanimously accepted by the people). For its part, individual freedom refers to the essence of intelligent and free beings that every citizen possesses from the very moment of their birth.
The equality proposed by democracy ensures that all citizens must have the same opportunities and the same duties before the law (legal equality).
Democracy, antonym of aristocracy
To conclude this definition, it should be noted that democracy is not the antonym of a tyrannical regime ( dictatorship ), as is often believed, but of aristocracy . Aristocracy is a vertical political and social structure, where each citizen receives a number of rights and obligations based on their social status. A democracy has a horizontal structure because the people have the power, even though at first glance they are governed by a political person.
Unfortunately, democracy remains a precious commodity that is difficult to attain . It is difficult to find a democracy that really works, mainly due to the lack of information and the lack of interest of the people , who conform to the laws and end up giving up their rights to the political group in power, which in its ambition for power and money, leaves aside words like plebiscite or recall and makes decisions as if it were leading a monarchy or an aristocratic government. Democracy may not be the ideal form of government, if it conforms to a liberal economic system like the one that governs us, but it could possibly be much more advisable if it existed in a real way and not simply as a theory that seems never to be put into practice.