A hopeful view of democracy

More than a decade ago, in the year of his death, what was to be José Medina Echavarria’s final essay was published in the CEPAL R ev iew . With his customary modesty, he referred to this article as “notes” on the future of democracy, even though the way in which he approached his subject and the scope of his analysis make this one of his best-conceived and most powerful works. Certainly, it was a subject that was very near to his heart for a number of reasons: his status as an exile from Francoism, his deeply liberal intellectual calling and his personal character, which was proof against any lapse into authoritarianism.