Two or three levels of contention? Applying explanations of presidential instability in Latin America to the 2010s cases

The paper reviews explanations about presidential term interruptions in Latin America and applies them to the 2010s cases, which are: Fernando Lugo (Paraguay, 2012); Otto Pérez Molina (Guatemala, 2015); Dilma Rousseff (Brazil, 2016); Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (Peru, 2018); Evo Morales (Bolivia, 2019). study sample also includes Legislative decisions discontinue processes against presidents of Guatemala (2017), Brazil (2017, twice), Paraguay (2019). QCA results give support for proposing an alternative Pérez-Liñán’s (2014) two-level theory adding a third level contention related military intervention, old-fashioned variable that was decisive Morales’ case. Besides having shields on streets, American need shield provided by militarized security forces protect from interruptions, since these corps have gained influence democratic politics region. Contrary literature expectations, exits not been enough disperse political tension.