Affective polarization (AP), a concept that summarizes intense partisans’ animosity towards opposing parties and positive feelings towards their own, has recently received increasing attention. Despite a growing interest in Latin American polarization, there are very few empirical studies on the range and depth of dislike and distrust towards political adversaries in the region, and how this impacts the quality of democracies. This research note uses survey data collected after ten election cycles in six countries to estimate the scope and depth of AP in the region. We measure the extent of polarization in Latin America compared to other Western nations, assess its evolution, and makes some inroads to explain who drives AP. On aggregate, Latin America does not show large AP scores, yet there are clear signs of an upward trend. More than a widespread social phenomenon, the evidence suggests that AP is driven by large intense minorities.

中文翻译：

---

拉丁美洲的情感两极分化：研究笔记


情感极化 （AP） 是一个总结了党派对对立政党的强烈敌意和对自己政党的积极情绪的概念，最近受到了越来越多的关注。尽管人们对拉丁美洲的两极分化越来越感兴趣，但关于该地区对政治对手的厌恶和不信任的范围和深度，以及这如何影响民主国家的质量的实证研究却很少。本研究报告使用在 6 个国家/地区的 10 个选举周期后收集的调查数据来估计该地区 AP 的范围和深度。我们衡量了与其他西方国家相比拉丁美洲的两极分化程度，评估了其演变，并取得了一些进展来解释谁推动了 AP。总体而言，拉丁美洲的 AP 得分并不高，但有明显的上升趋势。有证据表明，AP 不仅仅是一种普遍的社会现象，而且是由大量强烈的少数群体驱动的。