Continuismo (English:Continuism) is the practice by incumbents of keeping themselves in office beyond legalterm limits for their elected office, often a result or cause ofdemocratic backsliding and the erosion of human rights.[1][2][3]
Some Latin American heads of state indefinitely extend their rule by way of reducing or abolishingterm limits,[4] via constitutional revision. An example isAlfredo Stroessner inParaguay. Another tactic is legislative enactment, such as withJorge Ubico, inGuatemala in 1941. A third tactic is byplebiscite, such as in the cases ofCarlos Castillo Armas in Guatemala,Marcos Pérez Jiménez inVenezuela and the 1988 failed attempt byAugusto Pinochet inChile. A further type is through aself-coup, as done byGetúlio Vargas inBrazil. Yet another way is for the outgoing incumbent to hand-pick a successor that they can use as apuppet ruler, as whenEmilio Portes Gil andAbelardo Rodríguez inMexico allowedPlutarco Elías Calles, "el jefe máximo", to continue ruling, a period known as theMaximato.
The extension of family rule occurred inNicaragua with theSomoza family; in Argentina with Juan Perón; and then more recently withNéstor Kirchner and his wifeCristina Fernández de Kirchner; and inCuba withFidel Castro and his brotherRaúl Castro.[5] Despite Peru's one-term limit established by its 1979 constitution,Alberto Fujimori illegally extended his rule to ten years through two re-elections.[3]
U.S. PresidentDonald Trump often mused about serving in office beyond constitutional limits, before publicly ruling it out in September 2023.[6]