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Under what conditions is democracy stable? What forces undermine or reinforce democratic institutions in Latin America? This book suggests answers to these questions in the context of Peru. It identifies the micro and macro causes that explain the gradual breakdown of democracy in the period between the 1980 transition from authoritarian rule and the 1992 suspension of the Constitution and closure of Congress by President Alberto Fujimori. Similar "self-coups" were subsequently threatened in Bolivia, unsuccessfully attempted in Guatemala and actively considered in Brazil. This book stresses how recent changes in the class structure - particularly the informalization of the economy - created social conditions unfavourable to stable political coalitions in Peru. However, it also traces the mechanisms through which democracy has been undermined by exploring the choices and strategies of political actors in response to changing structural conditions. The book analyzes the crisis of Peruvian democracy that weighs the importance of structural constraints and political choices.