Why does Latin America underperform so consistently?

Vast land mass, rich in resources, manageable populations and so on. Yet wracked with instability and fecklessness, which never seem to end.

One answer – the fact that the political rules keep changing, which means that in effect there are no rules and so no stability allowing sustained steady ‘normal’ development:

The evidence is staggering: The Dominican Republic has had 32 separate constitutions since its independence in 1821. Venezuela follows close behind with 26, Haiti has had 24, Ecuador 20, and Bolivia recently passed its seventeenth.

In fact, over half of the 21 Latin American nations have had at least ten constitutions while, in the rest of the world, only Thailand (17), France (16), Greece (13), and Poland (10) have reached double digits.

Not only that. These constitutions are getting more and more stupid:

… one effect of these campaigns has been the inflation of constitutional word counts. Latin American leaders have discovered that, by packaging ever-longer lists of promises and rights alongside greater executive functions, they can make a new constitution appealing enough to the masses that they will vote for it in a referendum.

The result is constitutions that are not only the shortest-lived, but also among the longest in the world. Bolivia’s and Ecuador’s recently approved constitutions have 411 and 444 articles, respectively, and read like laundry lists of guaranteed rights, such as access to mail and telephones; guarantees for culture, identity, and dignity; and shorter work-weeks.

By contrast, the U.S. Constitution, the longest-serving in the world, has only seven articles and 27 amendments.

It all amounts to nothing more than an irrational preference for form over substance. But once that preference is internalised by elites and populations alike, how on earth to change it?