Democrática

Democrática is the feminine singular form of the adjective democrático, used in Spanish and Portuguese to indicate a relationship with democracy or with democratic systems. It describes feminine nouns such as nación, sociedad, institución, participación or cultura that are characterized by or aiming to embody democratic principles. The masculine form is democrático (or democráticos in the plural), which is used with masculine nouns.

Etymologically, democrática comes from the Greek demos (people) and kratos (rule), through Latin democratica, and it mirrors the gender and number agreement rules of the surrounding language. In practical use, it appears in phrases like una nación democrática, una institución democrática, or participación democrática in Spanish, and uma nação democrática or uma sociedade democrática in Portuguese. For masculine nouns, one would say un sistema democrático or principios democráticos.

In political science and civic discourse, democrática describes features such as popular sovereignty, free and fair elections, pluralism, accountability, separation of powers, civil liberties, and the rule of law. It can refer to ideal models of governance as well as to the actual quality of democratic practices in a country or community. The term is common in constitutions, party platforms, academic writing, and everyday language when emphasizing democratic values and processes.

Overall, democrática functions as a gendered modifier that aligns with the noun it describes, signaling that the noun participates in or embodies democracy. See also democracy, democratic values, liberal democracy, and constitutional democracy.