The democratic transition was one of the great topics of the political and theoretical discussion of the eighties in Latin America. The work Transitions from an authoritarian government coordinated by O'Donnell, Schmitter and Whitehead occupied a central place in that debate. In this article we will focus on revisiting this hegemonic perspective, and then delineate a particular perspective of the transition inspired by the contributions and crossings between the new history of ideas and post-foundational contemporary political theory.