What would you say?ĬJ: I believe that Latin America is no exception to the democratic regression that the world is experiencing. HP: I would not know if the state of democracy in Latin America is in a terminal phase or if it is suffering from a chronic illness. I talked to Carolina Jiménez (CJ) about liberal democracy, that dream of individual freedom, to which institutional limits are imposed, but which we Latin Americans truncate without major qualms. Peru sinks in racism, Chile in bewilderment and Colombia discovers that nobody, once in power, says what they really think. The leftist dictatorships of the 21st century – Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua – coexist with populist leaders who dismantle democracies in their countries, the most eloquent being a young president, elected in a country wounded by a civil war that exhibits the dubious privilege of having built the largest prison in the Western Hemisphere in a small wedge of Central America: El Salvador. In this round trip, we run like hamsters in their circles. Democracy, as a system of government, failed and disappointed a population thirsty for well-being.īehind each attempt, the most disturbing and terrifying of which took place in Fidel Castro’s Cuba, there was a boomerang effect that brought back new shamans, sorcerers’ apprentices, messiahs, fantasizer and other trappings for political leaders, spontaneous or not, who transited, in a circular fashion, from repressive, even murderous dictatorships to precarious democracies. But the dream that a better world is possible turned into a nightmare. Hugo Prieto (HP): For much of the 20th century, the hopes placed on Latin America, as an alternative to the most selfish capitalism and societies immersed in greed, attracted the attention and curiosity of the academic centers of the United States and Europe. Read the original article in Spanish here. This article was translated and republished with permission. In an interview with Prodavinci, a media platform for in-depth analysis, WOLA’s President Carolina Jiménez Sandoval and Venezuelan journalist and writer Hugo Prieto dive deep into the implications of democratic regression in Latin America for human rights and social justice, and the challenges it poses for relations with the United States, a country currently facing its own challenges to democracy.
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