{"id":445,"date":"2018-09-26T17:18:36","date_gmt":"2018-09-26T17:18:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.globalforumlac.org\/?p=445"},"modified":"2018-10-02T22:08:18","modified_gmt":"2018-10-02T22:08:18","slug":"experto-dice-en-america-latina-la-calidad-de-la-democracia-ha-bajado-significativamente","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.globalforumlac.org\/2018\/en\/experto-dice-en-america-latina-la-calidad-de-la-democracia-ha-bajado-significativamente\/","title":{"rendered":"Expert says the quality of democracy in Latin America has dropped significantly"},"content":{"rendered":"

N<\/span><\/span>EW YORK <\/span><\/span>\u2013<\/span><\/span> The \u00a0Latin American and <\/span><\/span>Caribbean regions are <\/span><\/span>currently <\/span><\/span>experiencing a notorious drop in the quality of its democracy. <\/span><\/span>Expert Daniel Zovatto, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean for the IDEA Internacional organization, revealed during <\/span><\/span>a keynote speech <\/span><\/span>statements delivered during the Global Forum for Latin America and the Caribbean being held in New York City with the support of the <\/span><\/span>Global Foundation for De<\/span><\/span>mocracy and Development (GFDD) and its sister organization in the Dominican Republic, the <\/span><\/span>Fundaci\u00f3n Global Democracia y Desarrollo<\/span><\/span>(Funglode). <\/span><\/span>T<\/span><\/span>he event is headed by Dr. Leonel Fern\u00e1ndez, the former President of the Dominican Republic. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In his keynote presentation, titled \u201cElectoral Super Cycle 2018,\u201d <\/span><\/span>Zovatto <\/span><\/span>highlighted that the apparent drop in the quality of democracy in the region is marked by the impact of high-profile corruption scandals, and the issue of insecurity. \u00a0These issues \u2013 said Zovatto \u2013 negatively impact the <\/span><\/span>region\u2019s <\/span><\/span>political, social and economic <\/span><\/span>sectors.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Zovatto <\/span><\/span>also explained that recent professional surveys carried out have determined an important drop in the credibility of the institutions that are the mainstay of democracy, a situation that he considers worrisome.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He also reiterated that<\/span><\/span> in the last few years there have<\/span><\/span> been changes in Administrations in Colombia and Mexico, and possibly in Brazil, <\/span><\/span>marking <\/span><\/span>a clear tendency in the region. <\/span><\/span>At the same time, he indicated that in 2019 there will be elections in six countries in the hemisphere, \u00a0including Argentina, Bolivia and Uruguay, <\/span><\/span>where concerns have b<\/span><\/span>een expressed regarding the outcome of the<\/span><\/span>se<\/span><\/span> electoral processes.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Zovatto <\/span><\/span>also discussed the situations currently faced by the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas<\/span><\/span> (ALBA), <\/span><\/span>the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELA) and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>According<\/span><\/span> to the expert, all these institutions are losing their impact in the region. <\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In order to put a stop to the weakening of the quality of democracy in the region, Z<\/span><\/span>ovatto <\/span><\/span>recommended the need for the region\u2019s leaders <\/span><\/span>to <\/span><\/span>place greater emphasis in the execution of policies that will create more quality jobs, combat inequality and put an end to corruption and impunity.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The international expert explained that the loss of faith in democracy has <\/span><\/span>also <\/span><\/span>been encouraged by the slowdown of the economy, which makes the <\/span><\/span>overall \u00a0situation <\/span><\/span>even more disconcerting. <\/span><\/span>“<\/span><\/span>[The region] is going backwards when it comes to inequality and poverty,\u201d said Zovatto.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Zovatto <\/span><\/span>highlighted that the Dominican Republic is an exceptional case in the region because the country has a political party that has won various consecutive electoral processes, <\/span><\/span>and <\/span><\/span>currently has a majority in Congress.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Panelist participants <\/span><\/span>in t<\/span><\/span>he event<\/span><\/span> included: <\/span><\/span>Mar\u00eda Victoria Murillo, <\/span><\/span>Political Science and International Public Relations professor\/Columbia University, and <\/span><\/span>M\u00f3nica Pach\u00f3n, <\/span><\/span>Dean of the <\/span><\/span>Universidad del Rosario, <\/span><\/span>in <\/span><\/span>Bogot\u00e1. <\/span><\/span>Also, G<\/span><\/span>erardo de Icaza, <\/span><\/span>Alternate Secretary for the Strengthening of Democracy of the Organi<\/span><\/span>zation of American States (OAS)<\/span><\/span> and <\/span><\/span>Marcela Berland, <\/span><\/span>president of <\/span><\/span>Latin Insights.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The panel of experts was moderated by <\/span><\/span>Jos\u00e9 C. Moya, <\/span><\/span>Director of the Institute of Latin American Studies\/<\/span><\/span>Columbia<\/span><\/span> University<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In her intervention, panelist <\/span><\/span>Mar\u00eda Victoria Murillo <\/span><\/span>stated that the situation presented by <\/span><\/span>Zovatto <\/span><\/span>has been provoked by the weaknesses of the regional elector<\/span><\/span>al systems, the ineffectiveness of State policies and social inequality throughout the region, which continues <\/span><\/span>to be <\/span><\/span>the most unequal in the world.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, <\/span><\/span>M\u00f3nica Pach\u00f3n<\/span><\/span> suggested that in order to reverse this trend it is imperative to introdu<\/span><\/span>ce<\/span><\/span> policies that will guarantee that the democratic processes be more <\/span><\/span>inclusive and effective in all aspects of society.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Panelist <\/span><\/span>Gerardo de Icaza <\/span><\/span>suggested that the weakness exhibited in the democratic structures in the region is due to the crisis present in key elements of the system, including in the areas of freedom of expression, transparency and respect for human rights.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, <\/span><\/span>Marcela Berl<\/span><\/span>and <\/span><\/span>highlighted the <\/span><\/span>impact s<\/span><\/span>ocial media is having on the current electoral processes, an element that must be taken seriously both by governm<\/span><\/span>ents and <\/span><\/span>p<\/span><\/span>olitical parties. \u00a0She explained that in light of this reality the governments and the parties must work harder to improve <\/span><\/span>their<\/span><\/span>\u00a0relationship with society.<\/span><\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Latin American and Caribbean regions are currently experiencing a notorious drop in the quality of its democracy. Expert Daniel Zovatto, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean for the IDEA Internacional organization, revealed during a keynote speech statements delivered during the Global Forum for Latin America and the Caribbean being held in New York City with the support of the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and its sister organization in the Dominican Republic, the Fundaci\u00f3n Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode). The event is headed by Dr. Leonel Fern\u00e1ndez, the former President of the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalforumlac.org\/2018\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalforumlac.org\/2018\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalforumlac.org\/2018\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalforumlac.org\/2018\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalforumlac.org\/2018\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalforumlac.org\/2018\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":547,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalforumlac.org\/2018\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445\/revisions\/547"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalforumlac.org\/2018\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalforumlac.org\/2018\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalforumlac.org\/2018\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalforumlac.org\/2018\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}