For a long time, Latin America seemed to be one of the success stories of the “third wave” of democratization. Following democratic transitions in the 1980s and early 1990s, most countries in the region appeared to be on the path to democratic consolidation in the 2000s and early 2010s. In recent years, however, Latin America’s democratic consolidation has begun to unravel amid major populist challenges from both the left and the right. Nowadays, the crisis of democracy has become a global phenomenon and has intersected with challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic, economic recession, climate change, and the increasingly assertive role of autocratic powers like China and Russia that are exerting further pressures on democratic regimes. Bringing together experts on Latin American democracy from different countries, this workshop will study the contemporary trend of democratic regression and autocratization, but also instances of resilience and possibilities to defend democracy in Latin America.

This event was organized by IPSA Research Committee 34 Quality of Democracy and the Research Group on Quality of Democracy at the Institute of Advanced Studies of the University of São Paulo (IEA-USP). 

You can find the program here:

https://www.iea.usp.br/en/events/democracy-latin-america-regression-resilience

A recording of the event is available here:

https://www.iea.usp.br/midiateca/video/videos-2024/democracy-in-latin-america-regression-or-resilience