PAST CONFERENCE INFORMATION

THEME

Freedom is facing extraordinary challenges in the Americas, as nine countries recorded overall score declines in 2023, and none registered improvements. This negative trend was driven by crackdowns against political opponents and escalating criminal violence, which has led to severe erosion of democratic institutions. As a result, societies have been divided by ideas and have seen cleavages deepen that increase discrimination, violence, and repression against excluded and already repressed segments, including women, Afro-Latinos, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ peoples. In addition, crime and security issues in Latin America have not been the exclusive domain of a country or a sub-region, as in the past. Extraordinary upsurges in violence have plagued Costa Rica, Panama, and Paraguay, as well as the port cities of Guayaquil and Rosario in Ecuador and Argentina, respectively. Crime has risen steeply in Chile and Uruguay, long considered strongholds of regional calm. Beyond strengthening law and order institutions, cross-border cooperation has recently been emphasized as gangs and cartels spread beyond national borders. Along with these circumstances, economic inequality, poverty, and environmental issues create conditions that favor displacement and migration of large segments of the population willing to take enormous risks to seek better conditions. Inter-regional migration has become a crisis as over 6 million—more than 20% of Venezuela's population—has left the country, and 80% is spread throughout Latin America. In addition, north migratory flows are now not only regional but global—from Europe, Africa, and Asia. Not to mention the tragedy of Haiti, which has become a global wound nobody appears able to heal.  

Despite these challenges, formal democracy is still the dominant type of government in the Americas. Twenty-two of the 35 countries in the region were classified as free according to Freedom House in 2023, making the Americas one of the freest territories in the world. Indeed, the ballot box proved a powerful tool for democratic renewal and, in many cases, was propelled by traditionally excluded minorities in the region. For example, in Guatemala, Indigenous voters helped thrust anticorruption candidate Bernardo Arévalo to the presidency after surviving an onslaught of legal challenges. Elsewhere, citizens organize and mobilize to defend civic freedoms, fight for social justice and equality, defend democratic values, and demand environmental action and sustainability. Social movements and organizations have proven to be forces capable of solving immediate problems and needs that governments are unable to overcome or unwilling to address. At the same time, they have had the ability to put pressure on governments to pass much-needed legislation, using public protests and social media to make their voices heard. However, their work has not always been welcome. Many activists have faced repression, persecution, and death due to their high level of influence and the obstacles they represent for political and economic elites. Many artists have also used their platforms to express their support for change, often receiving a public backlash for their involvement.

​

It remains to be seen whether democracy and human rights will prevail over authoritarianism and demagoguery in 21st-century Latin America.  ​

​