Zovatto warned of populist threat in Latin America – News

The III Latin American and Caribbean Global Forum 2021 closed this Saturday with a strong warning on the populist and authoritarian threat hanging over democracy in the region.

In the event that four former presidents of Latin America (Leonel Fernández, Ricardo Lagos, Laura Chinchilla and Ernesto Samper), experts, international and academic officials, Daniel Zovatto, regional director for America and the Caribbean of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) , asserted that the region is living in a time of profound political change, several of its countries are suffering from democratic erosion and deterioration (among them El Salvador and Nicaragua) and there is a high risk of new authoritarian regimes.

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The expert argued that this situation comes at a time when the Latin America and Caribbean region is experiencing a new electoral super cycle that began with the general elections held in Bolivia in October 2020 and will culminate in 2024, with the holding of elections. in several countries in the region.

Zovatto indicated that during this period, all Latin American countries, except Cuba, will go to the polls to elect or re-elect, by direct universal suffrage, their respective presidents and legislators.

He explained that in 2021 there will be five presidential and legislative elections. In Ecuador and Peru (already organized), and Chile, Nicaragua and Honduras (in November), while in El Salvador and Mexico legislative elections were held and in Argentina they will be held in November. Chile, for its part, held elections to choose 155 voters last May.

“This new super cycle promises to be complex, with a high level of uncertainty and multiple challenges in our region”, Zovatto warned during his speech at the Global Forum for Latin America and the Caribbean.

He claimed that the greatest risk is that this new electoral super cycle, due to the current complex economic and social scenario, citizen unrest and lack of trust in elites and traditional parties, paves the way for further polarization. and greater instability, and governability increasingly complex and facilitate the coming to power of new populist leaders.

Zovatto concluded his presentation by making a vehement call to defend democracy, to regain public confidence in elites and political institutions, to move forward towards a new generation democracy with the capacity to deliver results to the demands of citizens, and to strengthen regional protection mechanisms. , among them. the Inter-American Democratic Charter. In the current situation of marked deterioration and democratic erosion, he said, there is no time to waste.