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Chilean Marta Lagos (Santiago, 66) interweaves descriptions of some of the most miserable corners of Latin America with phrases about the direction she sees as the region. But in his speech, the figures, the trends and the percentages with which, on certain occasions, anticipated the paths taken by the continent, abound. Lagos is the founder of the Latinobarómetro Research Institute, the largest in Latin America, which has existed for more than 25 years. The latest survey of the company, published in November, reveals that Latinos who consider themselves a lower clbad have increased from 45% in 2017 to 51% in 2018. In an interview Wednesday at the Casa América de Madrid, that this shared perception by half of the citizens of the region largely explains the crisis of democracy in Latin America, which has intensified in its badessment in 2018.
Question According to the latest Latinobarómetro, the economic situation is the main problem of Latin Americans. To what extent does it explain the results of the last electoral processes?
Answer The lack of attention of governments and political parties to the economic situation of the region is one of the main reasons why people have lost confidence in democracy. The parties are directed to the middle clbad, which has certainly evolved over the last few years but leaves out those who suffer from the deepest inequalities. And this in Latin America, where the poor are always the same for several generations. It is the neglect of democracy that has manifested itself in recent electoral processes.
P. The survey reveals that the number of people "indifferent" to democracy has increased from 16% to 28% in eight years.
R. These almost 30% of the indifferent are due to the exhaustion of politicization, to a misunderstood policy. It's a response to the absence, in partisan agendas, of realities such as people who do not reach the end of the month, who are without education or health, or who die at the door of a hospital. All these problems are treated as second-rate problems. The ideological polarization expressed in public has not solved the situation of many people and has generated some disdain for democracy.
P. Does this rejection of the parties explain the election of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil and Andrés Manuel López Obrador in Mexico?
R. Without doubt. These countries are the leaders of this phenomenon, which consists in the fact that the party system ceases to represent the majority and ends up encapsulating itself in an ideological struggle between walls, without being able to grasp the new demands of the population.
P. The triumph of Bolsonaro occurred in a country where support for democracy increased from 81% to 56% in 10 years. Can the victories of similar candidates be repeated in other countries of the region?
R. The election of Brazil finally confirmed a trajectory that this country had already started years ago. Brazil has been in deep crisis for a long time: institutions are on the ground and people do not believe in parties or governments. It's been 10 years that [o fenômeno] Bolsonaro is happening. Although this gentleman has had several mandates as a parliamentarian, he now stands as someone who comes from outside and who says, "I have nothing to do with these guys. . " Something similar happened with Lopez Obrador. Voters have chosen to break with the traditional. Of course, this can be repeated elsewhere. In Paraguay, more than 20% of the population declares itself authoritarian. in Bolivia, Evo Morales' decision to run for a fourth term provoked a major social reaction; violence in several countries of Central America does not stop. Democracy can not contain inequality, violence, or guarantee political alternation. If there is something in crisis in Latin America, that is representative democracy. I would exclude only Argentina, Uruguay and Chile as candidate countries to choose subjects like Bolsonaro, because in these countries, but not completely, democracy has actually been translated into a power for citizens . What do citizens expect from leaders antiestablishment as Bolsonaro and López Obrador?
R. Bolsonaro was chosen by 50 million Brazilians, who are exactly the same as those who, in other richer countries, such as Chile and Uruguay, want a smartphone and the world that They see it. Bolsonaro is not a dictator, as many say, and he could not be, even if he tried. Why Because it has against half of the country, and will still have 50 million Brazilians in the street. Who voted for him are people who saw the world outside and who said, "And we, why do not we do it? If that's what they promised us! "If you look at expectations data from Latin America, you will find that it is a flat line. The leaders have promised for years, but … woe to those who do not hold what they promise! In Latin America, there is a gap between what we want and what we want to be. And as this gap is not reduced, we opt for solutions that mean a break with the traditional. Bolsonaro could be interpreted as the break that the Brazilian political system needs to be reformed, because for the moment, this system can not be fought within.
P. And what can reverse the tendency to choose such leaders?
R. Great social movements are expected to manifest in the street for various issues, such as health, corruption or wages, for example. It would be a good thing that these mobilizations lead to reactions from governments that are not only a question of politics, but rather to answer to the problems that Mexico has been waiting for for 25 years. Or for the citizens of Brazil, where it is illusory to think that the fundamental thing is Lula, the only really important thing is to survive.
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