Confronting the Challenges to Democracy in the 21st Century
Second World Assembly
November 12-15, 2000
São Paulo, Brazil
 |
Report Home
Message from the Steering Committee (html, pdf)
Democracy as a Starting Point (html, pdf)
Excerpts from the Keynote Address by
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
President of Brazil
Greetings from Around the World (html, pdf)
Democracy Courage Tributes (html, pdf)
Workshop Reports
Participants (html, pdf)
Press (html, pdf)
Assembly Support (html)
Download Acrobat Reader
|
Regional Workshops - Latin America and the Caribbean
Organizer:
Citizens Network for Democracy in the Americas
Rapporteur:
Elisabeth Ungar (Colombia)
Universidad de Los Andes
Moderator:
Bolívar Lamounier (Brazil)
Institute for Economic, Political and Social Studies of São Paulo (IDESP)
|
Presenters:
Sergio Aguayo (Mexico)
FUNDAR
Genaro Arriagada (Chile)
Former Ambassador of Chile to the U.S.
Fernando Carrillo-Florez (Colombia)
State and Civil Society Division, Inter-American Development Bank
|
Observations:
This is a very paradoxical time for Latin America, disturbing and interesting, positive and negative, all at once. While in some countries in the region it is evident that advances have been made in the consolidation of democratic institutions and practices, in others there are indications of offensives that pose serious threats to democratic regimes. Among the latter, the countries of the Andean region stand out. Even within those countries, there are areas in which there have been significant advances, such as improvements in the quality of electoral systems, respect for human rights, and the emergence of independent, solid, and rigorous judicial systems. However, in the most fragile democracies there are reasons for concern: weak civil control over the military; a growing centralization of power in the executive branch and a consequent weakening of the other branches of power; human rights violations; concentration of the media in the hands of the few; weak political institutions; disintegration of civil society; and alarming increases in poverty and economic inequality. This has all taken place in the presence of armed actors and other forces, such as narcotraffickers, who have demonstrated their strong destabilizing impact.
The participants agreed that the inability of democratic institutions to respond effectively and efficiently to the social, economic, and political demands of citizens has been the determining factor presently troubling the region. The problem is primarily political. As a result, the strengthening of institutions, mechanisms of participation and political representation, systems of checks and balances among the branches of public power, as well as the generation of a democratic political culture (to include the redefinition of civil-military relations), are a priority.
Challenges and Recommendations:
Recognizing the specific conditions, characteristics, and complexities of each of the diverse countries in the region, as well as the different visions of how to contribute to and construct and consolidate true democratic processes in Latin America, the participants identified a number of common challenges and recommendations, as follows.
Challenge: The strengthening of political parties is an indispensable condition for the survival and consolidation of democracy in Latin America.
Recommendations:
- Overcome the obstacles that have impeded the appropriate political representation of the elected.
- Adapt organizational structures (both internal and international) to new and changing social and economic conditions.
- Promote internal democracy in decision-making and the choice of candidates, and improve the definition of programs.
- Convert parties into efficient channels of political participation.
- Strengthen mechanisms for interaction between the state and civil society organizations.
- Develop parties that are more open, that are of the people, and that are as little bureaucratic and clientilistic as possible.
Challenge: Civil society should be a central actor in construction and reconstruction processes and in the strengthening of democratic systems. However, civil society organizations cannot act alone or in isolation from the larger political context, as often occurs in many countries in the region. In spite of new initiatives each day to achieve a more democratic politics, they remain limited by the difficulty of transforming them into political decisions.
Recommendations:
- One way to overcome the crisis of representation that affects some Latin American countries and weakens the exercise of democracy is to establish new areas of communication between civil society groups and political parties.
- Encouraging communication between civil society groups and political parties, referred to above, should be viewed within a broader objective, the recuperation and "dignification" of politics and the public sphere. This must go hand-in-hand with a new conception of citizenship and political activity based on the principles of accountability and public ethics.
Challenge: The search for better representation, more effective mechanisms for citizen control, and greater civic participation that will not put good governance at risk remains a challenge.
Recommendation:
Unlike those who raise the flags of "anti-politics," participants in the workshop recommended strong parties and movements and efficient and effective collegiate bodies and parliaments.
Challenge: While it is true that in the last decade there has been no major economic crisis in the region, and that the majority of the countries in the region have gone through a period of stability and macroeconomic growth, poverty and socioeconomic inequality continue to increase.
Recommendation:
The goals of political democracy and economic democracy cannot be separated.
General Recommendations:
- In light both of the foregoing and the report of the regional meeting in Cuernavaca, Mexico, on October 21, 2000 (in preparation for the World Movement's Second Assembly), a network should be created for political parties, academics, activists, business leaders, media persons, and civil society organizations to meet, discuss, critique, and exchange ideas and proposals. This network should be representative, pluralist, participative, and inclusive. Its mission should be to increase the value citizens and institutions place on democratic politics and to improve its quality.
- Going beyond analysis, the network should focus on the implementation of concrete actions that contribute to the achievement of this objective; disseminate "best practices"; attain a "critical mass" to take decisive and effective actions when democracy in a particular country appears to be threatened; and serve as an interlocutor with other countries and national and international organizations that are interested in promoting democracy in the hemisphere.
- Initially, the network should center on particular themes, such as democratic governance, political education and democratic values, relations between political parties and civil society, electoral systems and campaign finances, vigilance in accountability regarding public policies and resources, and transparency in the production and dissemination of information. All of these themes should incorporate challenges specifically faced by women.
- To advance the network, a Steering Committee was chosen composed of the following individuals: Sergio Aguayo (Mexico), Genaro Arriagada (Chile), Mercedes de Freitas (Venezuela), Orlando Gutiérrez (Cuba, U.S.-based), Bolívar Lamounier (Brazil), Christopher Sabatini (U.S.), Elizabeth Spehar (Canada); Elisabeth Ungar (Colombia); and Daniel Zovatto (Argentina). The committee was charged with the mandate of launching the network, giving it structure, and establishing a work plan that allows for the effective and efficient attainment of its objectives.
With assistance from the World Movement for Democracy Secretariat, the Citizens Network for Democracy in the Americas was launched in March 2001 with a Web site organized around nearly 20 themes. It provides information about organizations participating in the network, funding sources focused on the region, citations of recent research, sources of "best practices," and a forum for sharing information and building collaborative strategies. It also includes the report on the preparatory meeting held in Cuernavaca, Mexico, in October 2000.
|
