Democracy in Latin America lives in a state of constant threat, coerced by the authoritarian drift in some States in the region, as well as by the ineffectiveness of governments to promote urgent social reforms, which deepens inequalities. This was stated this Thursday by Fernando Carrillo, first vice president of Grupo Prisa, during an event in Madrid organized by the Euroamérica Foundation. “The media have to defend democracy and someone has to do it because it will not survive alone,” he said.
Carrillo (Bogotá, 60 years old) has warned of the “hyperpresidentialism” model in different Latin American countries, in which the Executive concentrates more and more power, and which has intensified in recent years —mainly since the pandemic—, with states of exception and emergency laws. “There were great setbacks in social matters and international cooperation entered into a deep crisis,” he stated during the event. The democratic challenges of the fight against inequality and violence in Latin America.
Given this panorama, the lawyer and economist considers it reasonable that the opposition parties won the most recent elections in countries such as Colombia, Chile or Brazil. Essentially, with a promise to combat inequalities through social reforms. “[Presidentes como el colombiano Gustavo Petro] They have generated a great commitment to the streets, but that has also translated into another form of plebiscitary-type authoritarianism. That is, they govern with the street, instead of with the institutions, which have often fallen short of their responsibilities,” he assured.
However, Carrillo continues, inequality remains one of the main problems that must be resolved, which also highlights insecurities: legal, economic and territorial. It is also the formula for a new rise in organized crime, established “from Mexico to Argentina.” To combat it, he points out, it is necessary to do so within the framework of human rights. “It is very easy to achieve security by putting democracy first,” said the vice president of Grupo Prisa in reference to the Government of El Salvador, headed by President Nayib Bukele, which has implemented a model criticized by the international community and NGOs to fight gang violence.
That is why, for Carrillo, “the first line of defense of democracy in Latin America is freedom of the press.” According to him, while politics is turning democracy “into its scapegoat,” freedom of the press is its bastion. “The media have a great responsibility that is now becoming more acute with the presence of artificial intelligence, so we have to constantly contrast the information.”
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Withdrawal of the democratic spirit
The position of young people in the face of the authoritarian drift of governments should be an aspect of concern. Carrillo has cited the most recent Latinobarómetro report, a survey carried out in 2023 based on 20,000 interviews with people from 18 Latin American countries, in which a drop in support for democracy is recorded. Only 48% support it over another government model, which means a decrease of 15 percentage points from 63% in 2010 data. In addition, the study shows that young people between 16 and 25 years old support authoritarian models more. (20%) compared to those over 61 years of age (13%).
“The new generation, the native democrats—those who did not have to fight to consolidate a democracy—take their freedoms for granted. “We are seeing an imperceptible withdrawal of the democratic spirit,” the executive has warned.
Finally, Carrillo concluded with a call to action for the private sector to commit to social and human development efforts. “Entrepreneurship is crucial because they are the guarantors of employment and this is the core of social policies.”
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