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CLARIN

Democracy In Latin America Should Not Be Taken For Granted

After decades of dictatorship, democracy in Latin America seemed destined to take root through the 1990s. But from Brazil to Nicaragua, things can change quickly.

A soldier in charge of security for the UNASUR in Brasilia
A soldier in charge of security for the UNASUR in Brasilia
Norberto Consani and Juan Alberto Rial

-Analysis-

BUENOS AIRES — Even as Argentina struggles to resolve its fiscal deficit, a more disconcerting shortfall haunts the entire region: a democratic deficit.

In 1983, our country enjoyed that Churchillian "worst form of government" (except for all others), after the end of military rule due in part to the army's defeat in 1982. Initially it was alone in the region, though by the 1990s other countries had joined the democracy wave and there was a feeling that it was now bound to be the norm for the foreseeable future.

This developed to the extent that even in the worst crisis of our recent history (December 2001) we looked for collective solutions in the framework of institutional arrangements. At that time, the region adopted the Inter-American Democratic Charter to consolidate what seemed already an irreversible choice for its countries.

A failed reform of the social security system has provoked a national crisis.

Similar initiatives followed in our preferential zone of cooperation: The Ushuaia Protocol (with a democratic clause for members and associates of Mercosur), and the Additional Protocol to the Constitutive Treaty of UNASUR on Commitment to Democracy. One could only conclude that the Southern Cone, South America and all continental states now maintained democracy to be a common value to share and safeguard.

And yet just when it seemed consolidated, signs of structural cracks appeared. There was the rapid political trial and destitution of Paraguay's president, Fernando Lugo, threatening sounds against the Bolivian President Evo Morales; the controversial 2009 removal of the Honduran president, Manuel Zelaya; the increasingly authoritarian traits of the Bolivarian experiment in Venezuela and the more-than-questionable sacking of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff that forced institutions to act in an unacceptable way and pave the way for an essentially illegitimate successor government.

Chavez-Maduro-regime

A demonstrator with the face painted in the colors of the Venezuelan flag — Photo: Xinhua/ZUMA

Democracy is a value that must be preserved beyond ideologies or political affiliations. Dictators can emerge from the putative Left or Right, regardless of who or how they wish to be labeled and qualified.

The most recent events threatening regional democracy are those staining Nicaragua, as police and paramilitaries loyal to the regime of President Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo stamp out street protests with deadly force. A failed reform of the social security system has provoked a national crisis, as people have taken the opportunity to come out to denounce the couple's corruption and abuses, and demand their departure.

Neither Left nor Right have a monopoly of institutions or democracy.

Two and half months on and with multiple deaths, repression seems the only language the regime can use to "talk to" opposition movements. It has systematically failed to hear calls by the country's Bishops' Conference, the Organization of American States and the UN, and exacerbated the crisis. We see with Nicaragua that there is no democracy without a collective commitment to build it in every aspect of our lives.

Neither Left nor Right have a monopoly of institutions or democracy. Our duty as citizens is to not allow ourselves to be robbed of the right to choose our destiny, as has happened too often in the past. If it comes to that, we all know too well the tragic consequences that are bound to follow.

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Society

What's Spoiling The Kids: The Big Tech v. Bad Parenting Debate

Without an extended family network, modern parents have sought to raise happy kids in a "hostile" world. It's a tall order, when youngsters absorb the fears (and devices) around them like a sponge.

Image of a kid wearing a blue striped sweater, using an ipad.

Children exposed to technology at a very young age are prominent today.

Julián de Zubiría Samper

-Analysis-

BOGOTÁ — A 2021 report from the United States (the Youth Risk Behavior Survey) found that 42% of the country's high-school students persistently felt sad and 22% had thought about suicide. In other words, almost half of the country's young people are living in despair and a fifth of them have thought about killing themselves.

Such chilling figures are unprecedented in history. Many have suggested that this might be the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but sadly, we can see depression has deeper causes, and the pandemic merely illustrated its complexity.

I have written before on possible links between severe depression and the time young people spend on social media. But this is just one aspect of the problem. Today, young people suffer frequent and intense emotional crises, and not just for all the hours spent staring at a screen. Another, possibly more important cause may lie in changes to the family composition and authority patterns at home.

Firstly: Families today have fewer members, who communicate less among themselves.

Young people marry at a later age, have fewer children and many opt for personal projects and pets instead of having children. Families are more diverse and flexible. In many countries, the number of children per woman is close to or less than one (Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong among others).

In Colombia, women have on average 1.9 children, compared to 7.6 in 1970. Worldwide, women aged 15 to 49 years have on average 2.4 children, or half the average figure for 1970. The changes are much more pronounced in cities and among middle and upper-income groups.

Of further concern today is the decline in communication time at home, notably between parents and children. This is difficult to quantify, but reasons may include fewer household members, pervasive use of screens, mothers going to work, microwave ovens that have eliminated family cooking and meals and, thanks to new technologies, an increase in time spent on work, even at home. Our society is addicted to work and devotes little time to minors.

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