Tamara Taraciuk Broner, director of the Peter D. Bell Rule of Law Program at the Inter-American Dialogue, spoke with CGTN America regarding Ecuador’s security crisis in the wake of recent events.
In Latin America’s 2024 electoral super-cycle, voters seem likely to reward leaders who address their most fundamental needs—in some cases regardless of whether they value democracy, clean government or the rule of law.
Testimony by Program Director Tamara Taraciuk Broner to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, on Organized Crime, Gangs, and Human Rights in Latin America.
Amid Venezuela’s crisis and the upcoming 2024 presidential elections, a potential opportunity for a democratic transition may emerge. The escalating authoritarianism, human rights abuses, and dire humanitarian situation underscore the critical importance of addressing these challenges while also identifying opportunities for transition to occur.
As Venezuela’s presidential elections, scheduled for 2024, draw closer, the international community’s attention is primarily focused on how to use leverage to ensure minimal electoral conditions. US high-level officials have publicly said they would ease some of the economic and political sanctions imposed on the country in exchange for meaningful concessions by Nicolas Maduro’s government, and there is clearly an ongoing back channel between US and Venezuelan authorities along these lines. While this discussion is essential, it often overshadows a vital aspect of the conversation—the plan for what comes next. No transition of power is possible without a clear path forward after election day.
In El Salvador, the government of Nayib Bukele has posed a significant challenge to democracy in the region. His security policies, which have yielded positive results in reducing insecurity rates, have led to serious abuses and were made possible through prior measures that concentrated the power in the executive branch. These policies have also boosted the popularity of the Salvadoran president. This highlights the need to promote democratic and effective alternatives to address insecurity in the region.
In Latin America today, traditional coups are no longer the biggest threat to liberal democracy. More perilous are democratically elected leaders who, once in power, deliberately and gradually undermine basic guarantees, such as judicial autonomy, electoral integrity, independent press work and free expression.
Tamara Taraciuk Broner, director of the Peter D. Bell Rule of Law Program at the Inter-American Dialogue, spoke with Channel 4 in the United Kingdom on President Nayib Bukele’s state of emergency and its impact on rights.
As Guatemalans got ready to vote in presidential, legislative, and local elections scheduled for June 25, 2023, the Inter-American Dialogue hosted a panel discussion with Guatemalan experts on the overall context in which these elections would take place.
On March 31, 2022, the Inter-American Dialogue hosted a public event to present its biennial Sol M. Linowitz policy report titled: “The Case for Renewed Cooperation in a Troubled Hemisphere: Towards the Ninth Summit of the Americas”. During the event, panelists discussed the main findings and recommendations of the report and analyzed the current state of regional and hemispheric cooperation.
On March 8, 2021, the Inter-American Dialogue, WOLA, Cristosal and DPLF hosted an event to discuss the recent legislative elections in El Salvador on January 28, how democratic governance has been challenged in the country in recent years, and how the United States–El Salvador relationship can change given the new US administration.
Michael Camilleri spoke as a panelist at a public event on July 29, 2020 hosted by the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA). The panel discussed the current state of anti-corruption efforts and rule of law in Latin America and the Trump administration’s impact on human rights and democracy in the region.
Michael Camilleri
Event Summaries ˙
˙ Washington Office on Latin America
Manuel Orozco was interviewed on February 14, 2020 by Gonzalo Abarca from VOA Noticias: Foro Interamericano to discuss the H2A visas for Guatamalans, Nayib Bukele’s display of military force and Juan Guaidó’s international tour.