Democracy and Human Rights in Latin America

                   There is not real democracy without respect for all human rights and rule of law. Latin America policymakers have to make human rights more truly respected in the region. For this, we all have to  fight corruption, exclusion in the politics and electoral systems, and impunity when our human rights are violated. For example, the most important human rights, the right to life. The killers must be more punished, so we can have a more peaceful region. Latin America has not done much progress in the fight against violence, something has to be done to lower the homicide rates.  This post is a summary of the report with the title above published in January 2022 at   https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2022/698868/EPRS_BRI(2022)698868_EN.pdf

                     Since the mid-1980, Latin America has enjoyed long and broad democratic expansion, and has made considerable progress with regard to free elections and respect for human rights. Standards vary widely however: while Costa Rica, Uruguay and Chile stand out in all classifications as the most free and democratic, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba remain at the bottom of the table. However, the tide may be turning for this successful 'third democratic wave' in Latin America, as many countries suffer democratic erosion or even backsliding. The progressive decline of democratic indicators in the region has been exacerbated by factors such as the self-interest of the ruling elite or rampant corruption in some countries. The E.U. has contributed to democracy and human rights in the region by sending election observation missions, participating in initiatives such as the Colombia peace process and its implementation. According to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), the greatest change in the 'third wave' of democratisation that began around 1978 has been in Latin America's political culture, as democracy has prospered in the region. The main issue now is not democracy itself, but how to improve it and make it work more effectively (its qualitative aspects). Experts also agree that the situation in the region has improved in general terms: There are more consolidated democracies, more social protection policies. Poverty has been reduced and the middle class has grown. The biggest challenge now is to maintain this process over the medium and long term. Only three countries, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba stand out at the bottom of the table for being authoritarian regimes; and they are also the last in the Human Freedom Index. Also at the near bottom of the table are El Salvador, Guatemala, Bolivia and Honduras, classified as hybrid regimes (characterised to some degree by irregularities in elections, widespread corruption and weak rule of law, frequent harassment of journalists). Despite the positive aspects, most experts agree that this successful 'third democratic wave' in Latin America may be on the wane. In an article on the deteriorating quality of democracy in Latin America, Daniel Zovatto (IDEA) stress that some countries, such as Brazil, have suffered 'democratic erosion' in recent years, while others (Honduras, Guatemala, Paraguay, Bolivia) show different degrees of democratic fragility. Nevertheless, other analysts are more optimistic and believe that, despite increasing populism and polarisation in the region, Latin America democracy is resilient than appearances may suggest: opinion polls show that only around a fifth of Latin Americans might welcome authoritarian government; furthermore, recent decades of democratic experience have consolidated a culture of citizens' rights and political participation. In countries such as Brazil and Mexico, populism is given as the possible reason for the decline. In countries such as Guatemala and Honduras, the problems of democracy reflect the weakness of the state. However, interfence by various governments with the independence of the judiciary and attacks on civil society pose a danger for democracy in the region.The human rights situation in Latin America has also deteriorated in the 2020-2021 period. Latin America was the world's most violent region in 2020, with Venezuela and Honduras in the lead regarding homicides rates (45.6 and 37.6 per 100000 inhabitants, respectively) Mexico was the deadliest country for journalists, with nine killings, followed by Honduras, with four. Mexico recorded over 77000 people reported disappeared , including nearly 5000 in the first nine months of 2020. Brazil was the country recording most killings of trans and gender-diverse people in the world, 152 between September 2019 and September 2020, 40% of the world total. Latin America was also the world's deadliest region for human rights defenders in 2020, with 264 killings; Colombia, with 177 killings, remained the world's most lethal country for human rights defenders; other dangerous countries were Honduras with 20 killings, Mexico with 19 and Brazil with 16. The E.U. is a steadfast supporter of democracy and human rights. The E.U.'s strategic framework on human rights and democracy. 'Building resilient, inclusive and democratic societies and promoting a global system for human rights and democracy are among the five overarching priorities identified in the action plan, which also focuses on the link between global environmental challenges and human rights. There is a worsening crisis of representative democracy in Latin America: trust in legislatures was at a meagre 20%, while trust in political parties fell to just 13% in 2020. Latin America is the third most corrupt region in the world (after Africa and Middle East), it has the highest levels of crime and violence, and the rule of law remains a weak point. Governments' approval ratings have been falling steadily in the last decade, and there is an increasing citizen perception that the political elite rule for the benefit of a privileged minority.