Pandemic increased authoritairianism in Latin America

The COVID pandemic increased authoritarianism in Latin America, as it was used by some governments to justify emergency measures, manipulate information or militarize some sectors, says the representative in the region of the philanthropic foundation of billionaire George Soros.

Although before there were already tendencies towards authoritarianism in the region, the pandemic strengthened them in a global context of democratic deterioration, lawyer Pedro Abramovay, director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Open Society Foundations, interview with Efe.

The Foundation was create in 1984 by the Hungarian investor Soros, one of the world’s leading philanthropists.

Abramova was responsible for defining the destination of the $70 million that the Soros Foundation distributed just last year among non-governmental organizations in Latin America, mainly linked to the defense of democracy and human rights, but also environmentalists. and humanitarian.

The Open Society Foundations, with offices in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico, financed organizations from these three countries, as well as Central America, Venezuela, Argentina, Peru, and Haiti, among others.

According to the 40-year-old lawyer and doctor in political science, who was National Secretary of Justice in the Government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2003-2011), support for democracy in Latin America is more vital today than before in the face of deterioration suffered during the pandemic.

“The pandemic has brought great risks to democracy in general. One could already see authoritarian tendencies in the region before the pandemic, but I think authoritarianism grew well during the pandemic. This can be seen in the possibility for governments to manipulate information, to use emergency measures, and often to control the pandemic by militarized means. All of this I think had serious consequences for the region, ”he said.

Abramova added that, if on the side of the State the pandemic allowed the growth of authoritarianism in the region, on the side of society it promoted solidarity and a stronger civil movement, which tries to occupy the space forgotten by the State and which has to be supported.

Among the countries in which he believes authoritarianism grew during the pandemic, he cited Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, and El Salvador.

“I believe that in El Salvador, without a doubt, and, again, it was a space in which previous authoritarian tendencies were already seen but which grew during the pandemic, especially in the treatment of immigrant groups. In Chile, I think that the police repression that already existed and grew last year is something very strong and dangerous for democracy, ”he said.

“In Peru, without a doubt, the repression was also seen in the context of processes that even resulted in the departure of the president. In Bolivia, before the elections, the transitional government also used harsh measures against human rights during the pandemic. And in Brazil, without a doubt a type of government was consolidated that manipulates information, that uses this in the most violent way against the population, “he added.

In his opinion, authoritarianism in the region is not related to governments of the right or the left, but rather to populism.