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Hofgeismar Latin America Symposium 2025: The Political Right in Latin America (24-26 January 2025)

Hofgeismar Latin America Symposium 2025

24 – 26 January 2025

The Political Right in Latin America

The democratic regimes in Latin America are facing many challenges. On the one hand, a strong state seems necessary to successfully shape the socio-economic transition toward a sustainable future. On the other hand, economic crises, inflation and debt, social polarisation, corruption and nepotism are increasingly putting democratic legitimacy under pressure. We are witnessing the return of authoritarianism and right-wing extremism across the region. Progressive attempts at reform in the first two decades of the 21st Century have largely failed, despite many left-leaning governments’ attempts to make their economies more productive and sustainable while increasing political and social participation. Conversely, politicians and parties on the right channel this loss of legitimacy, polarising civil societies, instrumentalizing discontent and protest, promoting hate sentiments and cultures of rejection, and mobilizing through new (social) media and cultural discourses. Their strategies often consist of populist anti-politics, which stigmatizes the political elite, declares them the enemy, propagates anti-systemic agitation, and implements measures that weaken democracy.

In an environment of stagnation and powerlessness, right-wing populism creates a sense of collective empowerment and relief. However, it does not offer a realistic evaluation of the problems at hand or meaningful solutions. On the contrary, social divisions deepen further, conflicts become more violent, state action becomes more repressive, and a democratic consensus and social cohesion become increasingly more challenging to reach.

Democratic regimes in Latin America have not yet found any satisfactory answers to these new developments. Instead, the question arises as to whether liberal democracy has limits in enabling a socially and ecologically balanced transformation and what alternatives are there to secure democracy in the long term. The conference will approach these current trends based on theoretical frames as well as specific country studies and discuss conclusions for cooperation and development between Germany/Europe and Latin America.

 

    Further details, program and registration: 

https://akademie-hofgeismar.de/veranstaltung/die-politische-rechte-in-lateinamerika/

 

    Flyer:

https://akademie-hofgeismar.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Tagung_Die_politische_Rechte_in_Lateinamerika_EAH.pdf