Democratic Communications Network

Meeting in Bogotá, within the framework of the X Latin American and Caribbean Conference of Social Sciences of CLACSO, the CLACSO Working Groups Political Economy of Information, Communication and Culture; Appropriation of Digital Technologies and Intersectionalities, and Communication, Cultures and PoliticsThey are calling on social organizations to engage in dialogue and action regarding the current state of social communications in the region. Within this framework, we are creating and inviting participation in the Democratic Communications Network (RDC), as a critical response to the current situation presented by the new global information order.

Our purpose is to build this space for dialogue and cooperation between academia and organized civil society and to illuminate situated action strategies, with citizen participation based on the construction of common goods, the promotion of human rights, care and solidarity.

The creation of the DRC It is important to foster reflection, debate, and contributions to public information and communication policies on issues of regional interest, at a historical moment in which communications not only structure social discourse by amplifying the power of media groups and marginalizing and rendering invisible other urgent citizen agendas, but also have a much broader impact, being fundamental in today's class struggle. As a result of processes such as the globalization of capital, financialization, and the development of digital technologies within the framework of capitalist restructuring, corporations organized as digital platforms have grown based on neoliberal ideology, sustained by state policies that, through action or omission, facilitated private intervention in the sector.

In a context of multiple and profound crises of capitalism, of which the economic and climate crises are dramatic expressions, with the rise of the far right, the threat of world war and nuclear holocaust looming large, and a genocide unfolding live on social media with the support of traditional media outlets and the technological apparatus of the very same platform corporations, it is clear that this is no longer a mere struggle for meaning. The participation of Big Tech, not only in the manipulation of public opinion but directly in genocidal acts, makes evident the need for a radical change in the structure of communication systems in general and in the internet economy in particular, in order to guarantee truly solidarity-based and democratic forms of human society.

The challenges are growing with the current development of Artificial Intelligence. The expansion of emerging technologies within capitalist frameworks will have significant consequences, especially for workers with lower incomes and less education, thus exacerbating inequality. This dynamic is also impacting cultural and intellectual work, such as that of journalists and teachers, which will affect the critical understanding of this process. There will also be difficulties in adapting our countries' production systems to these new possibilities, and it is not a given that the workers who lose their jobs will be able to acquire the necessary skills for retraining.

It is important to highlight how these processes reiterate historical problems in the region, such as the attacks on Cuba. We call for the dissemination and visibility of the devastation that the blockade continues to cause, leading to a current crisis of blackouts lasting more than 13 hours. This is compounded by the media boycott, where, in actions like those of March of this year, YouTubers and influencers paid from the United States exploit social protests to distort reality and further destabilize the Cuban political system.

The projection toward a shared horizon demands the construction of democratic communication and the subordination of technological development to the needs of the people. This is not a strictly technological requirement, much less a linear vision that ignores local cultural, social, and environmental contexts. It is, in reality, about defending sovereignty as a way to stimulate cultural autonomy and the need for an alternative life project that incorporates communicative and technological dimensions. This cannot exist, as in the old capitalist national development projects, outside of the class struggle, which must include an understanding of the importance of ways of life that contradict capital and the importance of a different relationship with nature. Nor is it possible to ignore structuring dynamics such as patriarchy, racism, and exclusion as axes that are expressed in the media, supported by powerful elements, in the construction of mass followers, in the cultural battle, and in the emergence of movements that exclude and marginalize difference in all its expressions, primarily oriented toward the rise of the so-called new right.

Given the new information regime that is unfolding, the Democratic Communications Network expresses:

1. We uphold communication as a common good and collective right. Communication is a human right that must be defended in the context of traditional broadcasting media and global platformization, through the application of existing regulations and the creation of new regulations capable of accommodating the complexity of corporate power structures that exceed the reach of nation-states.
2. Previous proposals for media laws aimed at democratizing communications remain valid and urgent. Regulating new media does not eliminate the need to regulate traditional media, which remain active and interconnected, shaped by the changes brought about by the internet and AI. It is necessary to reverse the trend toward concentration through proactive policies, favoring democratic and grassroots forms of interactive and horizontal communication.
3. The digital inclusion policies promoted by progressive governments in the region since the end of the first decade of this century constituted a significant advance in terms of both educational quality and its connection to broader concerns about inequality and the exercise of citizenship. However, the transformations of technological environments necessitate a deepening of the instruments for democratizing media, consequently redefining strategies and objectives, and considering the possibilities opened up by new technologies in terms of interactive horizontal communication.
4. We need to deepen our critical thinking about this situation, about democratic decision-making in AI-mediated environments, and to develop a critical theory of automatic and algorithmic reasoning. How we construct discussion in the digital public sphere represents a dilemma of our time and demands coordinated action.
5. There is an urgent need to prioritize life, addressing the growing imbalance between human, natural, and technological life systems; preserving the planet, especially territories like Latin America and the Caribbean, whose minerals, water, labor, and data are used to fuel the technological developments of industrialized countries. We have the urgent task of revealing that data is not ethereal and harmless; on the contrary, its production and storage demand intensive use of natural resources and harmful chemicals and are part of the expansion of financialization and various forms of domination.
6. Even though they have in no way replaced the need for co-presence and the occupation of public space as a form of political struggle, digital technologies are now inseparable from every aspect of our social life and constitute part of its infrastructure, from the way we inform ourselves or entertain ourselves to the way we work, study, or participate politically, and even beyond that, to the way we relate to our closest loved ones and even construct our personal and collective identities. It is crucial, therefore, to discuss them critically in all their complexity.
7. It is essential to develop theories and policies that defend workers and provide them with tools to support their strategies in defending their interests against capital and imperialism, especially with regard to platform-mediated work. While the information and communication industries are already being impacted by these changes, communication itself is fundamental as the space for a democratic discussion of this productive transformation. Without it, our societies will be vulnerable to the sole dominance of profit maximization and the extraction of surplus value.
8. In a context of significant deterioration in the conditions under which journalistic work is carried out, we express our concern regarding the constant violations of rights perpetrated by certain national governments through various strategies aimed at weakening journalism. The goal is to restrict and suppress the voices that contribute to shaping the agenda on issues of vital importance to our shared lives. We condemn the murders, as we have witnessed in Gaza and throughout Latin America, and the repeated attacks against groups of journalists and photojournalists covering various protests, attacks designed to undermine their work and prevent the coverage of social events.
9. Censorship and self-censorship are weapons of media capital to silence the people. There is no freedom of expression where a few control the media as private property. Breaking this concentration and collectivizing communication and information is an urgent task.
10. big tech They derive from a complex web of international trade agreements with arbitration clauses, which amounts to a privatized justice system capable of imposing severe penalties on states in the event of potential actions to protect their sovereignty. This disadvantageous position of states vis-à-vis private interests is exacerbated by the lack of shared, or at least compatible, legal frameworks in the face of an increasingly concentrated and exclusionary global digital market.

Based on this situation, the Democratic Communications Network proposes:

1. Incorporate critical digital literacy, as a space from which we must build ways of being, speaking and acting in the world that argue against discrimination, exclusion and surveillance of personal lives that current technology materializes, especially from the incorporation of artificial intelligence.
2. This commitment to literacy must be complemented by an effort to develop pedagogies, training processes, and outreach materials in collaboration with schools and social movements, so that communities, traditional peoples, and society at large can become aware and build their own alternatives. We propose promoting critical and emancipatory training processes for community communicators, students, and media workers, articulating technical knowledge with social struggles, the political economy of communication, and popular pedagogies, in order to challenge cultural hegemony, strengthen community media, and guarantee the collective right to speak from the perspective of the working class.
3. Recognize the technical, political, economic, geographical and cultural dimensions of digital communications and consequently define public policies that consider this complexity and diversity and allow addressing information, data and the Internet as public goods.
4. From our different positions in the field, we must ensure a balanced distribution of voices that access communication spaces, the possibilities for democratic expression, and the non-concentrated ownership of the media.
5. To work towards a regulation of communications that includes the democratization of the media, the promotion of freedom of expression, the practice of journalism, the protection of personal data, the protection of labor and other policies, in order to limit the interference of large technology companies in communications and in the management of strategic data of governments, communities and territories, such as elections, resources and production.
6. To contribute to the strengthening of regional integration mechanisms and spaces, with the participation of popular organizations, in order to renegotiate trade agreements that harm collective rights, harmonize regulatory frameworks and promote digital sovereignty, energy governance and the care of our biodiversity.
7. Insofar as we can only understand communication as contributing to the construction of a more just and humane society, we are committed to doing so in partnership with all actors who share similar objectives. We understand our contribution as part of a broad, widespread, and global struggle that leads us to further increase dialogue with other actors: researchers, government officials, social and community organizations, unions, and Indigenous communities. We therefore propose joining forces for interdisciplinary work that offers alternative approaches to technology adoption, fostering the strengthening and development of our communities based on their own projects and needs, while respecting their diversity and unique characteristics.
8. Recognizing the need to promote and strengthen citizen-led, alternative, community-based, and grassroots communication initiatives that focus on defending the rights of women, diverse groups, and the inclusion of those who continue to be systematically excluded from communication. This implies developing policies and allocating special resources for media outlets led by women, diverse groups, rural communities, Indigenous and Afro-descendant populations, people with disabilities, and older adults who are currently excluded from mainstream communication channels.
9. Critically reflect on the control platforms exert over content distribution, the facilitation of hate speech, and other forms of violence, which disproportionately affect women and Black communities. Measures to change this situation should not lead to greater control by the platforms themselves. Hence the importance of robust regulatory frameworks and social participation.
10. We want to contest the future based on the understanding that the new environment built by technologies and AI requires understanding information and communications as public goods in order to strengthen truly participatory democracies, oriented by workers and the people towards care and social and environmental justice, with a view to social transformation.

July 1, 2025
CLACSO Working Groups
Political economy of information, communication and culture
Appropriation of digital technologies and intersectionalities
Communication, cultures and politics

Adheres
Latin American Association of Communication Researchers (ALAIC)

This text expresses the position of the aforementioned Working Groups and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.