Rethinking democracy in the region

“Latin America needs to think about how to reconceptualize or rethink democracy and the relationship between the State, society and the economy,” raised the German researcher Jochen Kemner, manager of the Maria Sibylla Merian Center for Advanced Latin American Studies (CALAS) in Guadalajara, Mexico.

In early February, he participated in the Conversation “Neoliberal Authoritarianism or Democratizing Democracy?: The Dispute for the Future in Latin America,” organized jointly by CLACSO and the “University Program of Studies on Democracy, Justice and Society” (PUEDJS-UNAM). There, he was interviewed by CLACSO TV.

Interviewed by Gustavo Lema.

Jochen Kemner understands that “We are at a very interesting moment, not only in Latin America, but globally. And in this context, Latin America, given its diverse history, its current circumstances, and the experiences of the last 15 to 20 years, can play a very important role in how democracy and the relationship between the state, society, and the economy are reconceptualized or rethought. Because we are certainly at a moment when democracy is in serious danger in different countries and for different reasons. But at the same time, we see mobilizations of people in Chile, Ecuador, and several other countries, demanding a new form of participation in the state. So, I think it is also a moment to reflect a bit on how, in the situation we saw in countries like Bolivia, Ecuador, and Brazil over the last 10 to 15 years, there was a significant increase in the middle class along with a reduction in poverty. But at the same time, in those same countries, we also saw a significant increase in the super-rich, in the millionaires.”