International Agenda

INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR "GOODBYE, DEMOCRACY?" 5/4/2017

Within the framework of the joint work between the Foro del Sur Foundation and Democracia Abierta, the second international seminar was held to discuss the new scenarios of the democratic system in the world.

Democracy is losing the prestige it gained in the West after the defeat of fascism in World War II and the subsequent fall of communism with the end of the Cold War. The end of the story, which Francis Fukuyama identified on his famous essay, has not been fulfilled and the hegemony of the liberal order and the rapid conversion into liberal democracies of large and small autocracies, inserted in the powerful transforming dynamics of globalization, ended up not taking place.

A system designed to make politics -thought as the art of seeking the common good- that imposes itself and regulates market forces and regressive tendencies of the accumulation of power, does not seem to have overcome its intrinsic contradictions. Moreover, many of the values that led to prosperity, such as liberal and humanist democracy, have lost their prestige. The liberal is seen as "soft," and other values, such as cosmopolitan aspiration or meritocracy, are now seen as elite values, disconnected from the need for identity reaffirmation that urges the population.

It should therefore not surprise that, in the midst of the decline of these values, leaders such as Orban in Hungary, Farage in the United Kingdom, Erdogan in Turkey, Le Pen in France, who seem to have as reference the autocracy that Putin has baptized as “illiberal” democracy. Thus, in Europe and the United States, oligarchic nationalism stands as an alternative in the retreating economies. Also in other regions, such as India or the Philippines, "strong men" prevail at the polls.

One of the most directly threatened pillars is the right to information, freedom of information and the veracity of information. The democratic system is dangerously weakened if the information becomes propaganda and the mechanisms of truth control fail. The proliferation of what has been called "fake-news" and the dangerous advance of "post-truth" threaten to destroy the pact of trust that acts as a glue for democratic society and presides, although not without tensions, the struggle of ideas in democratic politics and open society.

In this scenario, if the promoter and defender of globalization becomes a nationalist-protectionist and understands international relations as pacts between businessmen rather than agreements between rulers under international law, the whole structure is in danger. In the largest and most powerful democracy in the world, an “outsider” has taken power, taking advantage of the cracks of democracy -the power of money in elections, the difficulty of voting, the distribution of electoral districts (gerrymandering), hacking, the difficulties of the free press, etc. Is this the end of democracy?

This is the second international seminar organized in the framework of the alliance between the Foro del Sur Foundation and Open Democracy. On this occasion, we counted with the presence of the political scientist and professor at the Torcuato Di Tella University, Juan Gabriel TOKATLIAN, and Fernando “Chino” NAVARRO, both of them participating in the debate table on democracy and social movements. The second table was headed by Graciela ROEMER, one of the main political analysts of our country, together with Claudio GONÇALVEZ COUTO, specialist in political parties and comparative politics of the Getulio Vargas Foundation.

EXHIBITORS

Juan Gabriel TOKATLIÁN. Political scientist and professor at the Torcuato Di Tella University.

Fernando "Chino" NAVARRO. Lawyer and leader of the Evita Movement.

Graciela ROEMER. Public opinion and political communication consultant.

Claudio GONÇALVEZ COUTO. Specialist in political parties and comparative politics at the Getulio Vargas Foundation.

Aníbal Jozami