Democracy in Latin America Seminar Series

The Democracy in Latin America Seminar Series

Challenges of Radical Populism

During the past year the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis (IFPA) in association with the Hudson Institute has examined radical populism in Latin America in order to provide policy recommendations to leaders of government and civil society in the Hemisphere to help counter anti-democratic forces and authoritarianism. We are working closely with Ambassador Jaime Daremblum, Director of the Center for Latin American Studies and Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute. Dr. Daremblum is former Costa Rican Ambassador to the United States, and has written extensively on Latin American politics, economics, and foreign policy.

As part of this program we have had two major seminars with a third event scheduled for April 3, 2008, as described below. The first was held on July 9, 2007, at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. It consisted of a lecture by Professor Javier Corrales, Chairman of the Political Science Department of Amherst College, and widely known as an academic specialist on Latin American populism. The Latin American chief correspondent of the Miami Herald, Pablo Bachelet, was the lead discussant. The seminar was well attended and there was extensive discussion and feedback from participants, including radio and television from Venezuela and media from other parts of Latin America. The transcript of the seminar has been posted on the websites of the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis and the Hudson Institute.

The second seminar took place on November 6, 2007, in Washington, D.C., and consisted of a lead keynote speech by Professor Francis Fukuyama, who described in detail recent research he has completed in the region for a book on Latin American populism that will be published in the next several weeks. Following Professor Fukuyama’s presentation there was a panel discussion moderated by Jorge Gestoso, former chief Latin American anchor of CNN and presently director of a highly successful PBS Spanish TV program in the New York–New Jersey area. Speakers in the panel included Professor Anibal Romero, from the Central University in Caracas, and Dr. Julio Cirino, research director of the Argentine think tank Pensar. The closing presentation was given by Dr. Luis Rubio, President of CEDAC, an economic think tank and consulting organization in Mexico City. A full transcript is available on our websites.

We are now completing arrangements for a third seminar on April 3, 2008, to be moderated by IFPA President Dr. Robert L. Pfaltzgraff, Jr. It will also address key aspects of radical populism, with emphasis on several important issues. They include: (1) a general overview of radical populism and its history in Latin America, by Professor Katrina Burgess, The Fletcher School, Tufts University; (2) China’s relations with governments espousing radical populism such as Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, Bolivia’s Evo Morales, and Ecuador’s Rafael Correa, presented by Dr. Evan Ellis from Booz Allen Hamilton; and (3) Sandinismo and its future, which will be the subject of a presentation by Carlos Fernando Chamorro, editor of Confidencial and host of a popular talk show in Managua. He is widely regarded as the most respected Nicaraguan journalist.

Forthcoming Plans

As a result of our series this past year we have identified topics that will provide the basis for an additional three seminars and related activities during the next year. They include the increasing presence of Iran in Latin America and especially its deepening relationship with Hugo Chavez. Closely related is the potential danger posed by the growth of de facto autonomous areas controlled by criminal organizations in several Latin American countries. We will build on the past year’s seminars. In addition to our seminars, press roundtables will be held periodically in Washington, D.C., with journalists who will discuss recent developments of special importance in the region directly related to radical populism.

The questions to be addressed in the coming year include: Specifically, how can the United States encourage opposition to radical populism? What strategies and instruments are at the disposal of proponents of democracy in Latin America? What has been tried before? What are likely to be the most effective ways of dealing with this problem? As part of the seminar series we propose to convene a panel whose focus will be lessons learned, together with proposals for action derived from such lessons to combat radical populist threats to democracy.

We will continue to invite key U.S. decision makers from the Department of State, the Department of Defense, the National Security Council, members and staff from Congress, and from outside the U.S. government, as well as the extensive community of specialists and other interested groups in and around Washington, D.C. As in the past year, seminars will be designed to stimulate new ideas on how to confront the challenges to democracy represented by Latin American radical populism.

For more information, contact Charles Perry, director of studies at IFPA: cperry@ifpa.org