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Secretary General Insulza: "The Construction and Consolidation of Democracy is an Ongoing Process that Requires Promotion and Advocacy"

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José MiguelInsulza, today participated in a sub-regional dialogue held in Costa Rica by the members of the Central American Integration System and Mexico titled: "Democracy for Peace, Security and Development," during which he made an analysis of the progress of democracy in the region, the various milestones that have marked its development, and the challenges it faces to continue to become stronger.

At the meeting, held within the framework of the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the Inter-American Democratic Charter and the 30 years of the democratic process in Central America, the Secretary General said it was "very appropriate to review the state of democracy in the current global context, specially when in the Middle East, the emergence of civic movements demanding democracy and freedom against authoritarian regimes that for years have remained in power has led to what is known as the 'Arab Spring'. "

By highlighting some of the characteristics of the Inter-American Democratic Charter (IDC), the head of the hemispheric organization said this document "establishes a definition of democracy that goes beyond a minimalist conception of it. This is a definition of democracy limited only to the concept of elections as a way of choice and of majority government." And then, he explained the elements contained in the Charter that are considered essential to democracy, including: the rule of law, the holding of periodic, free and fair elections, the respect for human rights, pluralism, and the separation of powers. Likewise, he stressed representativeness as the nucleus of democracy and therefore the "key role that political parties play in this context."

In his speech, Secretary General Insulza also referred to the mechanisms included in the IDC to address crisis and respond to threats to the democratic constitutional order. "Between 2001 and 2010, five presidencies were interrupted in the region and several political crises had destabilizing effects on democracy in those countries," he said. Since the adoption of the Charter in 2001, he continued, "it has proven to be effective in its ability to prevent and resolve conflicts and political crises in the region," and named events in which the OAS played the role of facilitator and negotiator for peaceful solutions to overcome political situations, specifically in Venezuela (2002), Nicaragua (2005), Ecuador (2005 and 2010), Bolivia (2008), Guatemala (2009) and Honduras (2009).

"Despite this relatively positive assessment regarding the effectiveness of the CDI, it still has received criticism. An update of the Charter is required given the challenges and risks that threaten the consolidation and the very essence of democracy. We are not facing situations of violent or sudden death of democracy, but rather to a slow death. That is, a process of involution, where the essential or constitutive elements of democracy are eroded and even violated. In this way, democracy falls into a gray zone, where it is no longer clear what is and, therefore, becomes a hybrid system," he said.

"Considering these risks and challenges, the Charter can be improved, " he continued, and explained his proposal to reform the Charter based on three pillars: To confer more authority to the Secretary General to do a more active monitoring and preventing task in risk situations; to expand the range of actors with ability to activate the mechanisms contained in the Charter and include the legislative and judiciary branches, and others; and to refine the “menu” of events or situations that pose a threat to or constitue a rupture of the constitutional democratic order.

Referring to the challenges and risks that affect the principles of democracy, the Secretary General highlighted the concentration of power and the erosion of civil and political liberties. He also noted the existence of structural threats "that undermine the very foundations of democracy," including poverty, inequality, discrimination, violence, organized crime and drug trafficking. In this sense, he cited a series of aspects that illustrate the impact of these scourges: the external aspect refers to the tension in bilateral and regional relations as a result of trafficking of drugs, arms and people; the economic aspect, that affects the growth and development of countries, the social aspect which includes violence and the increasing distrust; the aspect of governance, reflected in the decline of the level of popular approval of government and the politicization of security; the institutional aspect shown by the increasing distrust in the judiciary, and the democratic aspect evidenced by the increase in vigilante justice and the greater propensity toward human rights violation.

"Unfortunately, there are not many best practices and success stories in regard to combating organized crime and drug trafficking," said the Secretary General, who also advocated for the search for alternative approaches and new solutions to address this problem. "Instead of insisting over and over again with prospects and policies that have had limited impact over the years, I think it's time to rethink what we have been doing in this area and come up with alternatives, " he affirmed.

At the end of his speech, the Head of the OAS explained that "the construction and consolidation of democracy is an ongoing process that has no end point" and reiterated the Organization’s commitment to promote and defend the principles and values that constitute democracy. Therefore, he insisted that the pillars proposed for updating the Charter should not only refer to the defense of democracy, but also to its promotion. He finally offered an invitation “to promote a monitoring mechanism of this instrument, where each country would decide if it will join it. An exercise that could serve as a basis for Member States to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their own democratic processes."

The sub-regional dialogue is being held May 11-13 and was organized jointly by the OAS, International IDEA, FLACSO, and Funpadem.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-661/11