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As in much of the world, Latin American political systems are polarized. The 21st century saw the rise of leftist governments and state-led policies in several countries, only to be followed by right wing administrations that swung the pendulum of economic and social policies back towards free markets, resulting in massive popular protests in some cases. The end of the commodities boom, the pandemic debt, growing income inequality, increasing crime, inflation and other economic woes, are now fueling the rise of an extreme far right that shows disdain for democratic political institutions and challenges, among others, the rights of women, Indigenous and Afro-descendant populations, and environmental conservation.
Join our experts as they discuss these critical issues in light of the presidential elections in Argentina and the constitutional reform process in Chile and comparatively assess the state of democracy in the region.
Speakers
Kathya Araujo is PHD in American Studies and a Professor at the Institute of Advanced Studies (IDEA) of the Universidad de Santiago de Chile. Her main research fields are the study of the social bond (comprising social interactions and public space) and processes of individuation and subject configuration. She has been invited as visiting professor and researcher to several universities in North and South America and Europe. She is author of over 20 books, among them as author The circuit f Detachment in Chile. Understanding the Fate of a Neoliberal Model (Elements, Cambridge University Press, 2022) and as editor of Hilos Tensados. Para entender el octubre chileno (LOM, 2019).
Dr. Ernesto Calvo is the Director of the Interdisciplinary Lab for Computational Social Science (iLCSS) and Professor of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland. His research centers on the study of comparative political institutions, social media, political representation, and social networks. His work lies at the intersection of big data, survey experiments, and institutions. He is the author of a number of books on comparative institutions and social media, including Non-Policy Politics: Rich Voters, Poor Voters, and the Diversification of Electoral Strategies (Cambridge University Press 2019) with María Victoria Murillo; Legislator Success in Fragmented Congresses in Argentina (Cambridge University Press 2014); and Fake News, Burbujas, Trolls y Otros Encantos: Cómo funcionan (para bien y para mal) las redes sociales (Siglo XXI Editores 2020) with Natalia Aruguete. Professor Calvo has authored over 70 publications in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe. His research has been recognized by the American Political Science Association with the Lawrence Longley Award, the Luebbert Best Article Award, and the Michael Wallerstein Award.
Moderator
Tulia Falleti (Ph.D. Political Science, Northwestern University, 2003; B.A. Sociology, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1994) is the Class of 1965 Endowed Term Professor of Political Science, Director of the Latin American and Latinx Studies Program, and Senior Fellow of the Leonard Davis Institute for Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania. Falleti is the author of Decentralization and Subnational Politics in Latin America (Cambridge University Press, 2010), which earned the Donna Lee Van Cott Award to the best book on political institutions by the Latin American Studies Association; and, with Santiago Cunial, of Participation in Social Policy (Elements in the Politics of Development, Cambridge University Press, 2018). She is co-editor, with Orfeo Fioretos and Adam Sheingate, of The Oxford Handbook of Historical Institutionalism (Oxford University Press, 2016), and with Emilio Parrado of Latin America Since the Left Turn (University of Pennsylvania, 2018), among other co-edited volumes. Her articles on decentralization, federalism, authoritarianism, participation, and qualitative methods have appeared in edited volumes and journals such as the American Political Science Review, Comparative Political Studies, Publius, Qualitative Sociology, Studies in Comparative International Development, and World Politics among others. As Principal Investigator of an interdisciplinary team, Falleti has been awarded a Just Futures $5 million grant from The Mellon Foundation. Collaborating with partners throughout the Americas, the Penn team is researching “Dispossessions in the Americas: The Extraction of Bodies, Land, and Cultural Heritage from La Conquista to the Present.” Among other objectives, Falleti is researching the articulation of indigenous peoples’ demands regarding territorial claims, rights to prior consultation, living well, and plurinationality; and collaborating with two non-governmental health organizations to assess the effectiveness of mobile health care for indigenous women and children in remote rural areas. As of May 2022, Falleti is serving as Tri-Chair of the Penn Faculty Senate.
