Global Stage Podcast
About the Episode:

This conversation with Juanita Goebertus Estrada explores the major challenges facing democracies across Latin America and the Caribbean today. It analyzes the strategies employed by increasingly authoritarian governments, and reflects on the institutional and political shortcomings within democratic systems. At the same time, the discussion highlights potential sources of resilience and emerging areas of hope for the future of democracy in the region.

Show Notes:

In this episode of Global Stage, host Valentina Salazar speaks with Juanita Goebertus Estrada, director of the Americas Division at Human Rights Watch, about the state of democracy and human rights across Latin America. Drawing on her experience in Colombia’s Congress, the Havana peace talks, and now regional advocacy, Goebertus reflects on the difficult but essential role of civil society in moments when democratic institutions are weakening.

The conversation examines the region’s long-running pattern of democratic backsliding, from Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua to newer forms of authoritarian governance in El Salvador. Goebertus discusses how leaders have increasingly used security, stability, or economic promises to justify the concentration of power, the weakening of judicial independence, and the restriction of civic space.

Goebertus also addresses the changing role of the United States in the region, arguing that recent US actions have emboldened authoritarian leaders and weakened the international legal order. The discussion turns to Haiti as a stark example of institutional collapse, gang control, and the dangers of responding to insecurity only through coercive force rather than rebuilding legitimate democratic governance.

Despite the seriousness of these challenges, the episode closes with a call for hope rooted in Latin America’s history of civil society resistance. Goebertus emphasizes that women, Indigenous communities, Afro-descendant communities, and socioeconomically excluded groups have gained space at the table through sustained struggle - and that defending human rights remains the foundation for rebuilding democratic life across the region.

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