The governor of the autonomous region of Santa Cruz, Rubén Costas, presented on Monday, 9 March 2020, the law No. 187, which he himself had earlier enacted after its unanimous approval in the region’s legislative assembly.
Approximately 200 leaders of Bolivian youth and political organizations met in the city of Tiquipaya in Cochabamba to participate in an event termed “Youth National Dialogue #PROTAGONISTAS”, a space that aims to foster programmatic bonds between civil society and various political organizations around demands embodied in a youth driven agenda of public policy proposals.
International IDEA and the Electoral Tribunal of the Republic of Panama have a long history of cooperation. Since the first days of the Panamanian democratic transition, both institutions have worked together in the organization of discussion panels, seminars, workshops and research documents. In December 2018, the relationship took a step forward with the signing of the first cooperation agreement to support the 2019 electoral process.
In recent years, Latin America has been the focus of historic corruption exposures. Emblematic cases such as Odebrecht and more local but constant cases have eroded the population's trust in politics and politicians. But corruption does not come alone and this atmosphere of distrust is compounded by the fragmentation of parties and governments, resulting in a fragile institutionality. Peru has been a great example of this.
The General Debate of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) was held from 24 September to 30 September 2019 and focused on the theme “Galvanizing multilateral efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action, and inclusion.” Member States called for greater regional and international cooperation in tackling current global challenges, such as climate change, sustainable development, terrorism, military occupation, and the need for institutional reforms.
Democracy building in a post-conflict setting is a complex process requiring strong political and state institutions and processes. Yet, one of the adverse impacts of the prolonged intra-state violent conflict in the Muslim Mindanao region in the Philippines, has been weakening of these very institutions. The conflict has also seriously damaged the social cohesion and trust needed to peacefully transition toward reconstruction and democracy building.
International IDEA’s Regional Europe Programme celebrated the International Day of Democracy (15 September) by co-organizing a high-level conference on ‘No Democracy without Accountability’, at the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels on 17 September 2019.
In a highly interactive day full of testimonies and examples, International IDEA shared its work experience on the rights of youth and women in Bolivia with a delegation from the Swedish Embassy who arrived from Guatemala to learn about the good practices that have been in place in Bolivia.
