LocationsSeries on Democracy and Development
How much inequality can a democracy take?
January 23, 2025
Event Details
January 30, 2025
11:00 AM (Nueva York)
Online
This first Democracy and Development Talk focuses on the presentation and discussion of the main findings of the study “Democracy and Distributive Justice in Latin America.” This research was conducted in partnership between UNDP’s teams for Governance and Inclusive Development and International IDEA.
After more than two decades of democratic governments in Latin America, inequalities persist across most countries in the region. The urgency for public policy results that lead to positive changes in people’s lives has driven a growing loss of trust in democratic institutions. Coupled with increasing polarization, this trend has fueled a growing openness to authoritarian governments—54% of the region’s citizens would tolerate an authoritarian regime if it solved their urgent problems (Latinobarómetro, 2023). This context has prompted the question, "How much inequality can a democracy take?" This question underpins an in-depth analysis of trends in democracy and inequality over recent years in our region.
The dialogue will be structured as a conversation, divided into three main segments:
- Comments from the author, Juan Pablo Luna (Diamond Brown Chair in Democratic Studies, McGill University), on key findings and recommendations for the region regarding democracy and inequality.
- Input from Marcela Ríos, International IDEA LAC Director on entry points, challenges, and opportunities for advancing the recommendations outlined in the study.
- Reflections from Claudio Providas, Resident Representative UNDP Brazil, sharing how UNDP can support this transformation process toward a strengthened democracy with reduced inequalities, including examples of key interventions supported by UNDP in the country.
Moderation: Jairo Acuña-Alfaro, UNDP-LAC Governance Team Leader
