Federico Merke is an associate professor of international relations at the Universidad de San Andrés, Argentina. He is also a researcher for the National Council for Scientific Research.
As Latin America grapples with three overlapping crises--devastation from the coronavirus pandemic, severe economic contraction, and heightened political polarization and democratic backsliding--regional cooperation is falling badly short.
Regional governance has so far failed to help Latin America overcome its numerous challenges. Yet cooperation persists in some formats, and it will be a necessary instrument going forward.
Latin American governments need to do more to help Venezuela overcome its worst political and economic crisis in more than a decade.
If Argentinian President Mauricio Macri makes good on his recent statements, a renewed push to rethink and promote democracy and human rights in South America could be on the way.
The crisis unfolding in Venezuela will be a litmus test for both national policies and regional mechanisms that are supposed to strengthen democratic rules and norms.
The new phase in relations with Cuba represents an intriguing test case for cooperation on political reform issues between Western and rising democracies.
A more detailed knowledge of the Brazilian context may help scholars in other regions of the world gain a broader understanding of democracy promotion and identify common challenges and best practices.
