Gobierno y Análisis Político A. C. (GAPAC)

GOBIERNO Y ANÁLISIS POLÍTICO: Research Fellow (2020), currently working on Sharp Power in Latin America, and the effects of authoritarianism on exiled communities.

“Challenges of activism in restrictive political contexts” (2023)

Gobierno & Análisis Político A.C. and CIVICUS have joined forces to organize a virtual seminar on the challenges of activism in restrictive political contexts. We aim to address cases from Latin America (Nicaragua, Venezuela) and other regions of the world (Russia and Egypt).

Coordination: María Isabel Puerta Riera

Illiberal Narrative in Latin America: Russian and allied media as vehicles of autocratic cooperation (2022)

As an ideology in Russia and Latin America’s media, intellectuals, and political elites, illiberal narratives -projected by related media and academies- enjoy a significant presence and impact on the regional scene. As a result of the conflict between Russia and the West over the invasion of Ukraine, the role of Russian media as a source of disinformation for the Latin American population has been the subject of attention. The presence of these mass media allows the Kremlin to question the democratic model in most of Latin America and defend the official positions of the Russian government while aligning itself with the perspectives of illiberal forces -especially the radical left- of the regional political spectrum.

Así nos habla el Kremlin (2022)

A raíz del conflicto entre Rusia y Occidente por la invasión a Ucrania, el rol de los medios rusos como fuente de desinformación de la población latinoamericana ha sido objeto de atención.

En tanto ideología presente en medios, intelectuales y élites políticas de Rusia y Latinoamérica, las narrativas iliberales —proyectadas por medios y academias afines— gozan de apreciable presencia e impacto en el panorama regional. A raíz del conflicto entre Rusia y Occidente por la invasión a Ucrania, el rol de los medios rusos como fuente de desinformación de la población latinoamericana ha sido objeto de atención.

La presencia de estos medios masivos permite al Kremlin cuestionar el modelo democrático vigente en la mayor parte de América Latina y defender las posturas oficiales del gobierno ruso, al tiempo que se alinean con las perspectivas de las fuerzas iliberales —en especial de la izquierda radical— del espectro político regional.

Publicación: Abril, 2022 ISBN: 978-9915-9490-0-0

China y Latinoamerica: Influencia autoritaria y resiliencia democrática (2022)

América Latina sufre ahora una creciente ola de izquierda (Maduro, Ortega, Díaz Canel) y de derecha (Bolsonaro, Bukele) con rasgos autoritarios. Una confluencia de ideas, valores y agendas prácticas opuestas a la democracia liberal, se está fortaleciendo dentro de las fuerzas políticas latinoamericanas. En este contexto, las autocracias globales están penetrando en la región, con sus ideologías iliberales y agendas de desinformación, buscando la erosión democrática. Este es el marco en el que impulsamos, desde Gobierno y Análisis Político AC (GAPAC) con apoyo de nuestros contrapartes y aliados locales, el proyecto de resiliencia democrática del que forman parte tanto el presente texto cómo el taller de formación al que tributa.

Sharp Power and Latin American diasporas in the United States: a look at Cuban and Venezuelan exiles within the intellectual community (2021)

The Cuban and Venezuelan diasporas have in common, among many other traits, a diverse and intellectually rich community that, as it struggles to adapt to a different culture, language and society, also has to deal with actors within the fields of academia, media, publishing and culture,  that are more ideologically aligned with the regimes they are fleeing away from; where also, official representatives from those regimes through different forms and means can effectively influence those spaces, creating a hostile environment that prevents them from achieving personal and professional stability, and in some extreme cases, threatening more than job opportunities. These are circumstances in which some authoritarian regimes, like China, take advantage of the benefits that democratic regimes offer for cultural exchange (Walker, 2018), providing an opportunity for them to gain authority and influence among local actors, using that sway over those that are perceived as ideological foes. This proposal aims to identify the spheres of influence Cuba and Venezuela have on intellectual circles in the United States, tracing participation and support as opposed to the exclusion of those ex-pats fleeing both authoritarian regimes.