Latin American Democratic Roundtable: Public Security, Populism and Democracy in Latin America

Join us, the Forum Latin America, for the first session of the Latin American Democratic Roundtable, a new webinar series organized by Forum Latin America. This opening session examines one of the most pressing tensions in the region today: the relationship between public security, populist politics, and democratic governance. How do security crises reshape political authority? Under what conditions do emergency measures become tools of democratic erosion? And what legal and institutional mechanisms can protect rights while addressing legitimate security demands?

The session will be held in Spanish by Professor Gustavo Flores-Macías.

Gustavo Flores-Macías is Dean of the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy. His research and teaching focus on political and economic development in Latin America, with an emphasis on democracy, inequality, and policing. His work explores how governments in the region respond to crime and violence, and the political consequences of those responses for democratic institutions. He is the author of ‘After Neoliberalism? The Left and Economic Reforms in Latin America’ and co-author of ‘The Militarization of Law Enforcement: Evidence from Latin America’.