The history of world democracy is not a fairy tale. In 2023, tyrants and despots toughened repression against political, religious groups and ethnic minorities, manipulated formerly democratic institutions to guarantee their “re-election” and showed their growing willingness to exercise violence, both inside and outside their borders. Although the story is not so tragic either, since brave human rights defenders around the world overcome bad omens thanks to their search for freedom and truth.
Since 1973, Freedom House has tracked the development of global democracy in its annual Freedom in the World report, and this is the 18th consecutive year that it has seen a deterioration in global freedom. Last year, political rights and civil liberties deteriorated in 52 countries and only 21 of them improved their situation. These declines affect a fifth of the world's population.
The latest edition of the report, titled “
The Mounting Damage of Flawed Elections and Armed Conflict,
” focuses attention on election manipulation and the rejection of pluralism – i.e. , to the peaceful coexistence of people with different political ideologies, religions or ethnic identities - by authoritarian leaders and armed groups outside the law.
Around the world, officials in countries such as Cambodia, Guatemala, Poland and Turkey have been skewing the electoral race for their own benefit. This relentless lust for power at the expense of democratic integrity should be a wake-up call to everyone.
Latin America, which has long been the beacon of democratic hope, is currently fighting against growing alerts, since countries such as Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua have significantly regressed in their status of freedom. These regressions, fueled by repression against political opposition and the rampant risk of criminal violence and official corruption, threaten the stability and democratic fabric of the region.
The accelerated deterioration of freedom in El Salvador is deeply alarming, since the drastic electoral reforms tip the balance in favor of the Nuevas Ideas party, which practically eradicates the probability of fair electoral processes—both in the last general elections of the month past as in the next municipal elections on March 3.
Equally worrying is the increase in rights violations by President Nayib Bukele—such as the arbitrary arrests of more than 70,000 Salvadorans, protected by the state of national emergency supposedly decreed to combat the problem of gang violence—which has left him gave the president enormous popularity.
Venezuela continues to be one of the countries that enjoys the least freedoms in the entire region. The invalidation of the opposition's electoral results in the primary elections and the disqualification of key candidates reflect the clear erosion of political rights and civil liberties under the deeply repressive regime of President Nicolás Maduro, which has forced more than eight million Venezuelans to emigrate from their country in the last five years.
If the presidential elections are held in December, which is far from guaranteed, the electoral process will be marked by judicial attacks against the opposition candidate María Corina Machado and most likely undermined by misinformation and threats of violence.
In Ecuador, the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio - a former investigative journalist turned presidential candidate, who dared to protest the violence and corruption of drug cartels - demonstrates the dangerous convergence between political instability and organized crime, which contributed to the country's decline from Free to Partially Free in the latest Freedom in the World report.
However, there are some signs of progress in the region. In Brazil, the failed coup d'état of January 2023 was widely rejected by Brazilian society and various branches of the government have made great efforts to clarify the facts and hold potential coup plotters accountable.
Guatemala also shows a mixed picture: despite the political establishment's attempts to undermine the election of reformist candidate Bernardo Arévalo - and the Attorney General's attempts to deprive Arévalo and his vice president of legal immunity, suspend the party of the opposition and declare the election invalid - Arévalo was officially sworn in last month.
Of the 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, 20 of them are still classified as Free countries, which demonstrates the resilience of the region's democratic values. However, this resilience is under threat. Democratic governments and international organizations must make a greater effort to safeguard it.
Those fighting tyranny need unwavering support, including supporting human rights defenders, democracy activists, and journalists—including those working from exile—with resources and political support. It is also essential to protect the sanctity of the vote. With major elections taking place around the world in 2024, it is imperative to ensure independent and transparent electoral processes.
Likewise, it is imperative that autocrats be held accountable for electoral manipulation, human rights abuses and corruption. It is essential to have international collaboration to impose appropriate punishments against those who violate democratic norms. To achieve this, it is unavoidable to have support for activists fighting for human rights in exile and to keep political prisoners in the spotlight.
As the Freedom House report highlights, the fight for democracy and human rights is infinite. Those who advocate democracy must unite, without political or territorial divisions, in order to safeguard fundamental rights. Only by joining forces can we reverse these negative trends and pave the way toward a future where freedom, prosperity and security flourish for all.
Michael Abramowitz is president of Freedom House