Lessons from the South: Dictatorships and Resilience in Latin America

Join the Program on Latin America and the Caribbean and SU Abroad for a panel discussion on Latin America.

What causes democracies to break down—and how can they recover? Join us for a panel that explores the rise and fall of democracy in Latin America, examining the political polarization, social tensions and authoritarian regimes that challenged democratic governance. We will also discuss the region’s democratic recovery over the past four decades and consider what lessons these experiences hold for the United States, as concerns about political polarization and threats to democratic institutions grow.

Join faculty experts for an engaging conversation about history, democracy and the choices that shape our political future.

Panelists:

Mauricio Paredes
Mauricio Paredes is director of the SU Santiago Center in Chile, since 2008. Paredes currently teaches two SU program courses: "Contemporary Issues in Chile and Latin America" and "Dictatorships, Human Rights and Historical Memory in Chile and the Southern Cone." His interest in historical memory and Latin American dictatorships is closely related to his personal experience as a former political prisoner of the Pinochet regime. His current research on the history of human rights in the region encompasses archival evidence of Japanese internment camps in Chile during WWII and the concept of guilt in atrocity studies. 

Matt Cleary
Matt Cleary is an associate professor of political science in the Maxwell School. He focuses on democratization, electoral institutions and indigenous politics in Latin America.

Denisa Jashari
Denisa Jashari is an assistant professor of history. Her work focuses on 20th-century Chilean social and urban history.  

Moderator:

Tom Perreault
Tom Perreault is professor geography and the environment in the Maxwell School. His work focuses on political ecology, environmental justice, water governance, critical resource geography, mining and extractivism, rural livelihoods, agrarian political economy, indigeneity and indigenous politics, and Latin America.