Democracy is the only form of government that rests on the ideal of political equality and respect for individual and collective freedoms. This characteristic makes it more than just a political system: democracy is an essential condition for human development. Economist Amartya Sen taught us that development cannot be reduced to economic growth or the accumulation of wealth. To develop means to expand people’s real capabilities and freedoms to live the life they value. Without democracy, development is fragile and incomplete, since people cannot exercise agency over the construction of their future. And without development for all, democracy loses legitimacy.
Democracy offers spaces, processes, and mechanisms for voice, choice, and accountability, essential elements for expanding opportunities and freedoms. When people can influence decisions and contribute to collective well-being, the chances increase that development and prosperity will be accessible to all, and the possibilities and conditions for greater social cohesion expand.
However, in Latin America and the Caribbean these democratic promises remain unfulfilled. Although the region has consolidated democratic institutions in recent decades, gaps in basic services, persistent inequalities, and growing disinformation have weakened citizens’ confidence that democracy will truly translate into equality and greater freedom.
Inequalities as structural barriers
In theory, political equality should translate into greater equality in terms of well-being. But that assumption falls short in a context of deep and persistent social and economic gaps that hinder any form of equality.
Latin America and the Caribbean remains one of the most unequal regions in the world: the richest 1% concentrates nearly half of the wealth, while many households in poverty pay more in indirect taxes than they receive in transfers. While some enjoy health and education systems comparable to the richest countries in the world, others live realities closer to the most lagging nations in terms of development. Moreover, more than half the population lacks mechanisms to withstand even a moderate shock without falling into poverty, 31% remain in conditions of vulnerability, and high levels of labor informality undermine job quality, increase exclusion, and reduce social mobility.
When people lack access to health, education, or decent employment, when the State is unable to protect rights, democracy ceases to be a space of freedom and is experienced radically differently depending on who you are and where you live. For some, it is a tangible reality; for others, it is little more than an empty word.
Although most citizens in Latin America and the Caribbean still consider democracy the best system of government, more and more question its ability to solve essential problems and improve their lives. Sixty-five percent of the population declare themselves dissatisfied with how democracy functions, and a worrying 41% are open to authoritarian alternatives. This should alarm us, but also mobilize us: for democracy to fulfill its potential as a vehicle of human development, it is imperative to address structural inequalities.
Accelerated disinformation: a threat with new tools
To these gaps is added another challenge: disinformation. Although it is not a new phenomenon—the manipulation of information has always existed—today disinformation circulates in a very high-speed digital ecosystem dominated by algorithms that prioritize the sensational over the truthful. Fake news, smear campaigns, and systematic attacks on electoral authorities erode trust in institutions. In electoral times, these dynamics distort public deliberation and undermine the ability of citizens to exercise their freedoms in an informed manner.
The dangerous cocktail of structural inequalities, accelerated disinformation, and emotional discontent is generating increasingly widespread doubts about the ability of democracies to deliver on what they promise. And this is not just a matter of perception: data support it. Between 2000 and 2024, support for democracy in the region fell from 60% to 52%. That means millions of citizens are no longer convinced that this is a system that works for them to provide well-being, protect everyone, and guarantee freedoms.
Even in the face of this disenchantment, the democratic vocation remains alive. Latin America and the Caribbean continues to be the most democratic developing region in the world. And that is not insignificant, nor should it be taken for granted. The paradox is clear: while the region remains the most democratic in the developing world, dissatisfaction with its functioning is growing and threatens its legitimacy.
Amending the democratic promise
A democracy is also recognized by its ability to be questioned, to listen to a critical citizenry, and to renew itself to respond to the challenges of its time. Signs of discontent are not necessarily a sentence, but a call to action, beginning with recognizing failures and having the firm will to correct the course. One thing is clear: what worked in the past will no longer be sufficient for the future, which depends on our democracies’ ability to adapt without losing their essence.
The legitimacy of democracies will depend largely on their ability to deliver tangible results in improving people’s quality of life and their ability to exercise agency in building their future. Amending the democratic promise and regaining citizens’ trust will only be possible through its intimate link with development.
However, development strategies in the region also need to be rethought. The latest UNDP Regional Human Development Report, Under Pressure: Recalibrating the Future of Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, suggests that in a context of growing uncertainties, recurring and overlapping crises, and rapid transformations, the only way to sustainably guarantee human development is to place resilience at its core. It proposes resilient human development as an enabler of agency and protector of people’s effective freedoms, and also as a roadmap for the region’s development.
A renewed guide for development in the region implies going beyond traditional poverty reduction instruments and expanding social protection systems; ensuring the presence of the State in all regions, strengthening local governance and mechanisms for citizen participation to improve institutional coverage and effectiveness; developing a solid digital base focused on innovation and closing gaps, all based on efficiency, inclusivity, and accountability. In this paradigm shift, democracy emerges as the only system that, in addition to representing an intrinsic value, also represents an instrumental and constructive means of development that promises to enrich people’s lives through political freedom and the exercise of civil and political rights.
Today Latin America and the Caribbean has the opportunity—if it so decides—to show the world that democracy and development are not unfulfilled promises; they are inseparable engines of a shared future of prosperity and freedom.
*Machine translation, proofread by Ricardo Aceves.
Autor
UN Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
