TORONTO May 17, 2023
A report released by Common Frontiers and the Progressive International systematically outlines how Lawfare, or the abuse of legal systems as an instrument of war, is being used against democracy in Latin America.
In response to progressive politicians winning at the ballot box across Latin America, oligarchic elites have been forced to regroup and deploy new strategies to maintain their hold on power. In collusion with the US Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigations, a new form of hybrid war, Lawfare, is being unleashed across the Americas to destabilize and stop the wave of progressive governments.
Latin America has been a laboratory for Lawfare tactics for some time now, from high-profile cases like former President Lula da Silva of Brazil that captured the world’s attention to lower-profile ones like the Guatemalan presidential ticket of Thelma Cabrera Pérez and Jordán Rodas from the Movement for the Liberation of the Peoples (MLP) has received little coverage.
“Lawfare achieves what political elites fail to achieve at the polls – a monopoly on political power. Through a perversion of the judicial system, elites use the cover of judicial legitimacy to undertake what amounts to nothing less than a Lawfare coup d’etat, ” says Raul Burbano – Program Director at Common Frontiers.
To read the full report. Lawfare_Vs_Democracy_FINAL_EN_1.0
Leer el informe en Espanol.Lawfare_Vs_Democracy_FINAL_ES_1.0
