The Latin American countries in which authoritarianism grew the most during the last year

In total, 22 of the 32 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that were analyzed for the most recent rule of law index carried out annually by the non-governmental organization World Justice Project (WJP) have seen their situation worsen.

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Three of the 10 most serious cases, warns the report presented this Wednesday, are in Latin America, being those of Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, with the South American country also occupying the last place of the 140 nations studied to make the report.

Another case that set off alarms was that of El Salvador, considered by the report as the one that fell the most in Latin America. According to WJP, the nation governed by Nayib Bukele ranks 102nd globally and 25th regionally, after respect for the rule of law decreased by 4.1% compared to 2021.

Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela are the worst ranked Latin American countries in the latest WJP report.

FACTORS BEHIND

To prepare this report, WJP takes into account factors such as security and order, transparency or respect for human rights. The same ones that are evaluated after carrying out different interviews with households and experts from each country.

In this sense, during the presentation, the organization highlighted that the “consolidation of executive power and the erosion of human rights and freedoms” contributed to the rise of authoritarianism in Nicaragua, Venezuela and El Salvador.

In the Venezuelan case, the most serious in the region and in the world, WJP considered that there was a decrease of 1.4% in respect for the rule of law caused mainly by the lack of limits to the power of the Government, criminal justice, civil , and openness of the Government.

In Nicaragua, which is ranked 130th globally and 30th in the region, WJP had to limit itself to interviewing experts due to the obstacles imposed by the Daniel Ortega regime to obtain more information. The report highlights unlimited government power, criminal justice and fundamental rights as the country’s most serious factors.

“We view with concern the authoritarian tendencies in Nicaragua, which are clearly defined and are becoming more acute,” stressed the director of WJP Data Analysis, Ana María Montoya.

El Salvador, for its part, marked a decline within the scale for the second consecutive year. In 2020 it had occupied the 91st position, going to 95 in 2021 and reaching the 102nd place for the current edition.

At the regional level, the lower limits to government powers, a deterioration of Civil Justice and the lack of protection of fundamental rights were the main factors that aggravated their situations, according to Natalia Rodríguez, a WJP researcher, during the presentation of the report. .

El Salvador registered the greatest setback within the region.

However, Montoya highlighted that the trend registered in Latin America is similar in the rest of the world, after identifying that the Rule of Law was weakened in 61% of the nations analyzed.

In the case of Peru, the report highlights a drop of three positions to occupy the 90th place globally. Our country also ranks 20th at the regional level.

The WJP report warns that the rule of law was weakened in 61% of the nations analyzed.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TABLE

The other side of the coin was located in the Nordic countries, with Denmark, Norway and Finland being the ones that obtained the best evaluation in the report.

Within Latin America, it was the governments of Uruguay, Costa Rica and Chile that showed the greatest adherence to the rule of law.

However, WJP also rescued the improvement registered in Honduras (3.1%), Kosovo (2.4%), Belize (2%), Moldova (1.9%) and the United States (1.8%), being the countries with the highest growth compared to last year.

Denmark, Norway and Finland lead the table.

Source: Elcomercio