Francesc Badia i Dalmases: Perhaps with the exception of Mexico, the presidential elections of 2018 have resulted in a significant shift, highlighting the end of the Pink Tide alongside the arrival of more authoritarian and conservative governments, among which Bolsonaro particularly stands out. What have been the advances and setbacks in recent years?
Érica Guevara: From the perspective of Amnesty International, we feel a sense that things are going backwards in the region. Setbacks closely linked to the anti-rights rhetoric have gained strength in the region; it is not that it didn’t exist before, but now it is much stronger, and it more evident than in the past.
Because of this, I think that all the social and rights-based movements in the region take the up the role of resistance, reaction and they not necessarily proactive in trying to move the agenda forward. In the last 2 years, with the change in the political climate, we are witnessing setbacks that are go beyond the symbolic – they are not just discourse or rhetoric , but are becoming public policy, legislation and are reflected in how countries in the region are being governed.
