Protests of activists during the World Civil Society Week in Bogotá, Colombia. April 2016. Photo: Francesc Badia, all rights reserved.
The International Civil Society Week, co-organised by CIVICUS and the Colombian Confederation of NGOs, took place from 24 to 28 April in Bogotá. DemocraciaAbierta was there and this is what we saw.
It has been almost nine years since we felt the first shockwaves of a meltdown of the global economy triggered by the near collapse of the financial capitalism. In addition, because of the relative decline of the West, including the enduring European crisis - which has mutated from economic to social to political -, re-emerged authoritarian powers like China and Russia are now disputing world hegemony. This can be noticed in different fields, from the commodity trade to land buying in Africa and Latin America, from investments in extractive industries to media swaying through news agencies and global broadcasting networks such as Xinhua or RT. For both powers, crushing any sprout of organised civil society and flexing military muscles have become routine exercises. For citizens living in other places like Turkey and Egypt or now the Philippines, things do not look at all better.
