Successor of Chilean José Miguel Vivanco as director for the Americas of the NGO Human Rights Watch, Juanita Goebertus, 38, makes a critical diagnosis of the human rights situation in the region, where she sees an escalation of authoritarianism in several countries and a situation at risk of further abuses. in Brazil.
She, who was a negotiator of the Colombian state’s peace agreement with the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and a parliamentarian, celebrates the “total peace” proposal of the Gustavo Petro government, which seeks to negotiate with armed groups instead of promoting policies of repression, but makes recommendations regarding the escalation in the number of homicides inherited from the administration of Iván Duque.
How is Latin America in relation to human rights today? We face an expansion of authoritarian regimes, a dramatic loss of public confidence in democracy, parties, the rule of law and all its institutions. Somehow, an important part of the population feels that there are no benefits from the so-called social contract.
What is the immediate result? from that? When that trust breaks down, polarization grows. It is in this context that the discourse of human rights comes to be seen as distant. What we are seeing in the region is the rise of populist and authoritarian regimes.
In its latest report, ECLAC [Comissão Econômica para a América Latina e o Caribe] showed that, in the last year, Latin America lost the equivalent of 27 years of fighting extreme poverty. Nor can we successfully tackle corruption, and this failure is perceived as the failure of democracy. The challenge is to show that authoritarian regimes risk making these problems more acute and creating new ones.
How to classify dictatorships and autocracies in the region? Today, there are different types of authoritarian regimes. We have three dictatorships, Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, in which the parallel with dictatorial regimes of decades ago is very clear in terms of the absolute restriction of civil rights and the absence of competitive elections. But there is also a new phenomenon of democratically elected regimes in which those who come to government take measures that seriously affect the rule of law, without the need to carry out a coup d’état — as in El Salvador, with Nayib Bukele and , in a way, in Brazil with Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
We are concerned about Mexico, with Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the Armed Forces increasingly in roles that are not theirs. There are also attacks on the judicial and electoral systems, in addition to the stigmatization of journalists, attacks on civil society associations and the criminalization of opponents.
Human Rights Watch called Bolsonaro’s human rights policy a “disaster”. Per what? Under Bolsonaro, there were many attacks on democracy and a very strong process to undermine the independence of electoral authority. We also saw attacks on the supreme courts and the press and a special concern with facilitating the population’s access to weapons, generating additional risks of political violence. The spread of fake news, the degradation of the image of women and the constant praise of the dictatorship create an environment in which human rights violations are very easy to advance.
We also emphasize the seriousness of the process of expansion of deforestation, with public policies to dismantle structures of environmental and indigenous authorities. Threats to the environment are not only shown in the threats and killings of environmental leaders but in the loss of biodiversity.
How do you see the initiatives of the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, to change the focus of the justice system? We celebrate the quest for “total peace” through dialogue with guerrillas, dissidents and other criminal groups. But we made a number of recommendations.
Colombia faces an increase in insecurity rates, markedly between 2016 and 2021, when homicide rates grew by 5.5%. Among these murders are those of social leaders and ex-combatants. Therefore, we defend a security policy so that the population does not feel abandoned in territories where these armed actors operate, even if they are in the process of negotiating peace.
The US has determined an increase in the granting of visas to prevent immigrants from resorting, for example, to the dangerous journeys through the Darién forest, but this seems insufficient. What other policies from countries in the region could help? The US decision is partially positive, because it assumes that the migrant will be able to fly there. Reality, however, shows us something else: in order to obtain an airline ticket and a passport in Venezuela today, not only do you need financial resources that the population does not have, but you also have to go through a system of corruption, bribery and extortion through regime authorities. So, although it is a good initiative, it is insufficient.
There is also the outsourcing that the US has been doing in controlling the border, and then there are abuses committed by the Mexican authorities, with torture, human trafficking, sexual exploitation and disappearances.
What is your opinion on Bolsonarist acts? post-election? There is still a warning that it is necessary to observe the inauguration of the new president. Brazilian institutions are strong, as they are demonstrating, and Lula needs to understand that he will govern a divided country and that bridges must be built.
X-ray | Juanita Goebertus, 38
A Colombian lawyer and politician, she is the new director for the Americas of the NGO Human Rights Watch. A former congressman and former negotiator of Colombia’s peace agreement with the FARC, she graduated from the University of the Andes. She specializes in peace, security, transition from dictatorships to democracies and peace processes.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
