The 8th Cardinal Claudio Hummes Lecture Series, organized by the Amazonian University Program (PUAM), brought together Amazonian specialists and leaders to reflect on the challenges facing democracy in the Pan-Amazon region. The meeting concluded that strengthening democracy requires going beyond electoral processes, recognizing the effective participation of indigenous peoples, defending collective rights, and building institutions capable of listening to the territories.
Democracy in the Amazon today faces the challenge of responding to the realities of the peoples who inhabit the territory, in a context marked by profound social, economic, and environmental inequalities. It was under this premise that the 8th Cardinal Claudio Hummes Lecture Series took place, organized by the Amazon University Program (PUAM), an academic forum that fostered dialogue on citizen participation, territorial governance, and democratic strengthening in the region.
During the opening ceremony, Alejandra Espinosa, coordinator of PUAM’s Advocacy and Research Division, noted that the Pan-Amazon region is home to some of the planet’s most important natural resources, but also to deep divides of exclusion.
“The question is no longer just how we elect leaders, but how we build effective participation, representation, and a balance of power in these territories,” she stated.
This discussion was based on a study conducted by PUAM in collaboration with the AUSJAL Observatory for Democracy in Latin America, drawing on the perceptions of 117 social leaders from Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
A Democracy That Extends Beyond Elections
Political scientist Azul Aguiar explained that one of the study’s main findings is that Amazonian peoples understand democracy as a process far broader than the act of voting.
As she noted, concepts such as justice, equality, freedom, participation, respect for rights, and the rule of law hold just as much importance as elections within the communities’ vision of democracy.
“Social leaders do not view democracy solely as elections, but also as an ongoing exercise in participation.”
Aguiar warned that the weakening of democratic institutions fosters the rise of authoritarian movements and emphasized the need to strengthen an active citizenry capable of continuously monitoring and holding those in power accountable.
In this regard, he highlighted the importance of promoting political and civic education through universities, social movements, and communities.
The Amazon Region Continues to Believe in Democracy
PUAM’s founding director, Mauricio López, presented some of the study’s most significant findings.
More than 90% of those surveyed believe that democracy remains the best system of government. However, nearly 80% say they live in democracies facing serious difficulties, while only 1% consider themselves to be living in a full democracy.
For López, these figures reflect a growing disconnect between institutions and people’s daily lives.
“The Amazon has not stopped believing in democracy.”
Nevertheless, he warned that there is a disconnect between the formal structures of the democratic system and the concrete experiences of communities.
“Democracy exists formally, but many people do not experience justice, inclusion, or participation in their daily lives.”
In light of this reality, she highlighted the work carried out by the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM), the Human Rights Schools, and other ecclesial initiatives that strengthen community leadership and promote a citizenry committed to defending life and the land.
He also emphasized that synodality constitutes a valuable contribution to democratic development.
“This synodality must take to the streets.”
Territories Teach Another Way to Exercise Democracy
Human rights defender Yajaira Curipallo presented various experiences that show how Amazonian communities exercise democracy through organization, the defense of their territory, and collective participation.
Among these, she highlighted the mobilization of Indigenous communities and the mestizo population to protect the Piatúa River, considered an ecological, cultural, and spiritual heritage site.
She also recalled the recovery of a large part of the Sápara people’s ancestral territory, as well as the resistance movements against oil projects and the Kawsak Sacha (Living Forest) initiative promoted by the Kichwa people of Sarayaku.
For Curipallo, these experiences demonstrate that democracy is also built from the ground up.
“Without territory, peoples and nationalities are destined to become extinct.”
He added that protecting the Amazon means defending collective memory, cultures, ancestral knowledge, and the right of peoples to decide their own future.
Listening to Indigenous Peoples Strengthens Democracy
During the second panel, Curipallo proposed various actions to strengthen democratic governance in the Amazon.
Among them, he highlighted the need to:
- strengthen effective mechanisms for citizen participation;
- ensure that free, prior, and informed consultation is a genuine democratic exercise;
- expand the state’s effective presence in historically excluded communities;
- legally recognize ancestral territories;
- value the indigenous peoples’ own forms of governance;
- strengthen human rights education;
- protect those who defend territories and the environment.
“Democracy will be stronger to the extent that the peoples are heard,” he stated.
He also insisted that public institutions must recognize indigenous authorities as legitimate actors within intercultural governance processes.
A Democracy Built from the Amazon
During the closing panel, participants agreed that Amazonian democracy must be built based on the realities of the territories and not solely on institutional structures.
Azul Aguiar warned of the rise of organized crime, the capture of public institutions, and the growth of authoritarian projects that threaten citizen participation and democratic rights.
For his part, Mauricio López drew on a reflection by Antonio Gramsci to describe the historical moment Latin America is currently experiencing:
“The old world is dying; the new is slow to emerge.”
From this perspective, he argued that transformations arise from the strengthening of the social fabric, coordination among communities, the Church, academia, and public institutions, and from processes capable of generating new forms of participation.
As a final reflection, Yajaira Curipallo summed up the spirit of the gathering with a statement that challenges the region’s future:
“The Amazon does not need institutions that speak for it; it needs institutions that learn to listen to the Amazon.”
The conclusions of the 8th Cardinal Claudio Hummes Lecture reaffirmed that democracy in the Pan-Amazon region can only be strengthened if it recognizes cultural diversity, protects collective rights, guarantees the effective participation of the peoples, and promotes governance based on listening, dialogue, and care for our Common Home—principles that also inspire the synodal journey of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA).