Open parliaments in Latin America to regain citizen confidence

The discontent of Latin American citizens with the political institutions of their respective countries has promoted the development of new strategies to gain the trust of the population.  “The congressmen of our country have lived in a bubble, they don’t represent us. They don’t know the social problems we face. We don’t trust them.”

These are the words of Tania, a Chilean university student.  Faced with this situation, legislators are trying to get closer to citizens through reliable means such as transparency, or communication with clear language and the creation of spaces for civic participation.

“Institutions must face inequalities, poverty and lack of opportunities, in line with the commitments made in the 2030 Agenda.” So says Borja Díaz, Senior Technician in Democratic Governance of EUROsociAL+.

The programme, which is managed by the FIIAPP and funded by the European Union, accompanies these efforts through different national and international alliances aimed at legislators increasing their efforts, expanding their results and consolidating policies of transparency and access to public information.

María José Méndez, is a EUROsociAL+ Consultant on transparency and access to information: “The Legislature is one of the institutions that causes the greatest rejection among citizens. According to Latino-barometer surveys, there has been a drop of 13 percentage points in confidence in this institution in the last nine years.

In 2018, only 21 percent of citizens showed ‘much or some confidence’ in the legislature. The vast majority consider that these bodies are not very transparent, do not represent their interests and ignore citizens’ demands.