Democracy at Work in Latin America & the Caribbean
Respect for and defense of democratic values and institutions results in more peaceful, prosperous societies for everyone.
USAID is supporting democratic development in the LAC region, including through the below examples:
Improving Women’s Political Participation in Ecuador
USAID promotes the inclusion of women in Ecuador’s political arena in a number of ways.
Four political parties (Pachacutik, CREO, Izquierda Democratica, and Partido Social Cristiano) voluntarily utilized a USAID-supported self-assessment tool to measure their compliance with national and international standards on gender participation. USAID helped ensure that the parity quotas for the recent elections were met. With the support of the organization Participación Ciudadana, they monitored more than 80 political organizations in Guayas and Azuay so that they would comply with the requirement of presenting a minimum of 30% women on the candidate lists.
In partnership with the National Electoral Council (CNE), USAID trained over 100 electoral officials on gender inclusion and institutional equity policymaking. USAID is contributing to a progressive cultural and behavioral change to ensure that women's participation is not only a legal issue, but that it occurs in a substantial way, with adequate conditions and free of political violence.
Advancing Rule of Law Education in Paraguay
USAIDs Rule of Law and Culture of Integrity project in Paraguay is an alliance between local and U.S. higher education institutions, training centers, civil society and the private sector to strengthen the rule of law in Paraguay. The project supports curriculum development, professional exchanges, and training aimed at increasing the quality of law schools and legal services.
One program participant, Jazmin Rivas, a law student from a public university gained valuable work-based learning experience thanks to USAID’s higher education programming. Resulting from her involvement in the Rule of Law and Cultural Integrity Program, Jazmin was able to complete an internship with a prestigious law firm in Asuncion. The law firm was so impressed with Jazmin that they offered her a full-time job after her internship ended.
Fighting Corruption in the Dominican Republic
USAID is working alongside the Dominican Republic government to address corruption and improve transparency.
By improving the government’s procurement system and having professional and capable personnel, the Dominican Republic is taking a step forward to reduce corruption, strengthen transparency and accountability, and increase access to contracts for small and women-owned businesses.
USAID partners with the U.S Department of Commerce Commercial Law Development Program and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to provide training courses, including investigation techniques and how to prevent collusion in public procurement. Through these efforts, USAID has trained over 300 government officials on accountability mechanisms and detection of anti-competitive practices in the public procurement system.
Under the same initiative, USAID also provided key support to the Dominican General Directorate of Public Procurement and the Office of the Legal Advisor of the Presidency to strengthen and address gaps of the current public procurement legal framework, based on international best practices.
Promoting Youth Civic Participation in El Salvador
USAID is supporting young leaders in El Salvador to increase civic participation, expand community engagement, and promote public policy dialogue around issues of transparency and accountability.
With the support of USAID, the Universidad de Oriente (UNIVO) has created the Center of Research for Democracy (CIDEMO), a think tank that provides a voice to the population of the eastern region of the country, especially young people, women, and leaders of diverse communities.
CIDEMO’s ‘Oriente Lidera’ program recruits young, emerging leaders and offers them training and networking opportunities to encourage their participation in democratic processes, while strengthening their ability to advocate for government accountability and access to public information.
Program graduate Sara Meléndez was selected for an internship at CIDEMO and later offered a full-time job after the internship ended. She was selected from 15 applicants. Ms. Meléndez now heads a local civil society organization focused on women's empowerment and fostering women's participation in civil society and politics in eastern El Salvador. To date, over 600 youth have participated in UNIVO’s leadership program.
