Latin America is the most unequal region in the world. This acute inequality affects virtually all aspects of political, economic and social life, yet it has received very little attention from social scientists. This lecture examines why inequality has been so persistent, why it is so difficult to address and what its implications are for the quality and durability of democracy in Latin America. Democratization, it posits, may have proved easier and yet far less consequential than analysts once thought in the context of extreme inequalities.
Chappell Lawson is Associate Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he holds the Class of 1954 Career Development Chair. His recent book, Building the Fourth Estate, addresses the role of the mass media in democratization, and his current research focuses on voting behavior in Mexico.
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Luis Garzón was the president of Colombia’s largest labor federation, the CUT (Confederación Unitaria de Trabajadores), from 1996-2001. He was a presidential candidate in 2002 for the new party, Polo Democrático, and won the largest support a third-party candidate has ever received in the history of Colombia. Currently, he is a key figure in the peace process, serving as a member of the Executive Committee of the National Peace Council.
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