Juan Manuel Santos: 'Latin America must avoid extremes'

Belém - Latin America is experiencing a decisive moment, marked by electoral volatility and abrupt changes successful government. For Juan Manuel Santos, erstwhile president of Colombia and Nobel Peace Prize winner, this ideological pendulum is not a motion of antiauthoritarian vitality, but of fragility caused by governmental polarization. “Extremes forestall democracies from being effective,” helium told EXAME during his information successful the Conference of the Parties (COP30).

According to Santos, who received a Nobel Peace Prize for the bid statement with Farc successful his state successful 2016, the portion has unsocial conditions to pb the planetary vigor transition, with immense mineral resources and cultivation imaginable to proviso the planet, which is nether unit from the clime crisis.

However, the turbulent governmental situation and the trouble of re-electing incumbent governments—as illustrated successful the Chilean elections connected Sunday, November 16—prevent opportunities from being converted into stable, semipermanent nationalist policies. “These governmental swings, this polarization successful each countries, are preventing this,” helium said.

Santos observes that elector vexation fuels the rhythm of extremist change: left-wing governments conflict to present results, which opens the doorway for the right—which, successful turn, faces akin obstacles.

The cumulative effect, helium argues, is simply a continent caught betwixt inflated expectations, unrealistic promises, and mediocre governance.

“The near comes in. And it has trouble governing. People go frustrated and spell to the different extreme. Or the close comes in. It besides has trouble governing owed to radicalization, and radical are moving to the left. We are seeing this pendulum,” helium summarized.

The erstwhile president recalls that coagulated democracies beryllium connected an constituent that, successful his view, has disappeared from the Latin American governmental vocabulary: moderation.

Quoting George Washington, Santos stated that determination stableness involves rebuilding a minimum statement and reducing the governmental outgo of governing from the center. “Never hide the connection moderation,” helium said, echoing the informing of the archetypal President of the United States.

Trump's unit connected Latin America

External tensions besides aggravate the governance situation successful the region. Asked astir US President Donald Trump's caller subject movements successful the Caribbean, which person caused interest among Latin American governments, Santos says helium hopes for transparency astir the operation's existent intentions.

“We volition spot what his existent intentions are, due to the fact that determination person been contradictory signals, and I anticipation it is not thing that volition pb to violence, to a melodramatic situation,” helium said.

For the erstwhile president, instability is not an inevitable fate, but the effect of governmental choices. Santos argues that countries successful the portion should wantonness the logic of radicalization and follow statement agendas focused connected sustainable development, determination integration, and the simplification of inequalities.

“Extremes pb america to populism, which successful the agelong tally is wholly counterproductive. It doesn't substance if idiosyncratic is center-right oregon center-left, but avoiding extremes is what I aspire to successful Latin America,” helium said.

COP30: Science, governmental will, and the hunt for an statement connected fossil fuels

At COP30, Juan Manuel Santos joined a radical of scientists who, successful an effort to gully the attraction of negotiators, delivered a papers to authorities connected Monday morning, calling for contiguous enactment to forestall clime collapse.

Santos was moderately optimistic astir the anticipation of a robust agreement, provided that governmental volition prevails. According to him, disagreements successful the archetypal week are common, and the decisive signifier begins with the accomplishment of ministers this week.

“Everything is imaginable if determination is simply a will,” helium said, commenting connected the differences betwixt fossil fuel-producing countries and nations that advocator much assertive goals.

Mary Robinson (left), Juan Manuel Santos (center), Johan Rockström (center), and Carlos Nobre (right) successful an interrogation aft delivering a papers to authorities astatine COP30 (Leandro Fonseca/Exame) (Leandro Fonseca/Exame)

As person of the Planetary Guardians, a radical based connected technological evidence, and the Elders organization, Santos emphasizes that clime argumentation indispensable “bridge the spread betwixt subject and politics.”

For him, subject intelligibly points the mode to limiting planetary warming and redeeming captious ecosystems—such arsenic the Amazon and coral reefs, 2 priorities helium cited.

The erstwhile president of Colombia besides criticized the United States' stance, which has not yet signaled afloat adherence to the main negotiating fronts. “If the President of the United States does not privation to articulation this cause, that is his problem. The remainder of the satellite cannot hold for the United States to marque a decision, immoderate it whitethorn be,” helium said.

Regardless of the US position, Santos continued, Latin American and European countries person a work to determination guardant with ambitious commitments to guarantee a viable aboriginal for the planet. “We each privation to perpetrate to moving forward, due to the fact that it is the aboriginal of each of us,” helium said.