The Regional Centre for the Development of Public Diplomacy and International Relations named after Yevgeniy M. Primakov hosted a lecture by Zbigniew Vladislavovich Ivanovsky, Professor of the Latin America Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Political Science. The lecture was devoted to the topic ‘State and Society in Modern Latin America’.
During the historical part of the lecture Zbigniew Vladislavovich told about the origin and formation of Latin America. Much attention was paid to the most ancient civilisations that inhabited its territory. Further, during the socio-economic part of the lecture, tables were presented showing GDP per capita, social polarisation, poverty level (which is a big problem for Latin America), minimum wages. Zbigniew Vladislavovich identified the next important problem: the problem of violence. Discussing it, the speaker said: ‘One third of the crimes committed worldwide are committed in Latin America’.
The speaker also spoke about the administrative and territorial structure of Latin American states.
Students learnt about the typology and rating of political regimes in Latin America in 2022. Zbigniew Vladislavovich indicated the tendency of declining trust in political parties and elections among the population.
At the end of his speech Zbigniew Vladislavovich outlined new tendencies in the political system of Latin American countries:
- opposition coming to power;
- abrupt increase in political polarization;
- fragmentation of the party-political structure;
- obscure and unprofessional politicians coming to power.
Summing everything up, the lecturer asked the question: ‘Latin America: unity or diversity?’, by answering which he spoke about Latin American organisations such as the Pacific Alliance, UNASUR, PROSUR, CELAC and others.
Photo: Alexander Zaytsev | Photoclub “Illuminator”.
