In this series, prominent decision-makers from across the Americas—those who have been at the heart of democratic governance—share personal reflections and insights on the meaning, challenges, and future of democracy in the region.
In each episode, members of the WOLA team sit down with a current or former political figure from the Americas to explore democracy through different lenses: what it means to them, the challenges it faces, and why it remains essential today. Each conversation pairs democracy with a new dimension—transition, justice, leadership, and beyond.
In 2010, Laura Chinchilla became the first woman elected President of Costa Rica — a country that has long stood as one of the hemisphere’s most durable democracies and one of the few full democracies anywhere in the world.
As President, Chinchilla governed at the intersection of security and democratic principles , drawing on years of scholarly work and a deep belief that effective governance cannot come at the cost of the rule of law. Today, as democratic backsliding spreads across Latin America — and as leaders increasingly trade rights for the promise of order — her perspective carries urgent weight. Costa Rica, once a model, is no longer untouchable.
WOLA President Carolina Jiménez Sandoval and Venezuela Program Director Laura Dib sit down with President Chinchilla to explore the hard questions: What does the Costa Rican model actually teach us about achieving security without militarization? How do you govern democratically when public patience is wearing thin? And what does it mean when even a beacon of democracy begins to dim?
Watch the video of our third episode with subtitles in Spanish!
Download this podcast episode’s .mp3 file here. Listen to WOLA’s Democracy& podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you subscribe to podcasts. The main feed is here.
