Former Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez will participate in a forum with former presidents in Argentina.

Accompanied by several former Latin American presidents, former Colombian Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez will participate this Wednesday in the Rule of Law and Democracy forum, being held at the Austral University in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

During the event, former presidents and vice presidents such as Jamil Mahuad (Ecuador), Mauricio Macri (Argentina), Carlos Ruckauf (Argentina), Lenín Moreno (Ecuador), and Ramírez herself will discuss the current state of democracy in the region.

In her speech, the former vice president will emphasize that Latin America is at a historic crossroads. For Ramírez, democracy in the region is under siege, facing not only economic and social crises but also serious institutional erosion. She will also emphasize that this is a moment of urgency and reflection that demands decisive responses and collective action. In her words: "The electoral process is not enough if elections legitimize arbitrariness."

Ramírez will also emphasize that institutional erosion is a poison that consumes the capacity for governance in the region. This manifests itself, she says, in citizen distrust, a problem that is not accidental, but rather the result of a state captured by political interests that ignore the population. She will also highlight that the lack of coherence in regional diplomacy undermines the struggles for freedom and human rights.

During the forum, Ramírez will call for collective action and reiterate that, to strengthen the rule of law, it is imperative to invest in judicial training, reduce political intervention, and encourage active citizen participation. In his words: "Civic education is the first step toward empowered citizens, capable of demanding their rights and participating in building their future."

The former vice president argues that modernizing the judicial system and ensuring equal access to justice are key to the survival of democracy. Ramírez will emphasize that the crisis of legitimacy in Latin America requires a profound restructuring : "We must move from a power without rules to a power that respects the law." This is a call to all political and social actors to fight for the institutional strengthening necessary to face current challenges.

He will also close his speech with this message: “ Today, more than ever, we must raise our voices and act firmly. The transformation of Latin American reality is not the task of one person alone, but of all. Every action counts , and it is the responsibility of citizens to forge the bonds that will keep democracy afloat.”

Ramírez's presentation is scheduled for 11:35 a.m. Argentina time.

Maria Alejandra Gonzalez Duarte