A conversation with Ilana Bet-El

Historians of the future will spend much time deciding whether we entered the world of disorder in the Covid pandemic or because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 or because of worsening US-China relations or because of the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October — or because of many other reasons. However, when they come to analyse the events, they will find the voice of Latin America was relatively absent from the global stage, or indeed in the multilateral institutions such as the UN. This is an anomaly, as nearly 10% of the global population live in Latin America, and over centuries many exceptional people have emerged from the continent to contribute much to the global good.

Two such exceptional women are María Ángela Holguín, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, and Jessica Faieta, a native of Ecuador and former UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. They join Ilana Bet-El in a deep and wide ranging discussion about the continent — from the difficulties of women gaining high office in some states to the perceived absence of leadership in many Latina states, the declining state of democracy and the immense rise in violence and homicide related to drug wars and trafficking. They also reflect on the perceptions of global affairs in Latin America — from the war against Ukraine to the rise of China and its interests in Latin America to the decline of the UN. It is a fascinating and important perspective on the world.

This episode was recorded on 18 October 2023

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Opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Heinrich-Böll Stiftung European Union.