Secretary General of the Organization of American States Visits Universidad Andrés Bello

José Miguel Insulza, secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS) and Dr. Patrice Vermeren, UNESCO expert and director of the department of philosophy from the University of Paris Saint-Denis, visited Universidad Andrés Bello to participate in “Confidence, Democracy and Politics”, a seminar organized by the university’s school of humanities and social science.

During the event, Insulza responded to questions regarding proposed campaign finance reforms in Chile. “I think it is very positive, though we were not able to do this in 2013, I think it will now be passed and those that want to contribute to politics will be able to do this, to a certain limit.” 

Insulza highlighted four problems he sees that threaten the stability of the governments around the world: the gap between the political world and the day-to-day life of its citizens, individualism in politics, indifference, and a lack of transparency. The secretary general indicated that limited participation and lack of transparency are particular issues facing democracies throughout Latin America.

“I don’t think there is an immediate solution for these challenges, I don’t think there is a silver bullet that will answer all the problems. I think that many of these problems originate from a lack of social confidence. Unless this changes, people will not think that their systems will work the way they think they should and resolving political issues will be difficult,” he stated.