La School of Politics, Government and International Relations of the Universidad Austral It held the VII Political Science Conference. The theme chosen for this edition focused on "the tensions between governance and institutionality in a constitutional democracy." The activity, which took place during the morning ofl On Thursday, May 16th, at the Molino Building, more than 120 people attended in person and more than 300 attended virtually..
By way of introduction, the director of the School of Politics, Government and International Relations, Dr. Alfonso Santiagoo, made a Libra of the40 years of democracy and analyzed the tension between institutionality y governability that exists both in our country and at a regional and global level: "We have been for 40 years continuedemocratic societywith an electoral system that has functioned adequately without proscriptions and with enough transparency in the resultsfinal results, regardless of any improvements that may be made. For the first time in our history, since 2003 to 2023, There are 5 presidents who completed their entire presidential term. y sIt has been possible to reformulater manner legitimate and advicenThe Constitution was adopted in 1994. We have gone 20 years without federal interventions and more than 20 years without declarations of a state of siege. And this is unprecedented in our history.” Furthermore, Alfonso added: “While these 40 years have left a positive balance in institutional matters, I believe that this is not the case in terms of public policy.”where economic, social, and educational indicators show us remarkable failures”.
The first panel, moderated by Sofía Posleman, was titled "Tensions Between Governance and Institutionality." The panel consisted of prominent political scientists Manuel Alcántara Sáez, Lourdes Lodi, and Martín D'Alessandro.
“There is clear evidence that democracy, in terms of what we demanded of democracy 40 years ago or what Robert Dahl argued, is happening. But it is happening in a society that has changed, and that's where the idea of a fatigued democracy comes in. That The idea is based on three parameters: electoral alternation and sustained participation, discontent reflected in public opinion polls, and a crisis of representation caused by parties that fail to generate identification and the personalization of politics. “Politics is no longer about party labels, but rather labels with a person's name,” described Manuel Alcántara Sáez, professor emeritus at the University of Salamanca, who was in charge of opening the panel.
Next, Martín D'Alessandro, professor at the University of Buenos Aires and Torcuato Di Tella University, spoke: “Institutional frameworks provide predictability to the actions of those in power because they set limits or standardize behaviors. In this sense, citizens and economic actors know what to expect from social life and can plan accordingly. At the same time, the struggle for power throughout history has often been ruthless. That is why institutional frameworks, repetition, and recurring patterns are essential to regulate this struggle. In this way, governability and peace are ensured. However, the history of our countries has shown us that institutional frameworks have been eroded more than once in the name of governability.”
Moreover, D'Alessandro described what it wasn the problems that threatened the governabilityIn that regard, he reflected on four shortcomings: fstructural qualities, that is, when the system as a whole is unable to provide public goods due to deficiencies in a weak and ineffective state; personal factors such as the mediocrity of the ruling class to understand What are the most pressing problems of a country that it cannot solve; organizational shortcomings at a political level that make it impossible to maintain power and carry out an agenda; by last institutional or relational shortcomings, that is, the relations between the executive and legislative branches.
The panel was closed by María Lourdes Lodi, PhD in Political Science, and director of the Political and Electoral Observatory of the National University of Rosario“The risk of ungovernability stems not from the strength of institutions but from their lack of flexibility. As Jonathan Wolff argues, political institutions define who gets what and who says what. They resolve the tensions between autonomy and authority, between freedom and regulation. The great challenge is adapting these rules, which are incentive systems, to determine how we want to regulate ourselves today in societies that are far more complex than those envisioned by the country's constitutional delegates. Institutional change is fundamental to democracy.”
The second panel, entitled "The Challenges of Democratic Quality," was moderated by Verónica Fiuza, MA. The panelists included prosecutor Diego Luciani, sociologist Eduardo Fidanza, and the director of the Observatory of Institutional Quality of the Universidad AustralMarcelo Bermolén.
The panel was opened by prosecutor Diego Luciani, who gave a presentation on corruption as an attack on democracy: “Democratic institutions in Argentina have not yet been consolidated to function as true checks and balances on the different branches of government. Forty years into democracy, the problem of corruption has not been eradicated. Corruption is an attack on the rule of law and governance. Furthermore, corruption perpetuates poverty and inequality because it prevents the proper allocation of resources, which are squandered by corrupt individuals. As a result, it becomes impossible to guarantee fundamental rights for society.”
Regarding the role of the justice system in the fight against corruption, Luciani stated: “Prosecutors must protect citizens from arbitrary actions and abuses. We must defend the interests of society, which sees us as the only alternative to putting an end to these abuses. Therefore, it is essential that the justice system fulfill its duty, which is based on judging swiftly, objectively, and transparently, and achieving firm and exemplary sentences. When we talk about corruption, there is no room for speculation.”
Next, sociologist Eduardo Fidanza spoke about the crisis of trust in institutions: “We are at a historic moment in Argentine political history because there has been a break in the political traditions that had dominated democracy: the republican current and the national and popular current, represented by Peronism. In that sense, the current government would be an illiberal government, that is, a government at odds with the classic traditions of liberal democracy that the republicans represented in recent years. The new government came to power primarily through the votes of young people under 30 and also with the votes of the middle and lower-middle classes who, in recent years, did not feel represented by the party that traditionally represented them, which was Peronism. So we are at that turning point.”
Furthermore, Fidanza added: “The crisis of trust in institutions has to do with two factors: on the one hand, the elites and institutions betrayed the trust of the people, and on the other hand, with a change of era and culture, due to the dizzying technological and cultural change, which was also not grasped by the elites.”
The closing remarks were delivered by Marcelo Bermolén, director of the Institutional Quality Observatory of the School of Government of the Universidad Austral.
Bermolén gave He began his presentation with a thesis: Is there a matrix of politics? Argentina that favors corruption? "I believe that Argentina's problem is not economic.nor of resources, but of quality institutionalThat the emergency economic It is actually a metaphor for the emergency political which, in turn, is a metaphor for the incapacity of the political class Argentina to solve the nation's problems. On the one hand, an inability to solve problems, but on the other hand, an enormous inability to damage the institutions. Politics has been constantly distorting las institutions in general. Institutions don't work because the political class manipulates them for the benefit of their personal power projects."He explained Bermolén.
Good The full video of the VII Political Science Conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4k_scAZjvU
