Critical Thinking Takes Center Stage in Santiago: CLACSO Honors Atilio Borón and Engages in Democratic Crisis Debate in Latin America

Original article: El pensamiento crítico se toma Santiago: CLACSO homenajea a Atilio Borón y abre debate sobre la crisis democrática en América Latina

The Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) will pay tribute this Tuesday, October 27, to Argentinian sociologist and political scientist Atilio Borón, former Executive Secretary of the institution and a leader in critical thought within the region.

This homage marks the kickoff of the event titled “Critical Thought and Transformative Action”, jointly organized by CLACSO and its member centers in Chile, along with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

The recognition of Borón’s career will be awarded at 6:30 PM in the Dr. René Zorrilla Auditorium at the Metropolitan Technological University (UTEM), located at Dieciocho 390, Santiago. Words of acknowledgment will be delivered by Óscar Vega from UTEM, while Pablo Vommaro, Executive Director of CLACSO, along with Gina Alfonso, a member of the Steering Committee representing Cuba, will present the award.

Moreover, the event will span from October 27 to 29 across various university venues in Chile’s capital, creating a platform for academic and political reflection on contemporary regional challenges.

Democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean Amid Multicrisis

The first focus of this event is the Forum “Democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean Amid Multicrisis: Rights, Territories, and Participation Against New Forms of Violence”, which will convene on October 27 and 28.

Organized by CLACSO together with ECLAC and other academic and regional cooperation networks, the forum aims to gather academics, civil society, local governments, international organizations, and social movements.

The discussion will center on how the overlapping crises —democratic, social, economic, climate, migratory, and caregiving— are shrinking civic space, eroding rights, and deepening territorial inequalities in the region, as well as the responses emerging from local territories.

The opening session scheduled for today at 5:00 PM at UTEM will address the topic “Democracy and Narratives in Times of Multicrisis: Recovering the Common in Fragmented Societies”. Participants will include Pablo Vommaro (CLACSO), Marisol Durán Santis (UTEM Rector), Pilar Barba Buscaglia (Vice-Rector of Extension and Communications at the University of Chile), Claudio Herrera Jarpa (Vice-Rector for Community Engagement at USACH), and Laura Moreno Rodríguez (Mexican Ambassador to Chile), moderated by Gloria Amézquita, Academic Director of CLACSO.

On Wednesday, October 28, at the CEPEC Auditorium of USACH (Cruz del Sur 77, Las Condes), four dialogues have been planned starting at 9:00 AM: Participation and Civic Space; Rights and Democracy, with a special focus on the Chilean case; Territorial Disputes Regarding Extractivism and Climate Crisis; and Democracy Facing Multiple Forms of Violence. Speakers will include members of CLACSO’s Steering Committee from ten countries, academics from Chilean universities, and Argentine national deputy Nicolás Trotta.

The day will conclude at 5:10 PM with the presentation of the book The Fall of the Eagle and the End of the West, by Fernando Estenssoro (USACH), which will be commented on by Atilio Borón, Jorge Montealegre Irruta, and Fernanda Pampín.

Colloquium “Fidel 100 Years”

The event will conclude on Thursday, October 29, from 10:00 AM at the Alejandro Lipschutz Institute of Sciences (ICAL), Cumming 350, Santiago, with the international colloquium “Fidel 100 Years: Critical Thought and Political Relevance”, organized by CLACSO and the Diploma in Latin American Critical Thought at the University of Chile, with the collaboration of the Casa de las Américas, the Philosophy Institute of Cuba, El Ciudadano, and the Fidel Castro Ruz Center.

International guests include Atilio Borón (Argentina), Georgina Alonso (Cuba), Alina Duarte (Mexico), Tania Pierre-Charles (Haiti), Fernando Rojas (Cuba), Ximena González (Venezuela), Gloria Amézquita (Dominican Republic), Pablo Vommaro (Argentina), Pablo Henrique (Brazil), Hernán Ouviña (Argentina), Pilar Lizárraga (Bolivia), and Gissela Dávila (Ecuador).

CLACSO is an international non-governmental organization comprising over 900 research and graduate centers in social sciences and humanities worldwide, primarily from Latin America and the Caribbean, promoting critical thought, research, training, and open access to knowledge.