May 9, 2025

After four days of powerful dialogue, shared struggle, and collective imagination, we’ve reached the final moments of Democracies Under Attack: From Crisis to Strategy. What began as a hemispheric gathering in Guatemala became something more: a living, breathing space of resistance and healing. 

Our final panel asked us to look forward, through a lens sharpened by lived experience. Bosque David Iglesias Guzmán of Por México Hoy reminded us that authoritarianism doesn’t just operate from above, it takes root in our unresolved traumas and fears and learned silences. But in remembering, and in naming the legacies of resistance we’ve inherited, we begin to reclaim the power to create spaces for healing, listening, and historical memory. These spaces are not just reflective, they are where real, lasting change begins.

We closed the gathering by deliberating and reaching consensus on how to take action in defense of democracies. Here are some of our proposals: 

Promoting the development of a shared pedagogical agenda for daily struggles toward social justice, rooted in solidarity between peoples, their dignity, and biological and cultural diversity.

Creating regional narratives that counter far-right discourse, keeping dialogue open across countries, media, and other sectors.

Amplifying multiethnic and multicultural knowledge in defense of territories.

Advancing actions that ensure transparency, accountability in democracy, and the oversight of political power and parties.

And we know this is just the beginning. The threats we face are interconnected, and so must be our responses. Building cross-border coalitions isn’t optional, it’s vital. This gathering planted seeds for deeper collaboration across struggles, borders, and generations. And we have so much more to share. So stay tuned. 

Catch up on any sessions you missed: Watch the full archive on YouTube. And explore more reflections and images on Instagram: @globalexchange

Let’s carry what we’ve built here, into our organizing, our communities, and the movements that will shape the future of democracy across the Americas.