Guides for Democracy: the Pacto’s experience compiled and shared
Guides for Democracy: the Pacto’s experience compiled and shared
In a collective effort to gather the experiences of the Pacto pela Democracia coalition over the last 7 years of collaborative and innovative work, the Pacto’s Executive Secretariat began developing "Guides for Democracy." The goal of these guides is to document and share the practices and insights of Pacto pela Democracia, both nationally and internationally. The guides are organized by themes and feature contributions from the Pacto pela Democracia network in the development of their content.
Building Coalitions for Democracy
A coalition is an alliance of different groups, individuals or organizations which brings them together temporarily or permanently in pursuit of a common goal. Historically, Pacto pela Democracia has sought to bring together social and political actors that defend strengthening the pillars of democracy, under the premise that this is the only way of securing our fundamental rights.
Coalitions for democracy allow greater social participation, support more strategic involvement in shaping public debate, increase political advocacy and engage in multiple agendas concomitantly – an approach often required when defending the Democratic Rule of Law.
This new handbook provides an in-depth look at how the Pacto has coordinated efforts and mobilized a network of actors to strengthen democracy and respond quickly and assertively to anti-democratic advances. Throughout the volume, readers will find valuable strategies for building broad coalitions, focusing on joint action coordination, strengthening democratic resilience, and creating agile and effective responses to threats against the integrity of the democratic rule of law.
“We understand that in order to share and inspire social actors in Brazil and around the world, it is important to organize, systematize, and create materials that can be easily shared with various actors also committed to defending democracy. The Guides for Democracy are a way for us to crystallize, refine, and structure our own work,” says Flávia Pellegrino, Executive Director of Pacto.
You can access the Guide at this link.
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In defense of the Electoral Process
Pacto pela Democracia launched the first edition of its “Guides for Democracy.” The inaugural edition focuses on defending electoral processes, drawing on the experience of mobilization and coordination efforts during the 2022 elections. The material provides a history of the coalition's actions in defense of the electoral process and offers tips and guidance on how organizations can carry out similar actions. These actions include monitoring, strategy definition, and multisectoral coordination.
The guide is the result of lessons learned from the Pacto pela Democracia network, which worked to defend the integrity of the Brazilian electoral system against the attacks of an autocratic leader, the spread of disinformation, and other threats. Brazilian civil society united efforts to develop unprecedented actions, discussed in the guide, which were essential to ensure the integrity of the electoral process that year.
Interference and attacks on electoral processes have been one of the most common strategies used by autocratic leaders worldwide, highlighting the importance of continuous coordination to defend democracy, both before and after elections. In this context, the Guide aims to inspire organizations in different countries to adapt and implement the strategies adopted by Pacto in 2022 to their own contexts, ensuring fair and democratic elections.
“We have received requests for this story, its strategies, and lessons to be shared to inspire other pro-democracy movements in Brazil and internationally. We believe that sharing the strategies and steps taken in this process can encourage and provide tools for other actors, collectives, and organizations to enhance their strategies in facing similar challenges,” says Margarida Gorecki, Institutional Development Coordinator at Pacto pela Democracia.