Past Events

CLAS is dedicated to promote understanding and engagement with Latin America through a dynamic range of activities and events. With a mission to foster multidisciplinary conversations, we bring together students, scholars, professionals, and the community to explore the complex realities and contributions of Latin America.

We have hosted the The Outlook for Brazilian Democracy Series and Latin American Debates Series.

We also organize book talks, faculty and visiting professors' lectures and presentations, cultural events, film screenings, and social gatherings to bring the richness of Latin American culture to the forefront.

Outlook For Brazilian Democracy

This was a series, organized by CLAS and cosponsored by the Chicago Center on Democracy, that seeked to paint a balanced, non-partisan picture of the state of democracy in Brazil. As the world’s 4th largest democracy, Brazil has been at the center stage of contemporary concerns about the demise of democracy and the rise of fascism.

In recognition of the critical role that judicial activism has played in the fortunes of Brazil in the last decade, the series began with events that focused on the role of the law and the judicial system in pushing back against threats to democracy. The series then took a broader view of issues affecting democracy, including:

  • The rise of political activism by the police and the violence perpetuated by paramilitary groups
  • The increase in the number of Black women working to advance racial democracy by running for office
  • The role of social movements in advancing gender equality, reproductive rights, self-housing, and urban mobility, and the resistance from authoritarian and conservative social movements
  • The history of energy infrastructure, land management, and legislation that continue to affect Brazil’s handling of environmental issues

These events were designed to situate to take the pulse of the Brazilian state and Brazilian democratic institutions at the time, and to reflect on what the future may hold.

Latam Debates

Latin American Debates was an event series that focused on issues affecting our region. It was a lunch forum aimed at a broad audience, addressing critical, public issues of the day, with insightful and well-informed expert analysis, lively moderated debate with Q&A. The event series included the following:

  • The Amazon in Peril
  • Argentina's Presidential Election
  • 50 Years of the 1973 Coup in Chile
  • Lula's (Third) First Year in Brazil
  • Worlds Longest Human Migration
LATAM Debates
LATAM Debates - Worlds Longest Human Migration (February 2024)