China’s economic, diplomatic, political, and security activities in the region are contributing to democratic backsliding in Latin America and the Caribbean. Such is one of the conclusions of the report Exporting Autocracy, China’s Role in Democratic Backsliding in Latin America and the Caribbean, of U.S. think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), which takes an in-depth look at the nature of that impact.
“China influences authoritarianism and democratic backsliding in the region in two ways. First, it propagates its authoritarian political model as a template for governments to emulate,” Henry Ziemer, research associate for the Americas Program at CSIS, told Diálogo on March 30. “With projects such as the Global Security Initiative, China seeks to convince Latin American and Caribbean countries that the best way to ensure their security is to impose centralized and invasive surveillance systems with little or no regard for individual privacy.”
According to the report, China also propagates its model of authoritarian and ideological governance through “training” programs in the media, education, and people-to-people diplomacy. For example, journalists are encouraged to cover positive aspects of their governments and avoid investigative and fact-finding reporting, which is considered “divisive.”
“They establish a formal partnership with these media outlets, so that local newspapers start republishing a page or two of something like China Daily, or a television station airs segments produced by CGTV [China’s state-run television station],” Igor Patrick, a research fellow at the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, told Voice of America on March 25. “Companies in China see media outlets struggling financially, so these content-sharing deals are a lifeline for a lot of these outlets, which is also a problem.”
In July 2023, journalists from Nicaragua traveled to China, with salary and all expenses paid by the Chinese government, to take communication and indoctrination courses organized by the China International Press Communication Center, Nicaraguan pro-regime media outlet El 19 Digital reported.
“Secondly, China protects existing authoritarian regimes by ‘providing’ economic, diplomatic, and security assistance to make it easier for these governments to persist and consolidate power,” Ziemer said. “An excellent example of this is Venezuela, where China is intimately involved, helping the regime maintain its dictatorship through sanctions evasion, assistance with infrastructure funding, and designing a sophisticated method of citizen control in the form of the Homeland Card [Carnet de la Patria], inspired by similar practices existing in China.”
The Nicolás Maduro regime controls the internet and imposes the Homeland Card with the support of Chinese telecommunications company ZTE, as a tool of continuous control over the population, Ryan Berg, director of CSIS Americas Program, told Honduran news site Expediente Público on March 5.
One of the most troubling mechanisms highlighted in the report consists of the “spiral of isolation,” a process in which countries experiencing democratic backsliding cut themselves off from sources of support aligned with democratic values and rules-based international order. In doing so, they become dependent on China for an alternative source of support.
“The more support China provides, the more emboldened these governments become to restrict civil rights and become increasingly authoritarian,” Ziemer said.
The CSIS researchers highlight two strategies that Latin American countries should consider to limit the harmful elements of engagement with China and ensure a level playing field. One is to expand anti-corruption efforts, as China’s “no strings attached” approach to investment may overwhelm the challenges Latin American countries already face in ensuring transparency. The other is to strengthen their legislatures, as they have demonstrated that responsible independence limits Chinese influence over key sectors and counteracts democratic backsliding.