Russia, through espionage, social networks, and state media, seeks to erode public confidence in the integrity of democratic elections in different parts of the world, with the aim of disrupting electoral processes.
According to U.S. intelligence services, the Russian regime sought to undermine the legitimacy of at least 11 elections in nine democratic countries between 2020 and 2022, Colombian daily El Tiempo reported on October 20.
“The methodology used is to create thematic groups in social networks on hot-button issues, particularly on Facebook and Instagram, generating malicious campaigns to discredit the eventual political candidate that Russia does not want to see triumph in an election,” Argentine international relations expert Luis Somoza told Diálogo on November 6.
According to Argentine news site Infobae, Russia covertly sent at least $300 million to foreign political parties and candidates in more than 20 countries since 2014 to gain influence.
The U.S. “has identified, and this is a growing concern, Russia’s efforts to undermine democratic processes. Russia is conducting operations to degrade public confidence in the integrity of the elections themselves,” Infobae reported.
“Whoever possesses information technologies has in their hands a very powerful weapon, because they know the weaknesses of their enemy and can plan strategies to neutralize any action,” Somoza said.
The U.S. Intelligence report released in late October was shared with countries such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, and Uruguay in Latin America, as well as Spain, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom in Europe.
“Clearly there is very fertile ground for Russian propaganda,” Argentine political analyst Fabián Calle told Diálogo. “Russia takes advantage of Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, and left-wing political sectors in Latin America and also encourages these actors to defame the United States.”
At least 17 other democracies were targeted through “less pronounced” methods, involving Russian messages and activity on social networks, to amplify national narratives related to the integrity of the elections, El Tiempo reported.
The Economist newspaper reported on September 24 that Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico have become “fertile ground” for Russian spies and that they are able to move with ease in Latin America and gather useful information for the Kremlin.
Calle pointed out that Russian activity “aims to prevent pro-Western democratic parties from governing, which is why Russia and China are seeking to establish themselves in Latin America for geopolitical interests.”
One of the techniques detected is that Russian Telegram channels included false journalistic information of alleged fraud. Russian trolls on social media platforms amplified concerns about instability and post-election violence, the U.S. intelligence report explained.
U.S. Army General Laura J. Richardson, commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), speaking at Florida International University in Miami on November 2 about the security challenges facing Latin America and the Caribbean, warned of Russian operations against the democratic system.
Gen. Richardson said that Russia has the capacity to undermine democracy through disinformation. “Platforms like RT and other non-traditional news sources spread intentional lies,” Gen. Richardson said, Infobae reported.
“If they are in the region to do good things, to invest, I’m all for it. But if they are here to extract and to undermine democracies, no,” the SOUTHCOM commander added.
For Somoza, Russia uses all these types of operations to position itself in European and Latin American nations “with the objective of trying to destabilize governments that could affect its interests and as such help a local political group, which benefits it so that it can win the election and come to power.”
“If that materializes, a government administration with ties to Russia collaborates, so that then the Russian regime can sign cooperation agreements in commercial, technological, cultural, and military matters,” Somoza concluded.