In a new Wilson Center report, Venezuelan opposition leader and former political prisoner Leopoldo López details the intensifying cooperation among members of a global “autocratic network,” as authoritarian nations such as China, Russia, Iran, and Venezuela prop up one another and repress pro-democracy movements worldwide. Increasingly, their cooperation includes military support, the sharing of technology for surveillance and censorship, sanctions evasion, and the transnational harassment of dissidents.

Drawing on personal experience and conversations with pro-democracy activists worldwide, López’s report, “Challenging Autocracy from the Front Lines,” argues that the international response to the “autocratic network” must involve greater cooperation among pro-democracy movements and far more robust international support for individuals fighting to restore democracy.

Join us on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, from 10 am to 11:30 am (ET) for a conversation on López’s policy recommendations, with insights from pro-democracy activists from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

Ecuador, one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, is a trailblazer in marine conservation and environmental protection. During his time in office, President Guillermo Lasso has made a series of historic decisions to defend his country’s natural spaces and address the global climate crisis.

Best known is Lasso’s expansion of the marine protected area at the Galápagos Islands. That project won Ecuador global attention, not only because it significantly improved environmental safeguards around the storied Galápagos Islands, but because of how Ecuador will pay for the added costs of conservation: through the biggest “debt-for-nature” swap in history, a $656 million “blue bond” backed by the U.S. Development Finance Corporation, the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy, Mission Blue, and the Inter-American Development Bank. Under Lasso, Ecuador also teamed up with Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama to strengthen the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor, an innovative multinational marine protected area, where the marine ecosystem is threatened by industrial scale illegal fishing.

Please join the Wilson Center’s Latin America Program and our co-sponsors, the Inter-American Dialogue and the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center, on Monday, September 25, 2023, from 3 pm to 4 pm (ET), for a virtual conversation with President Guillermo Lasso of Ecuador to discuss his environmental legacy and other priorities of his administration.