[Compendium] Power Under the Microscope: Bootcamp 2023 Publications

From the CREER Project, whose objective is “Greater citizen control to combat the influence of organized crime and corruption in elections,” a close collaboration has been forged between Semillas para la Democracia and TEDIC to address the growing challenge of the impact of organized crime and corruption on Paraguay’s electoral processes. This initiative aims to empower citizens and strengthen the country’s democratic structures, addressing the lack of capacity to oversee and demand accountability on behalf of an organized and rights-conscious society.

The fight against corruption and the impact of organized crime, a scourge that permeates national politics and elections, remains a path full of obstacles. Despite legislative advances, the effective implementation of laws such as the Political Financing Law, the supervision of the internal democracy mechanisms of political parties, and compliance with parity, along with the adoption of new technologies to ensure electoral integrity and transparency, remain pending challenges.

In response to these challenges, Bootcamps on “Political Financing, Technology, and Elections” and “Political Financing, Data, and Elections” were organized. These initiatives, held during 2023, focused on strengthening citizen control to combat corruption and the influence of organized crime in elections, especially focusing on political financing for the 2023 general elections and the growing phenomenon of using social media as a new space for political dispute, through technical assistance and training for journalists, academics, young people, and women interested in this topic.

The Bootcamps provided training on controlling political financing, safety for journalistic practice, reporting tools, and how to build and present cases as effective tools for citizen oversight. This practical methodology has proven crucial in equipping participants with the skills and knowledge necessary to promote greater transparency and accountability in the electoral process.

Below you will find all the articles resulting from this edition.