Update Politics: new ways of looking at and engaging in politics

In 2015, Instituto Update began its project to map new ways of looking at and engaging in politics. Launched in 2016, the visualization platform features 637 initiatives mapped according to projects carried out in 21 different countries.

In this case, the Institute mapped emerging political practices as a way to affirm the existence of a political innovation ecosystem based on evidence capable of strengthening a vision of collectivity and belonging for all actors involved in these political processes, thereby facilitating a deeper understanding and modernization of democratic systems in Latin America. Among its findings, the Institute includes actors (hubs) and actions (signals) that serve as a way to bridge the gap between civil society and the government.

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As indicated in the project introduction, democracy in Latin America is still in the process of consolidation and maturation. Because of this, we face fragile democratic institutions, "threats to fundamental rights, and the interference of different types of elites in political decisions," which directly influence how citizens perceive and trust the political process, especially in a society as increasingly connected and participatory as ours.

Since the study was published in 2016, it did not yet have the dimension of what fake news would become today in our current scenario of presidential elections and the eve of the second round. However, the researchers involved were already aware of how our connected daily lives would be invariably interfered with by strategies like these. But it is this same ability to connect that also generates change in how we consume, produce, communicate, and relate, as well as in how politics is conducted—see, for example, political bots used for spreading messages on social networks and apps like WhatsApp.

But technology obviously does not only bring harm. In fact, it is our lack of knowledge about it that can make us susceptible to exploitation, and that is precisely why Update decided to map and create a visualization of an ecosystem of emerging political practices as a way to "strengthen a vision of collectivity and belonging for the actors involved in political processes that contribute to reducing the distance between civil society and the public sector."

Available in Portuguese, English, and Spanish, the themes covered in the mapping are: Independent Communication, Social Control, Political Culture, Government 2.0, Citizen Participation, Transparency, and Accountability (which relates to the process of checking and monitoring procedures). Among the mapped hubs, these are part of areas such as academia, networks, companies, government, informal groups, NGOs, multilateral organizations, and political parties.

The mapping includes filters so that users can conduct more precise searches, as there are nearly 700 items mapped by Update. In times leading up to a second round of elections, it is important to visit research like this to understand the current context of Latin America and the tools that can help us maintain and strengthen democratic processes.

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