Announcing 'Democracia A Fondo,’ a special podcast series by Colombian journalist María Jimena Duzán, in collaboration with Luminate

The special series "Democracia A Fondo,” an editorial collaboration between Luminate and the podcast A Fondo by Colombian journalist María Jimena Duzán, premieres Friday, 17 November 2023. Building from the Colombian local elections that took place on 29 October 2023, the series will explore in depth various aspects of Colombian democracy, including the challenges and potential solutions that impact people's daily lives.

“Democracia A Fondo” will have ten one-hour episodes featuring interviews with experts, reflections, debates, and data to contextualize the topics discussed. The series will be available on Spotify and YouTube. 

For the premiere episode, Duzán will focus on disinformation on social media and elections, connecting the challenges posed by disinformation in Colombia with the panorama in Latin America and the world. 

Upcoming topics are how artificial intelligence technology might be weaponised to manipulate elections; the online violence represented by hate speech against historically underrepresented groups such as women, Afrodescendant people, and LGBT+ people; the crisis of representation and the state of democracy in Colombia and Latin America; polarization in the Colombian public debate and the role of journalism; as well as the barriers for achieving greater representation of women, LGBT+ people and Afrodescendants in Colombian politics.

“At a time when democracy in Colombia and around the world face so many challenges, from disinformation on social media to the crisis of representation, this series will be an excellent opportunity to explore how we can build a more inclusive and effective democracy for all,” says Felipe Estefan, Vice President of Luminate for Latin America.

“A series on democracy is important for three reasons: the first one is because the democratic values are being strongly questioned on social media platforms; secondly because podcasts have become a free space for democratic discussion, where we can explain things and expose grievances; and  thirdly because this is an opportunity to sharpen the debate about the need to hold platforms accountable and analyze the challenges that the arrival of artificial intelligence imposes on democracy,” comments Maía Jimena Duzán. 

Luminate has been working in Latin America for more than ten years, and specifically in Colombia, for 7 years. Our work aims to ensure that everyone – especially those who are underrepresented – has the information, rights, and power to influence the decisions that shape society.