Latin America Regional

American Center for International Labor Solidarity

$625,000
To promote participation of marginalized worker groups—including young workers and Afro-Brazilian workers—in unions, workplaces, and public policy arenas and to build capacity of under-represented groups to advocate their interests. The Solidarity Center will support efforts to defend basic labor rights in key industrial sectors and regions where organized labor has identified the need to strengthen enforcement of labor laws and democratic, workplace-based union structures to advocate for compliance.

$549,999
To strengthen unions’ capacity in the Andean region to involve workers democratically at their workplaces and in broader economic and political arenas. The Solidarity Center will work to build the unions’ ability to represent workers democratically, improve their capacity in the fundamental functions of organizing and collective bargaining, and help them adopt new strategies to cope with the changes that economic modernization and public sector reform bring.

$400,002
To bring together workers and unions from different countries in Latin America operating within the same industries to identify common concerns and reinforce each others’ efforts to organize, represent, and bargain collectively. Workers and unions from the journalism, mining, and telecommunications industries will build their membership, gain union representation for a broader base of their workforce, and engage in new or renewed collective bargaining that is reflective of the wide concerns of workers and union members.

$399,999
To strengthen the capacity of workers and their organizations in Central America to use labor rights instruments, establish new unions, negotiate resolutions of labor disputes, and build union leadership that effectively represents a broad base of workers. The program will focus on the transportation sector, the fresh produce sector, and the public utilities sector. Additionally, the Solidarity Center will begin a new initiative to build trade union capacity to advocate for public policies to address increasing violence and impunity in Guatemala.

American University

$150,000
To develop capacity in the area of human rights law within Bolivian and Nicaraguan law school structures. The American University Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law will strengthen existing academic networks, train human rights practitioners and help organize domestic moot court competitions.

Asociación Civil SER en el 2000 (Civil Association SER in 2000) (SER)

$117,650
To strengthen the oversight capacity of civil society groups, academics, and state institutions working in the field of civil-military relations, defense, and security. SER will continue its comparative research on security and defense issues in the region, provide technical assistance and training to organizations in the hemisphere, and continue to consolidate and expand the activities of its regional network, Red de Seguridad y Defensa en América Latina (RESDAL).

Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE)

$240,015
To promote an informed decision-making process among Latin American policy and opinion makers through practical guidance on democratic, market-oriented economic reforms. CIPE will partner with Instituto de Ciencia Política (Institute of Political Science or ICP) to produce and distribute Perspectiva magazine in more than eight Latin American countries including Cuba, hold training seminars for journalists, and organize roundtable discussions with students and academics.

Center for Justice and International Law

$150,000
To strengthen the capacity of human rights defenders in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela to document human rights abuses, implement judicial reforms, and effectively use the Inter-American System (IAS) to protect the rights of victims before the IAS through case litigation and hearings, and to influence governments in the northern Andean region to implement judicial reforms in order to comply with international human rights standards.

Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (Center for Legal and Social Studies) (CELS)

$105,000
To strengthen the litigation and advocacy capacities of human rights organizations and legal clinics in the Argentine provinces and Paraguay, to raise awareness of human rights violations in Argentina, and to position CELS as a regional leader in the defense and promotion of human rights. CELS will continue to mentor groups by offering technical assistance, internships, and an annual litigation and advocacy course.

Centro Global para el Desarrollo y la Democracia (Global Center for Development and Democracy) (CGDD)

$71,000
To consolidate a Forum of former Latin American presidents as a space for dialogue among regional leaders to promote a social agenda to deal with inequality and poverty from a democratic perspective, and to strengthen the ability of CGDD to function as the Forum’s technical secretariat. CGDD will commission documents on themes related to the social agenda which will serve as a basis for the debates and discussions of the Forum.

Comisión Andina de Juristas (Andean Commission of Jurists) (CAJ)

$130,070
To promote the transparency and independence of the judiciary in Bolivia and Ecuador, to foster citizen oversight of the judiciary, and to strengthen the institutional capacity of local Bolivian organizations working on judicial issues. Through local partners, CAJ will continue its project to improve judicial transparency by collecting, systematizing, and publicizing information about judicial decisions and will train law students on issues of judicial accountability.

Consorcio Justicia Inc. (Justice Consortium, Inc.)

$89,500
To promote the consolidation of the Latin American and Caribbean Democracy Network as a space to share knowledge, exchange best practices, and develop strategies for the defense of democracy and civil society in the region, and to increase civil society participation and influence at the Organization of American States (OAS) and strengthen democracy at the regional level by helping to monitor and improve compliance with the Inter-American Democratic Charter (IADC).

Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF)

$85,000
To strengthen the capacity of human rights organizations in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru to access national and international legal systems available to help vulnerable populations. DPLF’s Equal Access to Justice program will also work to strengthen and build bridges between official and alternative justice systems. Through intensive mentoring, DLPF will help organizations in the interior of each country build their legal and institutional capacity.

Global Integrity

$77,000
To strengthen the capacity of local partners in Argentina, Ecuador, and Peru to advocate for increased government accountability and transparency at the sub-national level. Working with Centro de Implementación de Políticas Públicas para la Equidad y el Crecimiento (CIPPEC) in Argentina, Grupo FARO in Ecuador, and Ciudadanos al Día in Peru, Global Integrity will promote good governance by assessing, measuring, benchmarking and advocating for higher quality and more accountable public institutions at the sub-national level.

Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (Press and Society Institute) (IPYS)

$111,215
To defend freedom of expression and promote greater international attention to threats against journalists and violations of freedom of expression and the press in the Andean region, and to strengthen the capacity of journalists to use access to information laws and cover difficult topics. IPYS will also utilize its vast network of media monitors to serve as the Latin American correspondents for the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX).

Instituto Venezolano de Estudios Sociales y Políticos

(Venezuelan Institute for Social and Political Studies) (INVESP)

$99,940
To raise awareness on the level of compliance of Andean governments with OAS standards on civil society participation, access to information, freedom of expression, and decentralization by presenting information gathered over the last two years on government follow-through to the 38th General Assembly of the OAS. INVESP will also work with local and international partners to strengthen the contribution of civil society organizations for the up-coming fifth Summit of Americas.

International Republican Institute (IRI)

$550,000
To promote and enhance the participation of think tanks in Mexico and Honduras as “pressure groups” to impel political parties to develop concrete positions on key issues. Once these positions are developed, IRI will support initiatives to implement said positions into the 2009 campaigns. IRI will place special emphasis on Honduras, which has scheduled presidential and parliamentary elections in November 2009.

$400,000
To provide elected officials with practical institutional management skills that will facilitate good governance practices, policies, and initiatives. IRI will partner with municipalities in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Honduras to equip elected officials with practical institutional management skills to foster good governance practices, policies, and initiatives, and improve the quality of service delivery at the municipal level.

$300,000
To provide public officials in multiple countries with skills that will facilitate good governance policies, practices, and initiatives. IRI will support the development of a small corps of retired local government leaders to comprise an IRI Democratic Governance Corps and serve as mentors for local government practitioners abroad. IRI Democratic Governance Corps mentors will contribute to the growth and development of good governance practices, policies, and initiatives abroad through extensive consultations, trainings, and other support with their local government counterparts.

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)

$320,000
To strengthen the leadership skills and ability of emerging political leaders to promote the modernization and renewal of political parties. NDI’s Political Leadership Program will be implemented in Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru and include a new in-country training program, enabling inclusion of a larger group of participants; a regional leadership development seminar for exemplary participants of the in-country training programs; and NDI technical assistance for participants’ party-reform projects to be implemented in their respective countries.

$250,000
To encourage political parties to adopt new, more effective practices by facilitating their access to comparative information and concrete party-building tools and techniques. Through an improved and expanded Political Party Network, NDI will provide comparative information, tools, and techniques regarding constituent outreach, governance skills, transparency, and internal democracy. NDI will also strengthen the existing informal network of reform-minded party leaders to provide greater opportunities for exchanging ideas.

$180,000
To strengthen the consensus-building and skills of women legislators in Mexico, Central America, and the Andean region. NDI will implement a regional program based in Mexico to address the consensus-building and skills needs of women legislators in Mexico, Central America, and the Andean region by increasing the effectiveness of women’s parliamentary caucuses in participating countries and establishing a cross-party regional political network of women legislators.

Trust for the Americas

$95,338
To strengthen the capacity of member organizations of the Regional Alliance to Promote Freedom of Expression and Access to Information to encourage the implementation of access to information laws in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. The Trust will also offer technical assistance to improve the capacity of Alliance organizations to advocate for access to public information legislation and regulation in El Salvador and Guatemala.