LAWFARE, HUMAN RIGHTS AND ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY IN LATIN AMERICA
The research group on Lawfare and Democracy in Latin America was created in 2021, with the aim of analyzing the causes, modalities and impacts of the misuse of the jurisdictional function to persecute political enemies, violating human rights and weakening democratic regimes in the region. Its status as an ICON•S affliliated interest group was formalised in 2025.
Originally, the term Lawfare, coined by North American Colonel Charles J. Dunlap Jr. in 2001, was used to describe the use of law as a strategy by human rights defenders to stop the Gulf War. In Latin America, the term is used to designate the recurring practice of persecuting political enemies (mis)using the law and the public jurisdictional structure, as in the controversial cases of former presidents Evo Morales of Bolivia, Lula da Silva of Brazil, Alan García of Peru and Cristina Kirchner of Argentina. This is a phenomenon that had already been described by Franz Neumann, in his Behemoth, as the “most pernicious weapon in the political struggle”, given the severity of the resulting damages and which has even triggered the mobilization of international actors such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations Committee on Civil and Political Rights.
In this sense, the group seeks to promote a space for academic debate with the aim of building the theoretical bases of this phenomenon in order to identify and denounce specific cases, as well as to formulate concrete and effective legal mechanisms for its prevention and confrontation.
The Lawfare and Democracy in Latin America research group, composed of professors and students from Ibero-American universities, has been working on the topic since 2021, developing research projects with funding from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), a federal Brazilian agency which promote research, and the University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR). Several publications have already been published, as well as the participation of its members in national and international events.
Convenors
Martonio Mont’Alverne Barreto Lima, Universidade de Fortaleza (Brazil)
Felipe Paredes, Universidad Austral de Chile (Chile)
Members as of January 2026
Ana Maria D’Ávila Lopes – Universidade de Fortaleza (Brazil)
Antonio Jorge Pereira Júnior – Universidade de Fortaleza (Brazil)
Daniel Rocha Chaves – Faculdade Via Sapiens (Brazil)
Janna da Nóbrega Souza – Universidad de Jaén (Spain)
Manuel Cabanas Viegas – Universidad de Lleida (Spain)
Roberto Guilherme Leitão – FANOR-DeVry (Brazil)
Romulo Guilherme Leitão – Universidade de Fortaleza (Brazil)
Thais Araujo Dias – Universidade Estadual do Ceará (Brazil)
Upcoming chapter events, projects, and activities
Over the next three years (2026-2029), anticipated Interest Group activities include:
- the creation of a public repository with bibliographic and journalistic material, focusing especially on concrete cases of Lawfare around the world;
- organisation of panels for international and national events, such as the annual meeting of ICONS and the Law and Society Association
- submission of research projects to obtain public financing capable of making the activities viable;
- publication of papers and books involving all the members of the group and invited researchers;
- creation of social media pages (e.g. Instagram and Facebook) as a way to also spread the activities of the group
Contact
To join the interest group, or for further information, please contact Professor Martonio Mont’Alverne Barreto Lima: barreto@unifor.br ; or Professor Ana Maria D’Ávila Lopes: anadavilalopes@unifor.br
