Background

Latin America faces a complex landscape of uncertainties, of cascade in crisis and of challenges concerning the sustainability of societies. These challenges can be articulated into three development “traps”, which impeded to fulfill an inclusive social development in the region. Those traps are: i) low economic growth or limited capacity for growth; ii) high inequality and low mobility; and iii) weak institutional capacity and ineffective governance (Salazar-Xirinachs, 2024) (Salazar-Xirinachs, 2024). In this context, social cohesion takes on a central role in countries’ path toward sustainable development, leaving no one behind.

Since 2018, ECLAC, in collaboration with the Spanish Cooperation Training Center in Santa Cruz, Plurinational State of Bolivia (CFCSZ), has been analyzing the progress and challenges of social cohesion in the region. This work has been carried out as part of the Projects of Knowledge for Development, “Analysis of Inclusion and Social Cohesion in Latin America and the Caribbean in Light of the Social Pillar of the 2030 Agenda” (2018–2022) and “Social Cohesion Policies for Inclusive Social Development in Latin America: Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities in a Context of Uncertainty”. The objective of the ongoing project is to position and promote social cohesion within the region’s social and public policy agenda, and to monitor the proposed framework for analysis, measurement, and policies related to social cohesion in Latin America and the Caribbean. This discussion has focused on major challenges to social cohesion, such as social inclusion and the sense of belonging among the various population groups that make up the region’s diverse and unequal societies (Maldonado et al., 2026).

The project has also promoted an analysis of social cohesion in the region based on two documents. The first, “Social Cohesion and Inclusive Social Development in Latin America. Second Regional Overview,” provides an assessment of the overall state of social cohesion in Latin America and the Caribbean. To that end, it reviews the analytical and measurement framework established by ECLAC, using indicators organized into three pillars. To that end, it reviews the analytical and measurement framework established by ECLAC, using indicators organized into three pillars —gaps, institutional frameworks, and a sense of belonging—, and the main regional trends in social cohesion. In this regard, it provides a cross-cutting and aggregated regional analysis of recent trends on social cohesion.

In addition, the second document, “Social Cohesion and Inclusive Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean: National Profiles and Priorities,” which will be launched at this event, focuses on progress and challenges of social cohesion at the national level, in dialogue with the regional assessment. It highlights both recent trends and transformations, and helps identify country-specific characteristics, distinct gaps, and contextual patterns that are not always visible in regional averages. Together, they offer a solid basis to the comprehension of the progress and challenges of social cohesion in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Based on these two diagnostic reports, another document “Policies and institutional frameworks for social cohesion in Latin America: opportunities and learnings for an inclusive social development” will be released in September, and some preliminary results will be discussed in advance in this event.

This third document examines the importance of social institutions in strengthening social cohesion centered on social relationships based on equal rights as the foundation for a sense of belonging and a commitment to the common good, as well as strategies for inclusive social development policies that place social cohesion at the center.

Objective

The objective of this side event is to present and launch the document “Social Cohesion and Inclusive Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean: National Profiles and Priorities” with the aim of sharing the project’s key findings from a comprehensive perspective. This launch will take place as part of a dialogue with the document “Social Cohesion and Inclusive Social Development in Latin America. Second Regional Overview” on the state of social cohesion in the region, complementing the regional analysis with a focus on national particularities and priorities.

To provide a synthesis and promote the dissemination of the work carried out, while clarifying the link between the two publications, an infographic summarizing the main findings of both documents will be presented and distributed. Based on these inputs, the aim is to open a discussion on recent progress, challenges, and trends in social cohesion in the region, as well as on the relevance of the social institutional framework as an enabling factor for its strengthening. Thus, a discussion panel will address the findings and recommendations emerging from the documents in general and in the case of specific countries, building bridges, and identifying priority challenges for policies related to social cohesion in the region.

References

CEPAL, (2023), «Institucionalidad social en América Latina y el Caribe. Eje central para avanzar hacia un desarrollo social inclusivo y sostenible» (LC/CDS.5/3), Santiago, octubre.
Maldonado Valera, C., Leroy Zomosa, N., Mahaluf Meza, F. y Escobedo Muñoz, F. (2026). Cohesión social y desarrollo social inclusivo en América Latina y el Caribe: segundo panorama regional. Documentos de Proyectos (LC/TS.2026/17). Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe.
Maldonado Valera, C., Leroy Zomosa, N., Mahaluf Meza, F. y Escobedo Muñoz, F. (2026). Cohesión social y desarrollo social inclusivo en américa latina y el caribe: perfiles y prioridades nacionales. Documentos de Proyectos (XXX). Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe.
Maldonado, C., Tromben V., Cea, C., y Suárez, J. I. (2021b). Panorama de la cohesión social en América Latina y el Caribe (Documentos de Proyectos LC/TS.2021/205). Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
Salazar-Xirinachs, J.M. (2024), “Repensar, reimaginar, transformar: los "qué" y los "cómo" para avanzar hacia un modelo de desarrollo más productivo, inclusivo y sostenible”, Revista CEPAL, Edición Especial 75 años: Hacia un modelo de desarrollo más productivo, inclusivo y sostenible, N° 141 (LC/PUB.2023/29-P), Santiago, Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).