How civil society can counter the rise of legal restrictions across Latin America

New research facilitated by the Thomson Reuters Foundation has exposed a pattern of restrictions on civil society in Latin America.

The report “A generation of laws that block civic space in Latin America,” published by Fundamedios, with the support of Thomson Reuters Foundation, identified four emerging risks across ten Latin American countries, which have the effect of weakening the work of civil society organisations, restricting their funding and limiting their participation in public spaces.

State regulation of civil society organisations is a crucial indicator of democratic health, given that these entities play a fundamental role in defending rights, monitoring power, and fostering citizen participation.

The report shows that when the regulatory framework becomes excessively controlling, punitive or stigmatising, the damage transcends individual organisations by weakening civic space and eroding an essential counterweight to state power.

The main regulatory risks:

1. Accumulation of regulatory layers

As part of a strategy to intensively monitor organisations and penalise them for minor compliance failures, states have applied heavy administrative burdens that exceed the capacity of small and medium-sized organisations.

Organisations are subjected by states to multiple regulations, including association regimes, tax controls, anti-money laundering obligations, international cooperation registries and “foreign agent” legislation.

For instance, in May 2025, El Salvador’s government enacted a Foreign Agent Law which introduced legal and tax burdens designed to target organisations that rely on international funding. The law establishes a 30% tax on foreign donations and forces organisations to label their materials as “financed by foreigners.” For small independent newsrooms, the law has impacted their budget planning and sustainability, exposing journalists to severe legal sanctions.

2. Administrative sanctions without effective judicial control

In countries including Bolivia, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Ecuador, any error or failure to comply with multiple regulations triggers disproportionate sanctions, such as the cancellation or suspension of the legal status of civil society organisations. These sanctions serve as a form of control and punishment and help governments enforce the administrative burden deliberately created to limit organisations’ resources.

Furthermore, because they are administrative sanctions rather than criminal, there is greater discretion in its application from state regulators. Organisations have fewer judiciary mechanisms available to prevent or appeal them, making them even more lethal.

3. Public security as a weapon against civil society

In response to the rise of organised crime in the region, states have promoted anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations. But these measures have also served as a tool for excessive surveillance and control over civil society organisations’ activities, funding sources, donors, beneficiaries and “the compatibility of their work with concepts as open-ended as public order, national security, and social interest,” says César Ricaurte, Director of Fundamedios.

To prevent the intervention of “foreign agents,” states also impose financial obstacles and demand excessive bureaucracy, which wears down the functioning of organisations, intensifies auditing, and generates severe consequences for their daily work.

4. Stigmatising narratives

Most governments passing laws that hinder civil society organisations’ ability to operate have also promoted narratives that portray them as “suspicious,” “destabilising,” or “contrary to public morals.” They also spread negative narratives regarding international cooperation, warning of potential “foreign interference” and affecting both donor countries and beneficiaries.

At the regional level, these narratives have primarily affected organisations working on human rights, the environment, transitional justice and the fight against corruption.

In Guatemala, for instance, human rights organisations have dealt with arbitrary audits and smear campaigns by conservative sectors, which has served to publicly illegitimise their work.

Argentina as a warning sign

In May, Argentinian President Javier Milei introduced the Lobbying Transparency and Disclosure Bill, with the stated aim of making corporate lobbying more transparent and limiting its influence over government decisions. The bill is still under debate at the Argentine Congress.

According to analysis facilitated by the Foundation, the bill places unnecessary administrative burdens on civil society organisations that promote collective rights, by equating their activities with corporate lobbying. The bill would establish a mandatory registry of lobbyists, giving the government the right to deny, cancel or suspend the activities of organisations seeking to engage in public participation actions.

The report found that, if approved, the legislation could become an administrative tool that over-regulates, censures, and discourages legitimate public participation and civil society advocacy.

The bill could serve as a way to legitimise regulations further restricting public space in Argentina, which “decreases the country’s legal certainty and has repercussions on international funding,” said María Candela Zunino, Senior Legal Programme Manager, LATAM, at TrustLaw, Thomson Reuters Foundations’ global pro bono legal service.

Countering the threats

In July, the Thomson Reuters Foundation and SembraMedia hosted the event Civil Society Under Pressure: Restrictive Regulations in Latin America to discuss with organisations and journalists the scope of the bill in Argentina.

Through the in-depth legal and technical analysis facilitated by the Foundation, which provided a comparative overview of legal regimes in other countries, organisations and journalists were given a clearer understanding of the scope of the draft bill and learned to approach it in the context of the regional trend affecting civil society.

Faced with the advance of legislation restricting civic space in Argentina, TrustLaw has served as a bridge between civil society organisations, media outlets, and journalists, by coordinating alliances and strengthening discussions.

In other countries that have sought to restrict the work of civil society, TrustLaw has assisted organisations that have implemented actions to:

Open chapters in other countries to bypass the administrative, juridical, and legal obstacles imposed by states.
Prepare legal strategies to counter restrictive bills and coordinate alliances within civil society to apply legislative pressure.
Counter the narratives spread by lobbying groups that push for the restriction of public space. This can be done by getting organisations to share their analyses with the media and promoting spaces where actors can understand the implications of the legislation.

The resource – A generation of laws that block civic space in Latin America – was published by Fundamedios with the support of the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Look out for more data-driven resources from our Insights and Innovation unit, incubating new ideas for the communities we serve, to strengthen free, fair and informed societies.  