Our ideas
What
we believe
Polis is not neutral. We study, teach, and defend a set of ideas with a story, an intellectual tradition and a particular urgency for Latin America today.
Our manifesto
These are the convictions
that guide everything we do
01
Individual freedom
Freedom is not negotiated
We believe in individual freedom as the principle most important political of any just society. Not as a privilege of the few, but as a non-waivable right of every person — against the State, against the market and against any power that seeks to replace the criterion itself.
02
Democracy
Democracy is caring-or-lose -
We believe in democracy as a system of institutions limited — is not an empty promise or as most crushing minorities. A real democracy needs to separation of powers, rule of law, free press, and citizens formed. Without that, it is only the appearance of democracy.
03
Institutions
Institutions matter more than the leaders
We believe that the central problem of Latin America is not the lack of good leaders, but the fragility of their institutions. The dukes pass. The institutions remain — when someone builds and defends. Polis way to those people.
04
Ideas
Ideas have consequences
We believe that political systems do not change by decree or by revolutions — and change when the ideas that support it. That's why we invest in training, research and critical thinking. Because a generation formed in the right ideas to transform society.
What we stand for
For concrete Ideas,
not abstractions
These are not ideological positions rigid. Are intellectual commitment that guide our curriculum, our publications and our way of understanding the policy.
Rule of law
The law should apply equally to all — to the average citizen and the president of the republic. Without it, freedom is not possible. The arbitrary power is the number one enemy of any free society.
Open society
We believe in a society where ideas compete freely, where the debate is possible without reprisal, and where no group has a monopoly of political truth. The plurality is not a problem — is the condition of freedom.
Separation of powers
The concentrated power corrupts and destroys. The executive, the legislative and the judiciary to be independent, is not a technical detail — it is the architecture that makes it possible for freedom. To defend it is to defend everything else.
Civic education
Democracy needs citizens who are capable of thinking, debate, and choose wisely. Without formation, the political participation becomes mobilization emotional. That's why Polis exists to fill that void.
Market economy
We believe in the free markets, with clear rules as the most efficient system to create prosperity, and expand freedom of the individual. Not the market without a State, but the market institutions that regulate it without suffocate.
Subsidiarity
The decisions should be taken at the closest level possible to the people. What can you resolve a family should not solve the municipality. What can solve the municipality should not solve the central State. The power close to the citizen is to be able to more accountable.
Our tradition
The thinkers
that inspire us
Alexis de Tocqueville
1805 — 1859
The analyst most lucid of democracy as a living system. His warning about the despotism soft it is still the most relevant for Latin America today.
Democracy · Institutions
Karl Popper
1902 — 1994
The philosopher of the open society. His advocacy of critical thought and his critique of totalitarianism are the foundation of our way of understanding the political debate.
Open society · Critical
Raymond Aron
1905 — 1983
The intellectual that he was right when all is wrong. His rigour against totalitarianism and his defense of liberal institutions are a model of independent thought.
Freedom · Antitotalitarismo
Friedrich Hayek
1899 — 1992
The economist showed that central planning is not just inefficient, but it destroys freedom. His analysis of the spontaneous order is indispensable for understanding markets and institutions.
Economy · Freedom
Latin america today
Why these ideas matter more now than ever
Latin america is living a paradox: it is the region of the world with the most experience in democracy failed and at the same time she needs it most. Decades of populism, institutional corruption and concentration of power have eroded public trust in the institutions.
In the face of this, Polis believe that the answer is not more State or more caudillismo — but more training, more institutions and more citizens able to think and act with freedom.
Populism is not an accident
Populist leaders have not claimed societies by force — the conquer because they are citizens without political education, without tools to distinguish the speech of the institutions. Polis way exactly to those citizens.
Corruption is an institutional problem
The corruption does not go away with people more honest — disappears with stronger institutions, with separation of powers and the real citizens who are demanding accountability. Ideas matter because they shape the institutions.
The new generation can change this
There is a generation of Latin american young man who rejects statism and authoritarianism. Looking for solid ideas, not slogans. You want to build, not destroy. Polis exists to give you the intellectual tools that you need.
Do you share these ideas?
This is your place.
Join the network of people who study, discuss, and defend the ideas of freedom in Latin America.