English Project 1: “How protest is redefining democracy around the world”

Summary
1. New words glossary1

Concerns: Something that is important for someone.

Pointless: Something that has no purpose and it is a waste of time.

Messy: Used to describe a situation that is confused and unpleasant.

Engaged in: Used to refer someone that have been involved on something.

Threatens: Something that could harm or damage.

Renewed: Happening again after having stopped for a period.

Abandoning (Abandon): Leave a place, thing or person.

Rising up: Something that is increasing.

Led (lead): To control a group of people, a country, or a situation.

Entrenched (entrench): Establish something that is difficult to overthrow.

Veneers (veneer): a thin layer of decorative wood or plastic used to cover a cheaper
material.

Overthrew: Defeat or removed someone from the power.

2. Summary

Currently, democracy is going through a delicate moment. By one side, some people
don’t believe now in a system in which leaders are not connected with the people who voted
for them or at least interested on the concerns that worry them, and on the other hand, because
there are rising some movements of people engaged in change the rules and the reality on
their countries and territories, pretending to defeat all threats of democracy.

1
For the glossary, it was decided to use the Cambridge Dictionary and some own definitions.
 The teacher Zachariah Mampilly, explain about that kind of people who are fighting to
change the actual democracy -more exactly in Africa-, using the protest as a tool to make
their objectives come true. Starting from this, it is necessary to know that the democracy, is
defined by the experts as a “multiparity electoral competition”, but today, this definition is
pointless, because, the democracy became to be the entrench for the elite to manage to
maintain power and achieve every kind of riches.

Because of that, the idea of “protest democracy” rise as an option for the people who are
tired to be used by the same politicians or monarchs, or want to change all the political
structures, returning by means of the protest, the power to the people. In these terms, the
protest as a tool to achieve those goals, we can define that as a process whereby everyone
can fight for something fair and rewrite the current rules of their lives. This is an implement
to make strong the voice of people and their dreams.

Thanks to this intension, they -the citizens- have been developed a series of non-violent
movements around the entire Africa, with the objective to increase the people's participation
on the political decisions, and to change the current governments. This non-violent
movements, are grouped on three major waves. The first one, started in the 40s or 50s fought
for the Africa´s decolonization; the second one, occurred in 1980s and 1990, was against
some austerity measures who affected the African economy; and the last -and current one-
started on 2005, which includes the famous Arab Spring, and is marked by the massive
protest in all the Arabic countries in Africa, against the dictatorships and democratic
injustices.

Therefore, movements like the “Y'en a Marre in Senegal, Le Balai Citoyen in Burkina
Faso, Tajamuka in Zimbabwe, LUCHA and Filimbi in the Democratic Republic of Congo”(TED,
2017) are the answer of thousands of people who are fighting to overthrew their fake governments,
and at the same time, they are teaching us how important is the real protest, because that actions
represents not only displeasure or rebellion, but also means perseverance; union; civil power and
courage. That protests, are the work of many people who wants a renewed democracy and
remake as something more than a “simple election and a political party” (TED, 2017).

3. References
- TED (2017) How protest is redefining democracy around the world. In:
https://www.ted.com/talks/zachariah_mampilly_how_protest_is_redefining_democr
acy_around_the_world/transcript#t-488799