About the Organization
Democracy is facing global threats from coordinated groups aiming to undermine the rule of law and seize power. Without a unified effort to build trust in democracy and protect peaceful societies, many countries risk authoritarian takeovers. In Brazil, the 40-year-old democracy is threatened by growing polarization and campaigns that erode trust in democratic institutions.
Pacto pela Democracia (Pact for Democracy) leads Brazil’s pro-democracy movement. The organization facilitates a diverse coalition to counter autocratic forces, strengthen democratic institutions, and foster a more peaceful and resilient society.
Made up of over 200 civil society partners, the coalition brings together players that work with multiple agendas and have different political identities, building a nonpartisan space to produce knowledge, create strategies and coordinate efforts to enhance the democratic environment in the country. Through information-sharing, strategic partnerships, and collective action, the coalition defends the rule of law, protects election processes and results, and serves as a global model for countering authoritarian threats and maintaining peace and stability in democratic nations.
After an expansion in the 1980s and 1990s, democracy has been under attack worldwide for the last 20 years
Ambition for Change
Pacto pela Democracia aims to unite Brazilian civil society in the effort to defend and revitalize democracy—ensuring stability, fundamental rights and freedom for all Brazilians.
Path to Scale
With anti-democracy forces building capacity in preparation for Brazil’s 2026 election, Pacto pela Democracia aims to meet the moment by expanding and enhancing capacity in the pro-democracy ecosystem.
Flávia Pellegrino
Executive Director, Pacto pela Democracia
Flávia Pellegrino
Executive Director
Flávia Pellegrino is the executive director of Pacto pela Democracia. Over the past decade, Flávia has built and coordinated networks within Brazilian civil society dedicated to important social and political causes such as the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals as well as the defense of democracy and human rights. Internationally, she has been engaged in different initiatives aimed at strengthening transnational cooperation on promoting democratic values, practices and strategies to counter the current autocratization phenomenon worldwide, such as the Fisher Family Summer Fellows on Democracy and Development Program hosted by the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at Stanford University, and the Keseb Fellowship Program. Flávia holds a degree in journalism from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (Brazil) and a master’s degree in political science from the Institut des Hautes Etudes de l’Amérique Latine at the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle (France).
- The Pacto coalition successfully protected the process, infrastructure, and results of the 2022 Brazilian election, deploying 80+ discrete, collaborative actions using an opt-in strategy among their network partners.
- In 2022 Pacto organized a “situation room” consisting of 120+ individuals from 35 organizations organized into 15 different working groups mapped to specific threats. Launched more than a year before the election, Vigília Cívica em Defesa das Eleições shared intelligence, aligned strategies, and mobilized specific collective actions before, during, and after the election.
- The Pacto coalition played a fundamental role in advocating for legislation aimed at defending the rule of law in Brazil, which has been key for the country to deal with recent undemocratic attacks and coup d'état attempts.
- The Pacto coalition has created and disseminated handbooks with learnings from collective action to protect democracy, serving as a model for coalitions in other countries to adapt and deploy.
Arthur Mello
Advocacy Coordinator, Pacto pela DemocraciaMargarida Gorecki
Operations and Institutional Development Coordinator, Pacto pela DemocraciaFlávia Pellegrino
Executive Director, Pacto pela DemocraciaDefending Civic Space in the United States: Lessons Learned Around the World
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, May 9, 2024BRAZIL: "Anti-democratic political leaders and supporters remain active"
Civicus, May 8, 2024Ensuring Free, Fair, and Trusted Elections
SSIR, Sept 16, 2024World Justice Challenge Winners Announced in Chicago
World Justice Project, August 1, 2024