On 19 August 2026, the Rio School on Global Governance, Democracy and Human Rights was honored to welcome Prof. Raphael Vasconcelos, Full Professor of Public International Law at UERJ. The course is held by the FGV Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, co-funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ programme and directed by Prof. Paula Wojcikiewicz Almeida.

In his lecture, moderated by Prof. Paula Wojcikiewicz Almeida, Prof. Vasconcelos spoke about electoral observation missions in Latin America. He began the class by presenting the main concepts related to the topic, such as the difference between electoral monitoring and electoral observation, as well as national and international missions. He explained that the goal of electoral observation is to understand the system, not to criticize it or to teach a country how to conduct its election. The data is used to make technical, rather than political, statements.

In the second half of the lecture, Prof. Vasconcelos shared his recent on-the-ground experience working in electoral missions in Uruguay, Bolivia and Venezuela from 2024 to 2026. He stated that trust in the electoral system is the most important factor. It was an enriching opportunity for students to ask questions and get insights into the different electoral systems that exist in Latin America, as well as to understand how an observation mission is conducted in practice.

We extend our sincere thanks to Prof. Vasconcelos for sharing his knowledge and experience with us. We look forward to further collaboration.