The Hungarian Center for Fundamental Rights (Alapjogokért Központ) has published a study exposing the scale of the European Union’s ideological intervention in Latin America. Between 2014 and 2024, the EU allocated approximately one billion euros to around 800 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the region. These funds, disbursed during the rise of neo-Marxist movements linked to the São Paulo Forum, were often used not to address pressing development issues but to promote a radical ideological agenda that undermines traditional values, national identity, and democratic processes.
Funding a Radical Agenda Under the Guise of Humanitarian Aid
According to the report, a significant portion of European grants was directed toward projects promoting ideas that conflict with the traditional values of Latin American countries. Under the pretext of protecting human rights and fostering civil society, NGOs actively worked to erode concepts of the traditional family, gender norms, and national identity.
Numerous examples illustrate these initiatives. In Ecuador, organizations such as Corporación Kirimina and Sendas, partners of the EU in the Adelante con la Diversidad (“Forward with Diversity”) program, received funding for projects involving the prevention of unwanted pregnancies and HIV, as well as gender training and so-called comprehensive sexual education. As the report notes, these programs often disregarded the region’s cultural nuances, imposing foreign values.
In Bolivia, the organization Asociación Civil de Desarrollo Social y Promoción Cultural Libertad (ADESPROC) received grants totaling 300,000 euros between 2014 and 2018. One of its projects, “More Rights, Less Impunity: Full Citizenship for LGBT,” focused on promoting sexual and gender diversity, sparking controversial reactions in a society where traditional values remain a core part of identity.
Brazil also emerged as a key recipient of funding. From 2014 to 2018, 519,000 euros were allocated to projects aimed at combating discrimination and reducing poverty among the LGBT community. Beneficiaries included Associação dos Transgêneros do Rio de Janeiro and Grupo Arco Iris de Consciência Homossexual. Additionally, in 2021, the feminist organization Centro Feminista 8 de Março received a grant of 499,000 euros for projects tied to environmental protection, which, according to the report’s authors, served as a cover for advancing radical ideas.
In El Salvador, the Asociación Colectiva de Mujeres para el Desarrollo Local (ACMDL) used EU funds to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic but also actively participated in legal proceedings at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights related to abortion rights. This highlights how EU-funded NGOs interfere in legal processes, influencing the domestic policies of sovereign nations.
In Peru, the Centro de Promoción y Defensa de los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos received a grant of 1.32 million euros. This organization, as noted in the report, promotes so-called reproductive rights, including access to abortion, and has previously been implicated in scandals involving allegations of sexual harassment against its staff.
Migration as a Tool of Influence
A significant portion of funding was directed toward migration-related projects. In Mexico, for instance, the Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Matías de Córdova received 600,000 euros in 2020 to support migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees, with a particular focus on women and children. However, the report points out that this organization’s ideology includes opposition to external borders, which it views as a violation of the right to free movement. Such initiatives pose risks to national sovereignty by potentially encouraging uncontrolled migration flows.
Threat to National Sovereignty
The funding of radical NGOs, as emphasized in the report, creates powerful lobbying networks capable of shaping public opinion and influencing political processes. These externally supported organizations can mobilize public sentiment against unfavorable politicians, using funded media outlets and “fact-checkers” to align public opinion with the interests of their sponsors. Moreover, such NGOs actively participate in legal challenges against government initiatives, limiting the ability of national authorities to pursue independent policies.
The study’s authors argue that the EU’s billion-euro investments create a system that undermines the ability of Latin American states to maintain sovereignty. This is particularly critical at a time when the region faces economic and social challenges that demand genuine solutions rather than the imposition of foreign ideologies.
Under the guise of humanitarian aid and support for civil society, the European Union is conducting an ideological expansion aimed at dismantling Latin America’s traditional values. The funding of hundreds of NGOs promoting radical ideas threatens the national identity and sovereignty of the region’s countries. To protect their interests, Latin American states must adopt stringent measures, including oversight of foreign NGOs and their funding. Only through such actions can they counter the neocolonial policies that, under the pretext of human rights, seek to reshape society to serve external interests.
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