Current and former PGA members exchange insights on countering disinformation and protecting democracy
On 30 June, Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) marked the International Day of Parliamentarism with "Keep Calm and Legislate On," a virtual dialogue bringing together sitting Members of Parliament and PGA Alumni Network members from around the world. Moderated by Esther Cuesta, Chair of the PGA Alumni Network and former member of Ecuador's National Assembly, the conversation focused on three pressures facing legislators today: shrinking civic space, disinformation, and institutional strain on parliamentary democracy.
Why bring current and former MPs into the same room
The dialogue was designed to unite current parliamentarians with PGA Alumni – former MPs who have gone on to roles in government, diplomacy, civil society, academia, and media. As Ms. Cuesta noted in her opening remarks, the end of a legislator's mandate doesn't end their knowledge, relationships, or commitment – only their platform changes. That continuity, PGA argues, is what allows democratic advocacy to survive elections and political transitions, and what helps the network identify the next generation of parliamentary champions.
Voices from four regions
The panel featured:
- Ms. Margareta Cederfelt, Member of Parliament (Sweden); former PGA President
- Ms. Yevheniia Kravchuk, Member of Parliament (Ukraine)
- Mr. Ronny Monge, former legislator (Costa Rica)
- Ms. Kasthuri Patto, former legislator (Malaysia); former PGA President
Panelists were invited to speak to their direct experience of disinformation's impact on their work, the strategies and tools they've relied on to defend civic space, and the role PGA has played in sustaining their engagement – as sitting and former legislators alike. Their exchange was followed by an open discussion on what it means to “hold the line” as a parliamentarian today.
Ms. Cederfelt argued that healthy democracy depends on conditions beyond parliament itself – a free press, an independent judiciary, and elections free of manipulation – and pushed back on pressure to perform on platforms like TikTok rather than hold a professional standard. Ms. Kravchuk described Russia's well-funded disinformation campaign, including a planned spend of nearly $2 billion this year targeting EU and NATO countries, and framed the fight as a “cognitive war” running alongside Russia's physical war on Ukraine. Ms. Patto spoke to the challenge of building common ground across Malaysia's multi-ethnic, multilingual political landscape, sharing how her own party has been falsely branded for decades as a tool of delegitimization. Mr. Monge noted that Latin American politics was slow to grasp how fundamentally communication had changed, leaving room for disinformation to outpace truth.
The conversation opened to the floor, drawing in voices including Senator Wade Mark (Trinidad and Tobago), who cited CIVICUS Monitor data showing only 39 of 198 countries assessed have open civic space, and warned that AI is increasingly used by state and non-state actors to spread disinformation. Mr. Monge noted that showing up once every four years, the way fans turn out for the World Cup, is not the same as democracy – democracy has to be built day by day.
Key takeaways
Several themes carried through the discussion. Isolation is one of the most effective tools used against democratic advocates. When legislators believe their struggles are unique to their country, that vulnerability is exploited, and PGA's cross-regional, cross-generational network was framed as a practical tool to counter it. Panelists also underscored that leaving parliament is not the same as stepping back: alumni who move into government, civil society, media, or academia carry institutional memory and credibility that help PGA identify new champions and sustain advocacy through political transitions. And as Mr. Monge's World Cup analogy captured, democracy is built day by day, not only at the polls.
Not every question could be addressed within the time period. In the chat, Senator Janelle Chanona (Belize), a member of PGA's Board, asked whether any members had been involved in legislation addressing the rise of strategic litigation against public participation, noting that such efforts would support the work of parliament, media, and civil society alike. Following the event, PGA reached out to the panelists to invite them to connect with Senator Chanona directly on this question.
This dialogue was the first in a planned series of exchanges between current and former PGA members. Feedback from the June 30 conversation is shaping future sessions, which PGA intends to use to dig deeper into concrete partnerships and legislative responses.
