Keywords: Democracy, climate change, generation Z, values, Latin America

Most of Generation Z (born 1997-2012) has entered adulthood and opinion polls are
showing us their preferences, habits, expectations, worries, and various opinions on
different matters. The Centennials are voting, consuming, acting, chatting, posting, and
probably changing the political, economic, and social landscape. In this paper, we
analyze various aspects of the Centennials' worldview in Latin America, and compare
it to their elders', the Baby Boomer Generation, Generation X, and Millenials. We focus
on politics and democracy, to see how Centennials feel about this form of government,
and how the meanings of and expectations about democracy are changing from one
generation to the next; we also focus on climate change, testing how the Greta
Thunberg generation in the region feels it; among other issues, we also focus on
globalization, cosmopolitanism, immigration, religion, ideological identities, and
gender equality, covering a wide range of values and orientations. In many instances,
we find Generation Z to be significantly different in their values and beliefs, in their
commitments, and, as expected, in their way to express their views, dreams, and
grievances through social media. Despite their higher reliance on Internet and mobile
devices, we do not find Centennials to be more polarized along ideological lines than
other generations, a topic that touches on one of the main themes for the conference.
Nonetheless, we do find substantial differences in opinions. By looking at those
differences, we reflect about the future of Latin America: Is democratic commitment
dying or strengthening? Is environmentalism on the rise? What about cosmopolitan
values as opposed to nativist views, so important in the wave of populism? And
secularization? And gender equality? We use the most recent data from the
Latinobarometer study, a survey conducted in 17-18 countries from Latin America
and the Caribbean since 1995. The survey, based on samples of about 1,200 adults per
country across the region, and which turns 30 years old in 2025, offers a window to
the future by showing us how the new generation feels and thinks today, and how that
may shape the future of political representation and party competition, institutional
design, companies' goals, job dynamics, economic activities, and society, to say the
least. The 2023 and 2024 Latinobarometer surveys already covered over half of
Generation Z, providing a significant sample of that new cohort.
Among our main findings, we document a weakened overt support for
democracy among Generation Z respondents, but a stronger commitment to
democratic principles under the surface of lip service. We also find their worries
about climate change to be backed by potential action in larger proportions than other
generations show. However, their increasingly more secular views are not necessarily
opening generational gaps in different social issues and individual rights. We analyze
all these findings under the theoretical perspective of intergenerational value change,
and we discuss the implications for institutional change.