Instituto de Ciencia Política Hernán Echavarría Olózaga Wins Atlas Network's 2025 Latin America Liberty Award

Atlas Network is proud to present the 2025 Latin America Liberty Award to Instituto de Ciencia Política Hernán Echavarría Olózaga. The award was accepted by Executive Director Carlos Augusto Chacón
at Latin America Liberty Forum 2025 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Latin America Liberty Award is part of the Templeton Freedom Award prize program sponsored by Templeton Religion Trust—named for the late investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton. In addition to Latin America, the program sponsors awards in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and the Middle East and North Africa. Its grand prize, the Templeton Freedom Award, is presented annually at Atlas Network’s Liberty Forum and Freedom Dinner in New York City. This year, the prize program will award $270,000 in grants to high-achieving organizations that make innovative contributions to economic freedom and human progress.

Instituto de Ciencia Política Hernán Echavarría Olózaga protected the rule of law and private property in Colombia’s rural areas, successfully stopping legislative and executive actions that threatened constitutional safeguards for land ownership, undermined property rights, and discouraged investment and economic development in Colombia. Defending the poorest Colombians from government overreach, the organization exposed and challenged Article 61 of the National Development Plan and its subsequent draft decree, which sought to bypass judicial oversight and expand state powers over rural land acquisition. And the challenge was a success, not only reinforcing the rule of law but also highlighting the indispensable role of property rights in fostering private-sector investment and innovation across the socioeconomic spectrum in Colombia.

This year’s runners-up are Estudiantes por la Libertad Latinoamérica (Mexico) and Fundación Libertad y Progreso (Argentina).

“As we see in Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico, the freedom movement is alive and well, combatting the forces of authoritarianism and collectivism to make the future brighter across the Americas,” said Brad Lips, CEO of Atlas Network. “Whether it means creating pro-liberty events, protecting the rule of law and property rights, or helping to reform entire economic ecosystems, Atlas Network’s independent partners in Latin America are doing the hard work—day in, day out—to overcome obstacles and promote free enterprise. On a wide range of issues, there is no stronger solution than pro-freedom idea entrepreneurship, and all three Latin America Liberty Award finalists are proving that daily.”