1) How did you determine the focus of your research, and how does it relate to the challenges that you consider to be the most important for advancing academic freedom as a fundamental human right?

We define the focus of our research based on the following principles:
A decolonial perspective as the basis for critically analyzing relations between the Global North and South. This analysis focuses on the inequalities affecting the dissemination and positioning of scientific knowledge in Latin America, particularly with regard to open academic digital books. We consider these books to be a strategic axis for democratizing knowledge in the region and for demystifying the neoliberal conception of academic freedom.
We recognize academic freedom in the global sense as the real possibility of accessing, publishing, and positioning scientific knowledge as a public good and a fundamental human right. We consider the individual sense of academic freedom, which relates it only to the ability to conduct research without censorship by institutions and governments, to be limited.
We also recognize intersectionality and the existence of structural inequalities—financial, linguistic, digital, gender-based, territorial, disciplinary, and epistemological—that hinder inclusive publishing practices. These inequalities demand the design of non-traditional models that contribute to the decolonization of knowledge, both objectively and subjectively, among authors, editors, and academic decision-makers. Designing such a model is the priority of our project.

2) What impact do you think your research will have on academic freedom in the short and long term?

In the short term, we aim to identify the barriers preventing Latin American university presses from entering the global scientific publishing ecosystem equitably and justly. We also hope to determine the main niches for high-impact publications of Latin American books. With the development of concrete tools, such as an inclusive editorial management model and an AI thesaurus in Spanish, we hope to promote editorial autonomy and openness in positioning scientific knowledge in the region.
In the long term, we aim to influence national and regional publishing policies based on open science that reduce the equity gaps we have identified and guarantee recognition of the right to epistemic plurality and linguistic diversity in the region. These changes will contribute to reconfiguring the international frameworks that define the quality, visibility, and impact of knowledge. This will allow institutions in the Global South to fully exercise their right to participate equally in disseminating scientific knowledge. They will be able to do so from a position of academic freedom, meaning they will be heard, read, and validated in their own linguistic and epistemological terms.

3) What is the importance of taking part in this call for research proposals that is being promoted by CAFA and CLACSO?

First of all, it is important to participate in this call for proposals because it gives us the opportunity to devote ourselves almost full-time to research that is necessary, relevant, enjoyable, and motivating. This initiative provides us with a strategic opportunity to join a high-caliber regional network, such as CLACSO-CAFA. This network is committed to defending social justice and promoting normative and epistemological frameworks that defend freedom of thought, open access, and cognitive justice in Latin America and the Caribbean. It allows us to share our findings in an informed environment and enrich them.
Participating in this initiative increases the visibility of our research and validates us as researchers. It also promotes the formation of alliances with other researchers and institutions with similar interests and contributes to the development of transformative regional public policies and editorial practices. These efforts align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and address the current challenges facing science in the Global South.