The Latin American Social Sciences Institute or Latin American School of Social Sciences (Spanish: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales or FLACSO) is an inter-governmental autonomous organization for Latin America and the Caribbean dedicated to research, teaching and spreading of social sciences.
It was created on April 17, 1957,[1] following a UNESCO initiative at the Latin American Conference on Social Sciences in Rio de Janeiro. Its goal was to promote academic research and development in the region.[1]
Its membership is open to Latin American and Caribbean countries that subscribe to the FLACSO agreement. Current members include: Argentina , Bolivia, Brazil , Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile , Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic, Suriname and Uruguay.
Josette Altmann Borbón, a historian and former First Lady of Costa Rica, was elected Secretary General of FLACSO in June 2016.[1] She succeeded Manuel González on July 31, 2016.[1]