Why Open Access Publishing is Closing Latin America’s Knowledge Gap

The British Library (2023)

Today, Latin American researchers face significant challenges in global publishing. Only 13% of the region’s SCOPUS-indexed journals use English. This language barrier, along with article processing charges that rose by 10% in 2023-24, makes it tough for Latin American scholars to share their work worldwide.

The picture isn’t all bleak, though. Brazil for example has become the world’s second-largest producer of open access journals. This shows the region’s dedication to making research available to everyone. Latin American researchers are finding new ways to share and access scholarly work, despite ongoing challenges.

This post looks at how open access publishing is changing Latin America’s research world. We’ll explore its effects on closing the knowledge gap, from economic benefits to state-of-the-art policies. You’ll also learn about practical strategies that help make research available throughout the region.

The Evolution of Open Access Publishing in Latin America

Latin America led the way in community-driven non-commercial open access publishing. Its unique model puts public good ahead of profit. Research institutions in the 1990s realized that online publishing could boost research visibility and cut distribution costs significantly.

Historical development of scholarly communication

Public universities and government organizations shaped Latin America’s scholarly communication world. Commercial publishers played a minimal role. CLACSO, a network of 700 research institutions from 52 countries, started promoting online publishing in 1998 to increase research visibility. This early move to digital publishing created the foundations for a sustainable, publicly-funded model.

Key milestones in regional OA adoption

Several groundbreaking initiatives showed the region’s dedication to open access:

• 1995: UNAM launched Latindex, which now covers 25,894 journals across 23 Latin American and Caribbean countries

• 1997: The first digital journal on social sciences epistemology emerged in Latin America

• 1998: SciELO began with Brazilian health sciences journals

These platforms grew into complete scholarly communication networks. SciELO expanded to include 1,285 journals across multiple disciplines. It also established itself as a decentralized publishing platform on four continents.

Current state of OA publishing

Latin America’s open access publishing landscape today shows proof of sustained public investment and regional teamwork. Public universities produce 75% of the region’s scientific output. An ALAEC survey of 14 countries showed that 90% of regional journals follow the Diamond Open Access model. Most importantly, neither readers nor authors pay fees under this model.

The region’s dedication to open-access has produced impressive results. CLACSO’s catalog now offers 2,953 open access books and works with Redalyc to provide access to 933 peer-reviewed journals. These generate about 4 million downloads each month. Major research institutions like the University of Sao Paulo and Mexico National Autonomous University (UNAM) maintain large journal portfolios. Each has over 100 publications.

This strong scholarly ecosystem faces both opportunities and challenges. The region stays committed to non-commercial open access. Yet economic instability and varying national policies remain ongoing concerns. In spite of that, Latin America’s model shows that successful open access publishing can thrive outside traditional commercial frameworks.

Understanding Open Access Models and Their Impact

The Budapest Open Access Initiative gave us the first definition of open access in 2002, and it changed scholarly communication forever. The publishing world has seen two distinct paths emerge over the last several years.

Gold vs Green OA routes

Publishers offer two main models for direct publishing in open access journals:

• Diamond/Platinum OA: No charges for authors or readers

• APC-based OA: Authors pay processing charges

Data shows that about 20,000 open access journals exist in 135 countries and 80 languages. Only 7,000 of these require APCs. Latin America presents an interesting case—just 8% of journals in DOAJ ask for article processing charges.

Regional adaptations of OA models

Latin America has developed its own way of handling open access publishing. Public universities, scientific societies, and research foundations lead the OA movement here. They work without much involvement from commercial publishers. This model shows that sharing research matters just as much as conducting it.

Public funding has helped build resilient infrastructure that improves quality and visibility. Authors don’t need to pay Article Processing Charges. SciELO stands out as a decentralized publishing platform that now hosts more than 1,200 peer-reviewed journals. These come from fifteen countries spread across four continents.

Cost-effectiveness analysis

Different OA models tell an interesting economic story. Public universities produce 75% of scientific output in Latin America. They use a budget-friendly model where public funds and institutional budgets cover publication costs.

This approach costs less than APC-based models. Commercial journals from the Global North often charge outrageously high fees, which shows the unfairness in current systems. Nature for example charges more than USD 11,000 for an APC now.

The community-driven model in Latin America reaches far and wide, proving its value. Mexico’s Redalyc platform hosts nearly 1,000 journals from fourteen Latin American countries plus Spain and Portugal. Both Redalyc and SciELO give everyone access to research without making authors or readers pay.

Digital Infrastructure Supporting Knowledge Democratization

A reliable digital infrastructure powers Latin America’s successful open access publishing ecosystem. LA Referencia, a 11-year old initiative, connects research repositories across nine countries. Users can access more than 1.4 million full-text peer-reviewed articles, theses, and research reports.

Regional repository networks

Three major platforms dominate the region’s repository landscape. SciELO leads as a decentralized publishing platform with over 1,200 peer-reviewed journals across fifteen countries on four continents. Redalyc, based in Mexico, hosts almost 1,000 journals from fourteen Latin American countries plus Spain and Portugal.

These networks serve an estimated 700,000 teachers, 70,000 researchers, and about 15 million students in Latin America and the Caribbean. National legislation has strengthened this foundation with Argentina and Peru implementing mandatory open access policies in 2013. Mexico followed suit in 2014.

Internet connectivity improvements

We have a long way to go, but we can build on this progress. More than 60% of Latin America’s population still can’t access quality digital infrastructure. Internet connectivity rates in rural areas reach only 23%, while urban regions enjoy at least 60% coverage.

But mutually beneficial alliances have emerged to close this gap. The Inter-American Development Bank estimates USD 68.50 billion would bridge this digital divide. Urban areas need 59% of this funding, while rural regions require 41%. A 10% boost in internet speed and connectivity can increase a country’s GDP by 1.4%.

Technical capacity building

The region builds technical expertise through several initiatives. LA Referencia uses OpenAIRE interoperability guidelines and works together with the Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR) to improve global repository functionality.

LA Referencia’s 2025 partnership with Lyrasis aims to improve repository maintenance, upgrades, and user support. This project tackles key challenges like:

• Limited technical documentation in Spanish and Portuguese

• Need for better technical expertise

• Lack of cross-regional teamwork

These infrastructure improvements help democratize knowledge by making research available across the region. Federated support models let institutions share resources and expertise, which creates resilient networks ready to adapt to future challenges.

Regional Collaboration Success Stories

Latin America’s open access landscape shines through successful cross-border teamwork. Countries connect their policy makers and development experts to share knowledge and create practical development solutions.

Cross-border research initiatives

The Latin America and Caribbean Region weaves knowledge sharing into Country and Sector strategies. They maintain a database that tracks exchanges by objective, topic, and results. The Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX) hub stands out as a success story that brings together eight countries in Central America and the Caribbean.

Three major institutions lead the collaborative work across the region:

• SUMMA: First education research innovation laboratory

• Organization of Eastern Caribbean States

• American Institutes for Research

Shared repository systems

Regional repository networks have grown stronger through new partnerships. For example, SciELO South Africa now shows how other regions can adopt Latin America’s community-driven model. JSTOR and Latin American Research Resources Project (LARRP) highlight this success by making over 200 CLACSO ebooks available to everyone.

LA Referencia and Lyrasis started a groundbreaking partnership in 2025 to improve DSpace repositories throughout Latin America and Spain. This project will tackle key challenges in repository maintenance and user support since 88% of repositories in Latin America use DSpace.

Knowledge exchange programs

Knowledge sharing in the region goes beyond traditional academic limits. The Latin America Regional Anesthesia Knowledge Exchange Program shows this approach well. It offers three-week observation programs that include:

• Operating room experience with attending Anesthesiologists

• Participation in journal clubs and grand rounds

• Access to specialized medical libraries

These programs create lasting changes, for alumni keep access to educational resources and stay connected through special courses and virtual learning platforms. Moreover, the KIX hub helps improve inclusion, equity, and quality in national education systems.

The numbers tell the story of this collaborative success. CLACSO’s network now connects 700 research institutions across 52 countries. Their catalog offers 2,953 open access books and partnerships that provide access to 933 peer-reviewed journals. This vast network shows how regional collaboration makes knowledge available to everyone while keeping high academic standards.

Economic Benefits of Open Access Implementation

However, the economic benefits of open access publishing go way beyond the reach and influence of simple cost savings. Public universities and research institutions in Latin America have created green scholarly communication models that work without commercial publisher involvement.

Research cost reduction

Latin America’s unique approach to open access publishing has led to huge cost savings. Through platforms like SciELO and Redalyc, institutions have built networked meta-publishers that allow centralized governance while you retain control. This decentralized structure makes the system more sustainable and matches local priorities, which reduces operational costs.

Research institutions enjoy significant financial advantages through:

• No subscription fees to access research

• Lower publishing costs with institutional platforms

• Less administrative overhead with shared resources

Innovation acceleration

Open access has without doubt sped up innovation by removing barriers between researchers and scientific knowledge. Studies reveal that open access articles get more citations in any discipline. This visibility has promoted better scientific education and literacy, which then affects public policy development.

Innovation benefits show up in two main ways. Open access lets researchers use automated tools to mine scholarly literature. The easy availability and reuse of research materials also speeds up the process of finding new insights. These changes have helped Latin America become one of the world’s leading regions in sustainable, cooperative research sharing models.

Market competitiveness gains

Open access publishing brings remarkable market advantages. Institutions reported better global research presence and knowledge transfer metrics after starting open access initiatives. Open access publications show higher visibility and participation, whether measured through citation impact or alternative metrics (altmetrics).

The regional approach has created a more competitive research environment. By 2025, this model proves that scholarly communications can succeed without becoming market commodities. Research outputs are managed by the scholarly community through their own journal platforms and repositories. Public funds support these as essential research infrastructure.

The economic effects reach innovation-driven enterprises and government services. This creates ripples throughout the region’s economy. Businesses and public services can access advanced research more easily. Knowledge democratization boosts market competitiveness by enabling faster innovation cycles and better resource allocation.

Policy Innovations Driving Change

Latin American policy breakthroughs have altered the map of scholarly communication. Nine countries signed a important agreement in 2012 to build national systems of repositories. These countries included Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, and Peru.

National OA mandates

Legislative action propelled the region’s dedication to open access publishing forward. Argentina and Peru took the lead by implementing mandatory open access policies in 2013. Mexico joined them in 2014. Brazil chose a different path and introduced its first bill to Congress in 2007, later bringing it back in 2011.

These mandates focus on three key areas:

• State-funded research must be deposited in open access repositories

• Post-publication embargo periods cannot exceed six months

• Systems must monitor compliance effectively

Institutional policies

A detailed analysis showed different implementation levels of institutional repository policies across the region. The study looked at 84 institutional repositories, and 31 had working policies in place. Brazil led policy implementation, with Argentina and Mexico following closely.

Institutional policies cover three vital areas:

• Working policies that guide system operations and document validation

• Content preservation guidelines

• Copyright frameworks that govern deposit and access

The data shows that only eleven institutions had formal policies with top leadership’s signatures. Brazilian repositories accounted for nine of these, while Argentinian ones had two. This pattern shows how difficult it can be to formalize an institution’s dedication to open access initiatives.

Funding requirements

Latin America’s funding approach for open access publishing differs from commercial models. Academic institutions and governments support journals that faculty members manage as part of their academic work. Many experts call this a healthier system that promotes equity and diversity in scholarly communication.

The region’s funding structure comes with its own challenges. Institutions must keep current investment levels steady while finding new resources to improve competitiveness and visibility. The traditional Latin American model also faces pressure from commercial open access strategies, especially those using Article Processing Charges (APCs).

Government agreements at the regional level have made repository development stronger by creating La Referencia, a federated regional network that contains more than 1.4 million full-text peer-reviewed articles, theses, and research reports. This approach’s soaring win proves that scholarly communication can succeed without commercial publishers.

Measuring Impact and Visibility

Sophisticated analysis tools and metrics help measure the effect of open access publishing. Recent studies show fundamental changes in how experts review and quantify Latin American research visibility.

Citation analysis

Bibliometric studies show traditional citation metrics don’t fully represent Latin American research’s effect. Brazilian nursing publications that were open access reached more readers. This happens because standard metrics often miss publications in languages other than English, which comprise much of Latin American scholarly work.

Traditional citation analysis has several limitations:

• Commercial databases cover only a fraction of regional journals

• Language barriers affect citation tracking

• Regional citation patterns differ from global norms

Global research presence

Latin American research visibility now extends beyond academic circles. Researchers and institutions use social media and digital spaces to share their work. This has changed how we measure scholarly impact. Alternative metrics now give a better picture of research influence, though coverage quality lacks for peripheral countries.

Latin American research faces unique challenges globally. Bibliometric studies show we need better evaluation methods that capture more research from developing regions. Of course, this means we should think about non-traditional academic outputs and regional relevance.

Knowledge transfer metrics

Alternative metrics (altmetrics) are vital tools to measure knowledge transfer. These metrics became more important in reviewing research impact after the Altmetrics Manifesto came out in 2010. Before this, experts relied heavily on traditional citation counts to measure social impact.

The progress of knowledge transfer metrics shows interesting patterns:

• Social media activity helps identify emerging research themes

• Non-governmental organizations and society members outside academia help measure impact

• Technologies help democratize scientific knowledge beyond traditional assessment spaces

Latin American sources must understand their specific science circulation patterns. Better evaluation systems would properly value scientific articles from developing countries, especially those in languages other than English. Open access status and national or regional relevance need attention in impact assessment.

Country differences substantially influence research evaluation. Countries with united knowledge infrastructures spanning two centuries use different evaluation standards. Moving evaluation policies from these contexts to Latin America creates obvious problems because conditions differ.

These measurement challenges show why we need ecosystem-wide views to assess research impact. The fractured approach to knowledge management leads to decisions that increase inequalities for countries with limited financial, technological, and informational resources. This ended up showing why we need regionally appropriate impact metrics that accurately reflect Latin American research contributions while acknowledging local contexts and constraints.

Future Opportunities and Challenges

Science faces big challenges in the twenty-first century. From pandemics to climate change, research needs to be available to everyone. Latin America now stands where challenge meets chance in open-access publishing as regional adaptations shape its future path.

Emerging technologies

National Current Research Information System (CRIS) projects set Latin American initiatives apart from their European counterparts. The systems use open software platforms like dSPACE to keep scientific information in the public domain. These databases give a complete registry of:

• People and institutions

• Research productions

• Ongoing projects

• Collaboration networks

The current tech setup makes new forms of scientific teamwork possible, especially those that mainstream academic evaluation overlooks. Before this, different publication styles and researcher profiles didn’t get much attention.

Sustainability concerns

The reliable scholarly communication setup faces real sustainability challenges. Economic instability and missing national open science laws in key countries like Brazil—which produces 50% of regional articles—create major risks.

The biggest problem is understanding how Article Processing Charges (APCs) affect low and medium-income countries. The changing nature of open access publishing makes assessment tough in regional settings. Even without charging authors, journals need steady funding to keep systems running and grow.

But sustainability goes beyond money matters. Different views on open access have come up. One focuses on commercial publishers trying to end pay-to-read models. Another creates scholar-led, non-profit systems that are open from day one. Indeed, making knowledge available to everyone needs ongoing communication, fresh ideas, and dedication.

Growth projections

Latin America’s economic future through 2025 shows promise despite its challenges. The International Monetary Fund expects regional GDP to grow by 2.5%, up from 2024’s 2.4%. However, this growth rate remains below the global GDP projection of 3.3%.

Several core issues affect research growth in the region:

• Public and private investment remains low

• Infrastructure needs work

• Education systems need reform

Moreover, climate change brings both risks and chances. The Inter-American Development Bank sees Latin America as one of the world’s most vulnerable regions to climate change. Natural disasters could cut GDP by up to 0.9% in smaller countries and 3.4% in Caribbean nations. This environmental risk continues to push millions toward migration.

In terms of regional long-term growth, it remains around 2%. The IADB thinks this isn’t enough to meet the growing population’s needs. Latin America has valuable resources, especially lithium, which is key for energy transition. This gives the region an edge as the world moves toward eco-friendly tech.

The open-access movement faces a turning point as the APC model from the Global North spreads to Latin America. Government funding favors commercial journal subscriptions over community-led open access publishing. But the global movement should learn from Latin America’s community-driven, scholar-led system to counter commercial APC expansion.

Concusion

Latin America shows how research can flourish beyond commercial frameworks through open access publishing. The region has built a strong scholarly ecosystem that makes research free to millions through public investment and regional teamwork.

Community-driven models work, as platforms like SciELO and Redalyc clearly demonstrate. Today, Latin America leads global open access publishing thanks to solid policy support and better digital infrastructure.

But the work to be done remains substantial. Language barriers and spotty internet access create ongoing challenges. Furthermore, commercial publishing models pressure the region’s unique approach. But the region’s steadfast dedication to available research grows stronger despite these hurdles.

Latin America’s open access model should gain worldwide influence soon. Other regions could learn from its collaborative approach rather than following traditional commercial publishing paths. Quality research publishing can benefit the public while maintaining academic standards.

Latin America’s research transformation through open access inspires others and provides a roadmap to democratize knowledge globally. The region’s trailblazing solutions and dedication to available research show what a world of fair scholarly communication could look like, even as challenges continue.