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Renewed interest from Organization of American States (OAS) member states, academia, and civil society organizations in ways to make the implementation of the Inter‐American Democratic Charter (IADC) more effective marked its tenth anniversary year. Drawing on discussion in the sessions of the OAS Permanent Council and various parallel events, this article describes and reviews this auspicious dynamic, focusing on the close link between democracy and integral development reflected in descriptions of social elements in several of the charter's articles. The persistence of high rates of poverty, inequality, and indigence are among the most urgent and significant challenges to be addressed if the region's democracies are to become consolidated, according to a growing consensus reflected in these discussions. A social charter has been proposed as a possible tool to complement the IADC in the area of social inclusion. This discussion has gone hand in hand with an effort to build consensus about the importance of integral democracy as an opportunity for the Inter‐American System.