Search results

Drawing from well-known theories of democracy and democratic transition, this essay considers the transition to local democracy in Latin America. It raises a central question: Given the landmark decentralization of the past three decades, what constitutes local democracy in the region today and in which countries can we say it exists? Core considerations in comparing local democracy and national democracy are discussed. I present the concept of "minimum decentralization" and, using this framework, posit six procedural and institutional conditions for defining local democracy. Eighteen systems are evaluated against these conditions at the municipal and intermediate levels of government. Despite the real transfer of authority in many countries, and though several Latin American countries have established or nearly established local democracies, only a few of the local systems can be considered democratic. Though the conclusion is somewhat counterintuitive, explanations for the slow development of decentralization and local democracy are considered. Adapted from the source document.

Over the past decade, there has been a surge of "new Left" governments in Latin America, yet polling data shows no comparable shift to the left among the general Latin American population. If electorates have not followed their political leaders to the left, then it is likely that new right- wing political actors will emerge to compensate for the leftward shift in Latin American politics. I propose a research agenda for studying right-wing politics in light of the current wave of left-leaning governments in the region. I argue that we should focus on four main areas of right-wing politics: the political agenda of right-wing groups; their political organization; their power capability; and the institutional environment in which they operate. This agenda requires that we move beyond the traditional focus on right- wing political parties and focus on right-wing organizations at all levels of formal politics, as well as groups that operate outside the formal political arena. Adapted from the source document.

Many Latin American countries democratized between 1975 and 2000, and research has confirmed that contemporary Latin Americans hold democratic political attitudes. Using America's Barometer surveys of 18 countries from 2008, we examine the commitment of Latin Americans to three democratic attitudes -- preference for democracy over other forms of government, support for general participation rights, and tolerance for participation by system critics. We also explore the impact of personal resources, crime and corruption, evaluation of system performance, social capital, and the sociopolitical context on democratic attitudes. A preference for democracy and support for citizens' participation rights are strong, but tolerance is lower than the other attitudes. Evidence is found for acculturation -- that Latin Americans acquire democratic attitudes by living in democratic regimes and through education. Adapted from the source document.

Ecuador concluyo el siglo XX con una crisis sin precedentes - y empezo el siglo XXI liderando el crecimiento economico en America Latina. Es este un motivo de regocijo o de preocupacion? Frente a esta pregunta nada mejor que el analisis de algunos datos, recordando que la dolarizacion fue presentada no solo como la unica alternativa existente, sino como la gran solucion para resolver los males de la economia ecuatoriana. (Am Lat Mov/DÜI)

Segun un informe elaborado por la Confederacion Internacional de Organizaciones Sindicales Libres, CIOSL, con sede en Bruselas, America Latina sigue siendo la region mas peligrosa para labores sindicales, pues durante el ano 1999 noventa sindicalistas perdieron la vida, el doble de la cifra registrada en cualquier otro continente. En muchos paises es practicamente imposible formar sindicatos. En las zonas francas de exportacion se hace caso omiso de los derechos de los trabajadores, y las huelgas se reprimen con mano de hierro. Quienes defienden la causa de los trabajadores sufren constantes hostigamientos por parte de las autoridades y de los empleadores, senala la CIOSL. (Am Lat Mov/DÜI)

En el contexto de la nueva ola de regionalismo y del auge de la integracion economica que ha presenciado America Latina en la decada de los noventa, el autor analiza las tendencias y caracteristicas relevantes del comercio exterior agroalimentario entre Venezuela y Colombia. El objetivo del articulo es evaluar el crecimiento del comercio intrarregional agroalimentario a traves de la estimacion de indicadores de creacion y desviacion de comercio. Se discute sobre las politicas mas convenientes a seguir, con la finalidad de promover la consolidacion de una union aduanera creadora de comercio y coherente con los principios basicos del denominado "regionalismo abierto". (Polit Agric/DÜI)

Los mas recientes reportes anuales y estudios tecnicos del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo defienden un determinismo geografico del desarrollo: Los paises mas ricos en recursos naturales y mas cercanos al Ecuador estan condenados a ser mas atrasados y pobres. Los problemas actuales no se deben a las reformas estructurales o a las acciones de los gobiernos, sino a las condiciones ambientales. Para remontar todo esto el mejor remedio es confiar en el mercado y acentuar todavia mas las reformas. El objetivo de este articulo es dar a conocer las recientes ideas del BID sobre las limitaciones al desarrollo en America Latina, especialmente a partir de sus reportes anuales para 1997 y 1998-99. (Am Lat Mov/DÜI)

The following working paper lays out the baseline from which the research approach of the research network desiguALdades.net was developed. Starting from diverse social inequality phenomena in Latin America, the network seeks to underline the multidimensionality of inequalities and their transregional interdependencies, taking a synchronic as well as a diachronic perspective into account. It thereby draws, first, on the discourse on global approaches to the study of inequalities, particularly world system approaches and transnationalism. Secondly, it is based on a critical examination of key concepts (like figuration and regime). Lastly, it seeks to link these to subjects and areas, especially the environmental dimension, that until now have received little consideration in research on inequalities. Adapted from the source document.

The aim of the paper is to analyze the link between social risks and social inequality in Latin America, based on the economic, political and cultural transformations that have been occurring in the region in the last decades, with different magnitudes and intensities. Two distinctive features are stressed: increased social individualization processes and the coupling between dynamics and structural inequalities. Adapted from the source document.

Este articulo analiza tres aspectos de la obra de Jose Cadalso: 1) sus manifestaciones sobre la conquista del Nuevo Mundo por parte de los espanoles, que no siempre se muestran ideologicamente coincidentes; 2) su estudio de las relaciones entre la Europa de la Ilustracion y America, que desvelan la cara oculta del colonialismo dieciochesco; 3) las intenciones objetivas y los motivos subjetivos que subyacen en sus textos a proposito de lo americano y que parecen mostrar un conflicto entre su patriotismo y los valores ilustrados con los que se identificaba. Al vincular entre si estos tres temas se revelan no solo la complejidad argumentativa y los intereses intelectuales del pensamiento de Cadalso sino tambien las ventajas expositivas de su 'metodo epistolar', que permite dar aire de novedad a la reflexion This article deals with three aspects of the work of Jose Cadalso: his statements on the conquest of the New World by the Spaniards, which do not always coincide ideologically; 2) the study of the relationship between the Europe of the Enlightenment and America, that reveal the hidden face of eighteenth-century colonialism; 3) the objective intentions and the subjective reasons that underlie his texts about the American and seem to show a conflict between his patriotism and the enlightened values with which he identified. By linking together these three themes not only the argumentative complexity and intellectual interests of Cadalso's thought are revealed but also the explanatory advantages of his 'epistolary method', which gives reflection the appearance of novelty. Adapted from the source document.

In the context of new political and legal conditions, social actors in Latin America have recently developed new forms of collective action, including in particular legal mobilization. This paper intends to contribute to the study of this development, through the incorporation of elements of three scholarly traditions that have generally developed separately from each other: social movement theory, legal mobilization studies and constitutional theory. It points out in particular the contribution of democratic constitutionalism to the analysis of the role of social movements in legal change. It also proposes the use of the terms counter-movement and counter-legal mobilization for the study of collective action and legal strategies developed by conservative sectors that oppose the advancement of social movements in Latin America. Adapted from the source document.

The goal of this article is to contribute to a burgeoning comparative literature about nationalization of party competition (political parties and party systems), clarifying its terminology and evaluating three different indices of measurement of this phenomenon and used recently in Latin America. This paper argues that despite the confusion in the terminology, the term nationalization should be understood as homogeneity of electoral support across the territory and that a proper measure of nationalization should take into account four basic elements: party presence across the country, number of subnational units where it is measured, its magnitude and the size of the party. The revision of the literature dedicated to Latin American countries reveals that more case studies of long-term evolution of party systems and explanation of its changes and party-centred variables are necessary. Adapted from the source document.

This article analyzes the status of the rights of indigenous peoples in Latin America, emphasizing the existing 'implementation gap', which allows for the differentiation between formal recognition of the international rights framework, and the lack of administrative and policy practices by Latin American states. Participation in decision making, together with land, territory and natural resources claims, has been one of the demands indigenous peoples have recently put more vehemently forth in the region. Governments' responses have usually been intimidation, repression, incarceration and assassination of indigenous persons. Such a scheme of conflicts and violation of rights exemplified by the case of Guatemalan indigenous peoples' mobilizations against mining in their country. Adapted from the source document.

Este trabajo analiza la constitucion del campo de estudios sobre historia y desarrollo de la ciencia politica en America Latina durante estos ultimos diez anos. Varios estudios se han propuesto dar cuenta de este proceso, lo que demuestra el crecimiento que ha tenido la disciplina en la region. En este trabajo se hara hincapie en los principales actores y su produccion cientifico-academica, como asi tambien en los procesos de institucionalizacion y profesionalizacion de la ciencia politica. Este articulo se propone clasificar estos estudios desde las primeras aproximaciones exploratorias hasta la elaboracion de trabajos descriptivos mas acabados, de corte comparativo, para arribar a las nuevas tendencias actuales que intentan realizar un abordaje 'metateorico' con aportes de la epistemologia, la sociologia del conocimiento y la historia de la ciencia This article analyzes the constitution of the area of studies on the history and development of political science in Latin America over the past ten years. Several studies have been proposed to account for this process showing the growth of the discipline in the region. In this paper we will highlight the main actors and their scientific and academic production, as well as the processes of institutionalization and professionalization of political science. This article aims to classify these studies from the early exploratory approaches up to the production of more sophisticated descriptive works, from a comparative perspective, in order to finally arrive at the new current trends that attempt to perform a 'metatheoretical' approach with contributions from epistemology, sociology of knowledge and the history of the science. Adapted from the source document.

Se analiza la trayectoria de los vicepresidentes en los regimenes presidencialistas de America durante el periodo 1985-2012. El estudio incluye los 110 vicepresidentes que ejercieron el cargo efectivamente en 17 paises del continente americano. En tal sentido, se parte del estudio de los criterios de seleccion de los vicepresidentes, posteriormente se analiza su relacion con los presidentes y finalmente se presenta su trayectoria posterior al ejercicio del cargo. Se discute si el proceso de seleccion del vicepresidente busca aumentar la representatividad politica y socio-demografica del candidato presidencial. El articulo estudia, tambien, la relacion entre presidente y vicepresidente, sugiriendo que la lealtad preexistente del vicepresidente, la evaluacion de la gestion presidencial y el poder politico del vicepresidente son las variables clave para entender esa relacion. Finalmente, se postula que el acceso a la Vicepresidencia mas que un paso hacia la Presidencia, ha representado, en la mayor parte de los casos, el punto mas alto de la trayectoria politica de quienes han ocupado este cargo The following article analyzes the career of the 110 individuals who served as vice president in the 17 presidential regimes of the American continent in the period spanning from 1985 to 2012. First, the article analyses the variables which influence the selection of successful vice-presidential candidates, and seeks to elucidate if presidential tickets seeks to increase their political and socio-demographic representation with said candidate. The article also studies the relationship between presidents and their respective vice-presidents, and suggests that the key variables which explain this relationship are the vice-president's preexisting loyalty towards his running mate, the president's job performance and the vice-president's own political power. Finally, the paper proposes that the vice-presidency cannot be perceived as a stepping stone towards the presidency, as very few sitting or former vice presidents are ever elected to the highest office. Adapted from the source document.