Suchergebnisse

El presente trabajo busca examinar la manera como la educación en los años cincuenta del siglo XX, fundamentada a partir de la enseñanza de la historia patria, la educación cívica y la religión, en el municipio de Puebloviejo (hoy Aquitania, en Boyacá), incidió en la conformación de la sociedad, durante los años de la violencia, 1946-1965. Esto es, durante el periodo de los gobiernos conservadores de Ospina Pérez y Laureano Gómez, la dictadura de Rojas Pinilla y las dos primeras administraciones del Frente Nacional. Así, se considera al sistema educativo, a partir de la enseñanza de las tres disciplinas mencionadas, como fundamento de la conformación social, política y económica de un municipio de Boyacá (aun cuando el sistema educativo redundaría en el ámbito nacional), y que contribuiría a legitimar un orden social existente: la desigualdad social y económica, mediante los postulados de la historia, la educación cívica y la religión. Para ello, se parte del análisis de la sociedad del Puebloviejo de los años ochentas, caracterizada por un extremo individualismo, aun entre miembros de la sociedad anteriormente excluidos. Ese individualismo estaría dado por el auge económico del monocultivo de la cebolla larga, introducido a mediados de la década de los años sesenta, el cual contribuyó "liberar" a gran parte de la sociedad que permanecía sujeta a los patrones, sin remuneración salarial durante los años cincuenta. Esta distinción individualista conllevó una amplia diferenciación social y económica, cuyo origen se advertiría en la desigual distribución y tenencia de la tierra, donde una minoría ostentaba grandes propiedades, mientras la mayoría carecía de ésta o disponía de pequeñas propiedades. Aun más, la característica primaria en la tenencia de la tierra de una importante fracción de la sociedad se hizo patente en el minifundio, el cual, con el cambio en la producción agrícola en los años sesenta, se expresaría en el alto valor de la tierra, así como en los conflictos que surgirían por el corrimiento de linderos. En tal virtud, se parte de hacer un análisis del presente para indagar en el pasado sus orígenes, como parece desprenderse de la propuesta de investigación histórica de Josep Fontana. Al mismo tiempo, la pretensión del trabajo es la de partir del examen de una realidad nacional para llegar a una realidad local, pues se deduce que el sistema educativo imperante en la época de estudio cubría la totalidad del país, y que redundaría en la concepción de la realidad de un grupo social específico. Por tanto, el trabajo se inscribe en el ámbito de la historia de la educación, no ajena de la ideología política ni de los conflictos sociales y religiosos, los cuales influyen en la conformación social, económica y cultural de un pueblo. En este sentido, el trabajo recurre al método histórico, en investigación, a la vez que emplea algunas fuentes orales para corroborar y confrontar algunos datos bibliográficos. ; Abstract. The purpose of the current work is to examine how education in the fifties of the twentieth century, based on the teaching of homeland history, civic education and religion, in the municipality of Puebloviejo (today Aquitania, in Boyacá), affected the conformation of society, during the years of violence, 1946-1965. That is, during the period of Ospina Perez' and Laureano Gómez' conservative governments, Rojas Pinilla's dictatorship and the two first National Front administrations. Thus, the educational system, based on the teaching of the three disciplines mentioned above, is considered the foundation of the social, political and economic conformation of a municipality of Boyacá (even though the educational system would be national), and that would contribute to legitimize an existing social order: social and economic inequality, through the postulates of history, civic education and religion. To do this, we start with the analysis of the Puebloviejo society in the 1980s, characterized by extreme individualism, even among previously excluded members of society. This individualism would be due to the economic boom of the spring onion monoculture, introduced in the mid- 1960s, which contributed to "release" a large part of the society which remained subject to the bosses, without salary remuneration during the fifties. This individualistic distinction entailed a wide social and economic differentiation, whose origin would be noticed in the unequal distribution and possession of land, where a minority boasted great properties, while most of the people lacked of land or had small properties. Moreover, the primary characteristic of the land possession of an important fraction of society was evident in the minifundio (small plots), which would be expressed in the high value of the land, with the change of the agricultural production in the 1960s, as well as in the conflicts that would arise by the landslide. In this way, the starting point is the analysis of the present to investigate its origins in the past, as it can be deduced from Josep Fontana's historical research proposal. At the same time, the pretension of this work is to start from the examination of a national reality to reach a local one, since it is inferred that the educational system which prevailed in the time of the study covered the entire country, and would redound to the conception of the reality by a specific social group. Therefore, the work is part of education history, connected to political ideology and social and religious conflicts, which influence the social, economic and cultural conformation of a town. In this sense, the work uses the historical method in research, while using some oral sources to corroborate and confront some bibliographic data. Following these presuppositions, and taking into account that the education of the fifties influenced the conception of the world (and even the cultural conformation), of society, starting with the teaching of fatherland history, Civic education and religion, displacing the community values acquired during the Liberal governments of the 1930s, and generating gradually an intolerant society, is the manner to seek how this process was implemented. In this direction, the work is divided into four parts, which look for the answer to the question raised a a guide of this work: in the period of Violence (1946-1965) how political and religious ideology affected the school and its educational programs, contributing to the transformation and conformation of the present society of the municipality of Aquitaine, in the basin of the Lake of Tota, Boyacá? Thus, the three initial chapters attempt to warn and show the process of formation of an intolerant society, which would take place at the national level and reach the local one, which are in this case the towns of Boyacá. That process would begin in the full Liberal Republic, through the attack to the clergy, the intelligentsia and the conservative party, in Laureano Gómez' leading voice, to the constitutional reform of 1936. This process should also be reinforced through the educational system that became confessional based on the educational counter-reform of 1948 and 1950, which sought to increase the hours of homeland history, civic education and religion in education, and whose contents were imbued of exclusion and intolerance. The hard attack that the liberal government faced during the sixteen years of administration by conservatism and clergy, as well as the confessional educational Counter-reformation, led to the fragmentation and ideological polarization of society, whose differences would be expressed in violence, with a probable balance of more than three hundred thousand victims. To conclude it can be said that the four parts that make up this work have as a purpose to explain how the educational system of the 1950s helped to the formation of an intolerant society, while contributing to legitimize a social and economic inequality in the towns of Boyacá. In that sense, the school did not release, but subdued the society at the expense of interests which were diluted among political ideology, religious beliefs and economic interests of a minority. ; Maestría

A hurricane threat, a shortened schedule, some botched scheduling and an audience that couldn't get excited in unison were just a few of the challenges that confronted the Republican Party's Convention that concluded this past week in Tampa, Florida. The main purpose was to reintroduce Mitt Romney to the file and rank of his own party as well as to the wider national audience and to show that, besides business experience and his CEO approach to politics, the man is also human. With the help of Ann Romney, this was arguably accomplished. However, once humanized, the candidate had to convey a compelling message, a vision of the future that would sway the 8% undecided, and convert the anti-Obama into pro-Romney voters. In this, the Convention fell short. His strategic efforts as a candidate in the Primary Election were dedicated to convincing the right wing of the Republican party that his ideas and values had "evolved "from his times of governor of Massachusetts: he is now pro-life and not pro-choice, and his signature health care reform for that state, based on an individual mandate, had very little resemblance to Obamacare. He succeeded then, but these ultra conservative positions alienated two fundamental blocs of voters he will need for the general election, namely, women and Latinos. Indeed, the gender gap puts Obama ahead, with 51% of women voting for Obama and 41% for Romney. The Latino voter gap is at 63% for Obama to 28% for Romney. The campaign's political calculation was thus to use the Convention to appeal to the wider audience by showing the party's "diversity", by "humanizing" the candidate and by convincing the Evangelical right that being Mormon is not a monstrosity. Testimonials by members of his congregation, a convincing speech by Ann Romney and a black- and- white biographical video succeeded in meeting this goal. We learned that Mr. Romney is a wonderful husband and father, a patient man who tries to live by a set of values; that his years as head of a Mormon community were devoted to helping the needy, accompanying the lonely and counseling the troubled. It was also revealed that his tithing was uncommonly and consistently generous. The Convention was carefully staged to show younger, more diverse GOP "rising stars" in order to bring into the fold some of still persuadable minorities. Paul Ryan, the Catholic, strictly anti- abortion 42-year old that completes the ticket, gave an ideological speech that charmed the older generation, with references to "central-planners" and direct attacks on Obama's "socialist" policies, using what could be described at best as half-truths. A great admirer of atheist right-wing writer Ayn Rand, Ryan, a Representative from Wisconsin, rose to fame this past year by presenting a budget plan that would lower taxes for the upper-income bracket, privatize Medicare and harshly restrict social programs. Portraying himself as a compassionate conservative, he is supposed to bring in the Catholic vote. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Florida Senator Marco Rubio used their personal stories aptly and were able to get two of the few electrifying moments of the Convention. Rice's appearance was important after a period of what seemed to be her retirement from politics; she talked optimistically about America, its unbound freedoms, its role as an underwriter of world order, and unquestionably, the land of exceptional opportunity: channeling Obama, she offered her story as a testament of these possibilities. In spite of growing up in the Jim Crow South, she rose to Secretary of State and here she was today, the first "stateswoman" of the Republican Party. Rubio, a fresh-faced 41 year old and the son of working class Cuban immigrants, was the Latino version of the same idea. He had the difficult task of introducing Mitt Romney after the audience was still puzzled at Clint Eastwood's imaginary dialogue with President Obama (represented by an empty chair). After an awkward moment during which the seniors in the audience were still trying to process the meaning of Eastwood's sometimes off-color parody, Rubio managed the transition quite well and soon people were paying him undivided attention. One of the best-received portions was an anecdote about his father, who worked for years at a bar. "He stood behind a bar in the back of the room all those years, so one day I could stand behind a podium in the front of a room," Rubio said, bringing in a huge applause. There were many of these "rag-to-riches" stories aimed at reassuring the viewers that the candidate's wealth is not an obstacle to Romney and Ryan's newly found empathic conservatism. Mitt Romney's entrance along a cordoned red carpet, shaking hands and nodding to groups of supporters on each side, as well as the first few lines of his acceptance speech were shrewdly staged to evoke the State of the Union address. In line with the general theme, he devoted two thirds of his speech to his own biography and very little to the specifics of his economic agenda. While conventions are seldom memorable affairs, and while this one is most likely going to be remembered by the bizarre spectacle of actor Clint Eastwood talking, at times incoherently, to an empty chair, there were other minor headlines running parallel to it that deserve more attention for what they reveal of the long-term GOP plan to re-take government. Under the pretext that voter fraud is prevalent in presidential elections (a claim unsubstantiated by serious research), at least 14 Republican-dominated state legislatures, mostly (but not all) in the South, have been quietly passing new laws aimed at making the act of voting more difficult in those states. The intention is clear: to keep just enough demographic groups likely to vote for the Democrats (namely, young people and minorities) away from the polls. This voter suppression strategy takes different forms, the most prevalent of which is requiring the presentation of government- issued photo IDs, such as a driver's license or a US passport, at the polls It is a well-known fact that many elderly minorities and disabled citizens who don't drive lack these (Social Security cards in the US do not have photos, and there is not voting document such as a "credencial civica" in the US). These groups of people would have a hard time getting one, sometimes requiring them to travel miles away to get to the closest Public Safety office. In the case of young students, university-issued student identification cards for the most part are not accepted at the polls. Other bills and rules were aimed at shortening early voting time frames, repealing Election Day registration laws, and preventing non-profit, non-partisan groups such as the League of Women Voters from organizing voter registration campaigns. This week, however, a three-judge panel of the Federal District Court in Washington DC struck down a Texas voter ID law. Two days earlier, a different three-judge panel for the same court found that, in its redrawing of the electoral-district map (a practice that takes place every ten years following a national Census), the Texas legislature had intentionally discriminated against minority voters More important than any platform, more lasting than any emotional appeal to voters, voter suppression attempts constitute a politically divisive outrage that goes to the heart of our democracy. Indeed, it is unfathomable that over a century and a half after the Emancipation Proclamation and the Fifteenth Amendment, and half a century after the Voting Rights Act of 1965, minorities in the United States still have to rely on the court system to protect their right to vote. In a presidential election year and with a race as tight as the one we are about to witness in two months, voter turnout is fundamental. Laws aimed at discouraging citizens to vote are a surreptitiously shrewd, anti-democratic way to ensure victory.

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President Obama enters the second half of his first year with very high approval ratings (high 50s to mid-60s) and nearly unanimous support within his own party. He continues to fight his battles for long-term change with discipline and rigor, ignoring possible distractions but also exercising pragmatism and the art of compromise. After his initial successes on the stimulus bill, tobacco regulation, employment discrimination and children's' health coverage, and in spite of questions raised on the mounting deficit, he recently managed to get the House to pass major legislation on energy and climate change, albeit by a narrow vote (219 to 212). His main strategy has been to lay out the general principles and parameters of his final objective and then let Congress write the legislation and fill in the details, thus giving legislators some latitude. Some question whether this strategy involves too much compromise, too many concessions to the other party and to interest groups, to the point that the final product is a watered down version of his initial proposal which will result too weak to solve the core problems. The irony for Obama is that some parts of his proposals that were considered central and non-negotiable are now on the table. A main example is the public option in health care legislation, according to which a government plan would compete with the rest of the private insurers, and consumers would be able to choose which one to buy. This type of competition would bring down the costs, which is one main purpose of health care reform. Republicans are adamantly opposed to this, but even some Democrats in Congress are becoming skeptical about it (the latter, mostly because they will have to face conservative constituencies in the next legislative elections of 2010), and even Obama now appears ready to compromise, if absolutely necessary. In contrast, there is immense support for this initiative all across the country. Does that mean that the actual center of the political public spectrum is today more to the Left than Congressmen and Senators of both parties recognize it to be? Or just that people really want change in health care, and cannot any longer be cowed into a corner by the boogey man of Big Government? Of course, there is a third and perhaps more obvious interpretation and that is that health industry groups exert more influence on Congress than the public itself. But at this time and on this issue the public is more mobilized and demanding than ever before, so Congress should take heed.Similarly, while Obama gets a positive response from the public as he continues to stitch together a broader view of how his proposals on health, energy and the stimulus package all fit together in the creation of a new foundation for the economy, the Republican Party appears bent on opposing him indiscriminately, denying him every possible venue to bipartisanship. That is the only position of strength for a weakened party.The "Party of No", as Rahm Emmanuel calls it, continues to block, sometimes successfully, every initiative the Democrats put on the table. There is a total absence of alternative policy proposals; instead, Republicans are just saying no to comprehensive change. Even as most interest groups convinced that change in health care and energy policies is inevitable are taking part in the negotiations, the Republican Party directive to its senators in the Senate Finance Committee -where health legislation is being discussed- is not to deal at all. The result is that Democrats are being pushed toward one concession after another, and that bad politics are getting in the way of good policy. The Republican strategy, if any, is to instill fear in moderate voters about the mounting deficit, and arouse skepticism about the President's ability to bring about change. They have succeeded in consolidating the extreme right's opposition to everything Obama does, thereby animating an alarming hostility toward him. This is an enormous achievement, if one considers the Republicans' lack of leadership and the personal woes of some of its potential leaders. But they have made no gains in the center and very few with independents. And unexpected events continue to shake the party's foundations.During the sleepy summer days around the Fourth of July, when most Americans go on vacation or take time off to prepare their cookouts and load up on beer and fireworks, the public was jolted by two stunning political developments, both coming from the Republican side and both bringing to a melodramatic end the careers of two potential presidential candidates: the five-day disappearance of South Carolina Governor Stanford, and Sarah Palin's resignation as Governor of Alaska. Governor Stanford, a "straight arrow" Republican with a picture-perfect family which he often paraded in front of the cameras, had always portrayed himself as a family man and a model of fiscal rectitude, going to the extreme of refusing to take the money allocated to his state as part of the stimulus package. After disappearing for five days during which his wife and aides claimed not to "know his exact location, but he was probably hiking along the Appalachian Trail and had turned off his Blackberry", he re-emerged and walked straight into the trap of a press conference. In front of the cameras, he rambled for twenty minutes about his life as a governor, husband of a wonderful woman and dad of four great boys, and asked for forgiveness for letting them all down …in the pursuit of an affair with an Argentine woman he had met in the world-renown resort of Punta del Este, Uruguay, in 2001. After explaining that this was not, in the end, a reckless act of adultery nor an irresponsible abandonment of office, but "a true love story" during which he had found his "soul mate", the Governor decided not to resign and to "try to fall in love again with his wife and continue his political career". We won't cry for him, neither here or in Argentina, but we wish him good luck. While infidelity and other human foibles are not limited to one side of the aisle, for the Republican Party, which claims a monopoly on morality and family values, the last two years must have been a hard trial: from Representative Mark Foley's "sexting" of underage male pages in Congress, to Senator Larry Craig's gay sex soliciting in a public restroom, to Senator Ensign's infidelity to Governor Sanford's Rio de la Plata escapade (unknowingly paid for by South Carolina taxpayers), the party has had its hands full with spinning the unspinnable, and will have a difficult time if it insists on exclusively continue carrying the torch for family values .And then there is Sarah Palin, who, in an equally rambling, bizarre and juvenile statement delivered in her well-known unique and colorful syntax and diction, decided to stun her party, her base and the country as a whole by resigning her governorship 18 months before the end of her term. The reasons are known only to herself and her family, but she represented herself as not wanting to "milk " the State of Alaska treasury during her "lame duck" period, and preferring to bring change for "all our children's future from outside the Governor's office". Among the most commonly heard speculations: that the 16 ethics inquiries into her actions as governor by the Alaskan legislature (mainly Republicans) have put a lot of strain on her life and finances, that she wants to concentrate on a book deal, and that her governorship was getting in the way of her life as a celebrity. Less likely but also heard: that this is a move to pursue higher office, and/or that a new scandal is about to be revealed about her or her family. (Please, no more scandals!)Whatever her motive, her timing for the GOP could not have been worse: not only was Palin the most galvanizing force for the Evangelical Christian base of the party, but with her departure, the party has lost three strong presidential candidates in one month. If we add to this the lamentable performance by Governor Bobby Jindal, another Republican rising star, when he responded to Obama's first State-of-the Union address, the party's presidential candidate landscape is quite deserted. Of course it is still early to talk about 2011 primaries, but considering that the two main pillars of the party, namely fiscal responsibility and family values, have been demolished,(the first by George W. Bush and the second by the peccadilloes and tribulations above recounted), there is a lot of heavy lifting the party must do to become competitive again. Like the Tories since 1997, the Republicans will probably have to lose two or three national elections before they can redefine themselves, charter a new course and become competitive again. The paradox of Republican opposition is that in the short term they have no other recourse but to strongly oppose Obama in the hope of chipping away some of his aura, while in the long term their big demographic problems with the young, women and minorities will force them to move to the center, modernize conservatism, abandon their unerring defense of pure, unrestrained capitalism and speak the language of community and common endeavors. Only then will they be able to reclaim the mantel of the Grand Old (but renewed) Party.Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science and Geography Director, ODU Model United Nations Program Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia

[spa] Joan Brotat (Barcelona, 1920-1990) fue un artista destacado en el proceso de recuperación de la modernidad pictórica durante los años de la postguerra española, aunque luego cayó progresivamente en el olvido. Esta tesis estudia y establece su trayectoria profesional vinculada a su biografía personal (contexto familiar y social), a los factores inducidos por el sistema artístico local y en relación con en el contexto nacional e internacional (fortuna crítica, evolución artística y comercial). Brotat fue uno de los máximos exponentes de una tendencia que podríamos denominar como figuración primitivista. Definimos aquí las características de esta tendencia, su lugar frente a otras opciones de vanguardia de la época como la abstracción y apuntamos sus variantes y principales representantes. Abordamos también las razones de su declive a partir del análisis de la carrera profesional de Brotat. Descubrimos, gracias al estudio de su archivo familiar, la participación de Brotat en la guerra civil como parte de la Quinta del biberón republicana, hecho que escondió toda su vida y cuyo trauma influyó de toda evidencia en su obra. El análisis iconográfico y evolutivo del ingenuismo nos muestra una dimensión trágica y existencial. Así, su etapa expresionista, singular síntesis entre ingenuismo e informalismo, parece responder a una genuina necesidad psicológica. La comparación de su obra artística son sus proyectos profesionales en el campo de la ilustración infantil nos permiten hacer la diferencia entre naif el ingenuismo, que tanto preocupó a la crítica de la época. Un aspecto fundamental es el descubrimiento de una etapa abstracta a finales de los años cuarenta que contradice la jerarquía evolucionista que explica la figuración esquemática como un paso previo a la abstracción. El primitivismo ingenuista fue una opción consciente y deliberada. En su período de madurez, la obra de Brotat muestra una tendencia al amaneramiento y entra en decadencia, que se puede describir por la perdida de refinamiento y el estancamiento de los argumentos críticos que la apoyaron. La relación con los marchantes (Maurice Bonnefoy y Agustín Rodríguez Sahagún particularmente) se revela ambivalente en sus resultados. Lo mismo sucede con el aprovechamiento de la política artística franquista, dirigida por Luis González Robles. El primitivismo figurativo catalán de postguerra es una combinación coherente (aunque intuitiva y sin programa militante) de medievalismo e ingenuismo. El ingenuismo de vanguardia de postguerra tiene dos manifestaciones, a veces coincidentes y otras divergentes: la radical y la nostálgica. El primitivismo se apoyó en un discurso crítico específico y ocupó un lugar, móvil, en el debate artístico. Estudiamos las diversas fuentes de este primitivismo y constatamos la influencia fundamental de Joan Miró. De entre los referentes internacionales destaca Massimo Campigli. Asimismo, se encuentran paralelos y vínculos con artistas españoles como Rafael Zabaleta, Benjamín Palencia y el núcleo valenciano con Manuel Gil y Salvador Faus. Un caso especialmente interesante es el de Manolo Millares, quien tuvo una relación significativa con Cataluña en esos años. Entre los artistas catalanes, el primitivismo tuvo gran protagonismo y adoptó diversas formas. De Sucre o Joan Ponç representan la vertiente más radical y atormentada, Albert Ràfols Casamada o Joan Vilacasas la opción más ingenua y afrancesada. Se observa una clara tendencia a la politización (Francesc Todó, Josep Guinovart, Estampa Popular). La opción lírica o poética, representada especialmente por Brotat, fue dejada progresivamente de lado. A menudo teñido de nostalgia y religiosidad, coincidente con cierta moda franciscanista, el discurso teórico al respecto del primitivismo fue ambivalente y pasó de la modernidad al conservadurismo. La constatación de una corriente primitivista, de la cual Brotat sería la figura paradigmática en su éxito y su fracaso, obliga a repensar el canon del arte catalán de postguerra. El primitivismo no fue un estadio inmaduro de la modernidad en el camino hacia la abstracción sino que responde al contexto histórico particular de la España de postguerra con soluciones originales.Joan Brotat (Barcelona, 1920-1990) fue un artista destacado en el proceso de recuperación de la modernidad pictórica durante los años de la postguerra española, aunque luego cayó progresivamente en el olvido. Esta tesis estudia y establece su trayectoria profesional vinculada a su biografía personal (contexto familiar y social), a los factores inducidos por el sistema artístico local y en relación con en el contexto nacional e internacional (fortuna crítica, evolución artística y comercial). Brotat fue uno de los máximos exponentes de una tendencia que podríamos denominar como figuración primitivista. Definimos aquí las características de esta tendencia, su lugar frente a otras opciones de vanguardia de la época como la abstracción y apuntamos sus variantes y principales representantes. Abordamos también las razones de su declive a partir del análisis de la carrera profesional de Brotat. Descubrimos, gracias al estudio de su archivo familiar, la participación de Brotat en la guerra civil como parte de la Quinta del biberón republicana, hecho que escondió toda su vida y cuyo trauma influyó de toda evidencia en su obra. El análisis iconográfico y evolutivo del ingenuismo nos muestra una dimensión trágica y existencial. Así, su etapa expresionista, singular síntesis entre ingenuismo e informalismo, parece responder a una genuina necesidad psicológica. La comparación de su obra artística son sus proyectos profesionales en el campo de la ilustración infantil nos permiten hacer la diferencia entre naif el ingenuismo, que tanto preocupó a la crítica de la época. Un aspecto fundamental es el descubrimiento de una etapa abstracta a finales de los años cuarenta que contradice la jerarquía evolucionista que explica la figuración esquemática como un paso previo a la abstracción. El primitivismo ingenuista fue una opción consciente y deliberada. En su período de madurez, la obra de Brotat muestra una tendencia al amaneramiento y entra en decadencia, que se puede describir por la perdida de refinamiento y el estancamiento de los argumentos críticos que la apoyaron. La relación con los marchantes (Maurice Bonnefoy y Agustín Rodríguez Sahagún particularmente) se revela ambivalente en sus resultados. Lo mismo sucede con el aprovechamiento de la política artística franquista, dirigida por Luis González Robles. El primitivismo figurativo catalán de postguerra es una combinación coherente (aunque intuitiva y sin programa militante) de medievalismo e ingenuismo. El ingenuismo de vanguardia de postguerra tiene dos manifestaciones, a veces coincidentes y otras divergentes: la radical y la nostálgica. El primitivismo se apoyó en un discurso crítico específico y ocupó un lugar, móvil, en el debate artístico. Estudiamos las diversas fuentes de este primitivismo y constatamos la influencia fundamental de Joan Miró. De entre los referentes internacionales destaca Massimo Campigli. Asimismo, se encuentran paralelos y vínculos con artistas españoles como Rafael Zabaleta, Benjamín Palencia y el núcleo valenciano con Manuel Gil y Salvador Faus. Un caso especialmente interesante es el de Manolo Millares, quien tuvo una relación significativa con Cataluña en esos años. Entre los artistas catalanes, el primitivismo tuvo gran protagonismo y adoptó diversas formas. De Sucre o Joan Ponç representan la vertiente más radical y atormentada, Albert Ràfols Casamada o Joan Vilacasas la opción más ingenua y afrancesada. Se observa una clara tendencia a la politización (Francesc Todó, Josep Guinovart, Estampa Popular). La opción lírica o poética, representada especialmente por Brotat, fue dejada progresivamente de lado. A menudo teñido de nostalgia y religiosidad, coincidente con cierta moda franciscanista, el discurso teórico al respecto del primitivismo fue ambivalente y pasó de la modernidad al conservadurismo. La constatación de una corriente primitivista, de la cual Brotat sería la figura paradigmática en su éxito y su fracaso, obliga a repensar el canon del arte catalán de postguerra. El primitivismo no fue un estadio inmaduro de la modernidad en el camino hacia la abstracción sino que responde al contexto histórico particular de la España de postguerra con soluciones originales. ; [eng] Joan Brotat (Barcelona, 1920-1990) was a prominente artist in the process of recovery of pictorial modernity in Spain after the Civil War, but then his work gradually fell into oblivion. This thesis studies his professional career, in relation to his personal biography (family and social context), the local art system, and the national and international context (critical fortune, artistic and commercial development). The thesis proposes that Brotat was in fact a paradigmatic figure of a primitivist tendency. Primitivism was not an immature stage of modernity on the way toward abstraction, but responded to the particular historical context of Postwar Spain with original solutions. The success and then failure of Brotat and Primitivism invites to reconsider the canon of Postwar Catalan art. Untill his death, Brotat did hide his involvement in the Civil War, a trauma that marked his work and existence. The iconographic analysis and the evolution of his modern naif style shows a tragic and existential undertones. A key aspect is the discovery of an abstract stage in the late forties contradicting the evolutionary hierarchy that explains schematic figuration as a step toward abstraction. On the contrary, naive primitivism was a conscious and deliberate option. Postwar Catalan Figurative Primitivism was a coherent mix of medievalism and naiveté(although without a declarated program). The naiveté of postwar art has two aspects : the radical and nostalgic, which sometimes appear together and sometimes separately. Among Catalan artists, primitivism had great prominence and took various forms. De Sucre or Joan Ponç represent the more radical and tormented side, Albert Rafols Casamada or Joan Vilacasas the most naive and influenced by French modernism. There is, later, a clear trend towards politization (Francesc Todó Josep Guinovart, Estampa Popular). We studied the various sources of this primitivism and found the fundamental influence of Joan Miró and Massimo Campigli. Likewise, there are links to Spanish artists such as Rafael Zabaleta, Benjamín Palencia, the valencians Manuel Gil and Salvador Faus or Manuel Millares. Often tinged with nostalgia and religiosity, in sinthony with a Franciscan fashion, the theoretical discourse about primitivism was ambivalent and evolved from modernity to conservatism.

One year after a national election in which the Democrats won not only the presidency but 18 congressional seats and 9 new senators, the party lost two major gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, but won an unexpected congressional seat in upstate New York. Clearly, Obama's coattails did not prove strong enough to bring out the two groups that helped him go over the top in last year's election, namely, the youth vote and the African American votes. There are many lessons to be learned by both parties from this past week' s elections, but there is also the risk of over interpreting results as a prequel of next year's mid-term elections. First, in an "off-off" year, most of the electorate was indifferent to the elections, worried as they are about more pressing issues such as higher taxes, the ever-expanding deficit and more than anything else, about unemployment, which has just surpassed the 10% mark in spite of reported GDP growth of 3.5% this quarter. Second, the state gubernatorial races were played out at the local level and had more to do with the candidates themselves than with the voters 'discontent with the President. Indeed, in a Virginia exit poll, 60% of the voters said that they had based their vote on state issues, while only 24% of those polled said they had used their vote to express their dissatisfaction with the President and 20% to express their support for him. On the other hand, Congressional elections reflect more of the national mood, and here the Democrats were winners: due to an inner brawl among Republicans, they unexpectedly won a seat the Republicans had held since the 1870s in the twenty-third district of New York. still, just as it would be a mistake to give national significance to the state races, it would also be silly to miss the obvious: the preponderant mood in the country is anti-incumbency, and this affects both parties. But clearly, independents who voted for Obama are re-directing their votes toward the Republicans and becoming savvier, more issue specific voters. In addition, both parties have base problems: the Democrats need to figure out how to get their base to the polls during off-year elections, and the Republicans must find ways to control their base so that it does not destroy the party. Turnout was the definitive factor in both gubernatorial races: it fell from 3.7 million to under 2 million in Virginia, and from almost 4 million to 2.3 million in New Jersey. The Republicans and Independents were more energized than the Democratic base, so they voted in larger numbers. Young voters between 18 and 29 years of age represented only 10% in Virginia and 9% in New Jersey. In contrast, in the 2008 presidential race they represented 21% and 17% respectively, and are credited for delivering the states to Obama in both cases. In New Jersey, an unpopular Democratic incumbent, albeit an Obama ally, lost to a new Republican face that ran on a fiscally conservative platform. Obama's appeal was apparently weaker than the voters' aversion for Jon Corzine, so U.S district attorney Chris Christie won, becoming the first Republican to win that position in 12 years. In Virginia, Bob McDonnell underplayed his extreme socially conservative views and his connection to Christian Right leader Pat Robertson. Instead, he ran a positive campaign based on job creation, quality of life for Virginians and fiscal responsibility. His opponent, Creigh Deeds, ran a negative TV ad campaign based on his opponent's social conservatism and his ideology as reflected in a misogynist twenty-year old thesis. In a calculation that backfired, Deeds distanced himself from President Obama for most of his campaign, only to turn to him towards the end. It proved to be too late. On that sunny autumnal day, Democratic voters, especially African Americans and young voters, the two groups than gave Obama his victory in Virginia, were absent from the polls. After eight years of two outstanding Democratic governors, the Executive Mansion in Richmond reverted to Republicans. Unlike Governor Warner who in 2005 prepared the way for his successor, Tim Kaine had spent most of 2009 out of the state, in his new national role as chairman the Democratic National Committee, and did very little to help Deeds. Kaine's national ambition seems to have gotten in the way of his local role as Deeds' promoter and cheerleader, and he became, in the words of Professor Larry Sabato, more of a "partisan rather than a unifying figure" at home. However, the apathy of Democratic voters has deeper roots than just civic irresponsibility or lack of engagement. It is also a reflection of disillusion and even rage with the failure of the Obama administration to create jobs and to deal with Wall Street in stricter terms, for example by breaking up the "too-big-to-fail" banks, introducing stricter regulation of derivatives trading and by reducing of CEO's compensation. Again, in spite of all the rhetoric, Obama seems to have bailed out Wall Street at the expense of middle-class tax payers and small businesses. In sum, Obama's young followers and liberals stayed home because Obama is moving too slowly in crucial issues; independents switched parties because of their own fears of losing their jobs and facing higher taxes, as well as to punish the Democrats for too much government spending with little results for higher employment; and McDonnell benefited as much from a weak, erratic opponent who ran a terrible campaign as he did from his own smart strategy and pragmatic style.While the main problem then for Democrats is how to energize the base so that they can fulfill their civic duty and vote, the Republicans have the opposite problem: how to control their base so that it does not get in the way of allowing the party to field moderate candidates that can get the Independent vote. In this sense, what happened in New York 23rd district may be a blessing in disguise for the Republicans, as it will teach them a lesson in time for next year mid-term election. In this previously little known congressional district near the Canadian border, the Republican Party nominated moderate Assemblywoman DeDe Scozzafava in a special election called to fill the seat of Representative JohnMcHugh (R-NY) who had been appointed Secretary of the Army by President Obama. This was regarded as a safe Republican seat given that the party had held it for over 100 years. However, in a twist of events that took both parties by surprise, Conservatives rebelled against the party nominee, whose social values were deemed too liberal, and fielded their own candidate, Doug Hoffman, with the support of talk show celebrities Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck and Sarah Palin. The Club for Growth, main supporter of Tea Partiers and Birthers, poured a lot of money in support of Hoffman, and consequently Scozzafava, the official Republican Party nominee, started training in the polls. On the weekend before the election, Scozzafava abandoned the race and endorsed the Democratic candidate! The Right was jubilant, confident of a victory in this rural district, which has very few immigrants and is 93% white. Indeed, Fox news insisted on predicting a "tidal wave" in favor of the Conservative candidate all throughout Election Day, only to be forced to concede at past midnight that instead, the Democratic candidate, Bill Owens, had won. The election in the 23rd district, then, served as a warning to Republicans of whatnot to do in 2010. While the two Republicans that won the gubernatorial races did so by moving to center, thus appealing to Independents and moderates, the main losers in New York state were the Tea Partiers and Birthers who have taken advantage of the vacuum of leadership at the top, have hijacked the Republican Party and made the country at times seem ungovernable. Let it be noted here that both conservative candidates then- to- be governors elect, Chris Christie in New Jersey and Bob McDonnell in Virginia, had rejected Palin's offer to campaign for them. Recognizing the relevance of this kind of wisdom, as well as his good looks and ability to persuade, McDonnell is already being touted as a possible candidate for the 2012 national ticket.2009 will be remembered as the year of anti-incumbency, but this anti-incumbent mood is not so much about Obama, who still enjoys close to 60% of popularity, as it is about government in general. Indeed, every special Congressional election since Obama assumed the presidency has been won by Democrats even in seats previously held by Republicans. In politics, one year is an eternity, so it is difficult to extrapolate the November 3rd results to next year's mid-term election. It all depends on whether the economic stimulus starts to work more consistently and is translated into jobs. The passage of health care reform by the House is undoubtedly a victory for Democrats, but it was a narrow one, with 39 Democrats voting against it, in spite of serious compromises by House Speaker Pelosi, including one amendment that prohibits the use of federal money for abortion and that is already under fire by the party's liberals. If the so-called Stupak amendment is not taken out in House-Senate conference, then the Party may see a huge backlash by women and other groups. Still, health care reform will be a reality by year's end, and once it passes it will become sacred: voters will embrace it (as they did with Medicaid and Medicare, as well as Social Security) and, together with job recovery, it may become the basis of a better mid-term election for Democrats than most pundits are predicting now.Finally, while the two gubernatorial races were won by the Republicans, and can be read as a warning to incumbent governors everywhere in next year's elections, it is clear that the largest group that went to the polls were mainly McCain voters, as well as disgruntled independent voters who shifted to the right. And while this trend is good news for the Republicans, the inexorable weight of demographics is against them: these races were won by an overwhelmingly white and older, more male than female, electorate who constitute at the same time an increasingly smaller percentage of the population as a whole. The fastest-rising voting groups do not vote for the Republican Party, which they consider the party "without ideas". To win next year, the GOP needs to regroup fast, get rid of the Palin-Limbaugh baggage and find new leadership. A year has gone by since their huge electoral loss and they have yet to find it. Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science and Geography Director, ODU Model United Nations Program Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia

The short-lived popularity boost of the Osama bin Laden operation having all but faded, President Obama for the first time appears vulnerable and could be defeated in the 2012 election. Indeed, many are starting to wonder if he will be a one-term president like Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush. As congressional leaders continue to meet with Vice President Joe Biden to negotiate a reduction of the federal budget and to avoid a potential default on government debt, the economic recovery seems to be stalling: reports released last week show unemployment rose again to 9.1 % and job growth slowed down, and manufacturing and retail sales are also down from last quarter.The only good news for the President is that the Republican field of candidates, while still fluid, is very weak so far, and the Republican Party leadership divided and ineffective. Hefty potential candidates such as Jeb Bush (undoubtedly the strongest intellect in the GOP today) and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie have eschewed confronting the formidable President-candidate in 2012 and seem to be lying in wait for 2016, when they expect the field to be wide open.The first serious national presidential debate for the Republican candidacy took place on Monday, June 13. Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts and the author of a health plan there which critics contend is very similar to Obama's, emerged as the solid front-runner and Michelle Bachman, an Evangelical Congresswoman from Minnesota and a Tea Party favorite, as the one who can challenge him. She is a former tax lawyer and a mother of five, who also apparently has found time to raise 23 foster kids. She is often compared to Sarah Palin, but most agree that she has more substance, understands how the government and can articulate ideas. She portrays herself as the anti-establishment figure, although she has been in Congress for a while and is at present the Chair of the House Intelligence Committee. Similarly to Palin, she considers the federal government an "elitist conspiracy" against middle-America and has invoked the War Powers Resolution to force Obama to request Congress authorization to continue operations in Libya. Tim Pawlenty, former governor of Minnesota, also an Evangelical with Tea Party following, was expected to be a serious challenger, but missed an opportunity to confront Romney on his health care plan for Massachusetts, which he had severely criticized the day before on national TV, stating it was very similar to Obama's, and going as far as calling Romney a "co-conspirator in Obama care." This lack of courage to confront the front-runner personally has made him a distant third in the primary race. Romney, on the other hand, was very well-prepared, confident in his own image of the businessman/CEO who can fix the jobs problem. The rest of the Republican candidates were a motley crew, starting with Herman Cain, an African-American businessman, owner of a pizza chain and talk show host, followed by Ron Paul, a radical libertarian that in spite of his quirky ways is quite endearing in his candid contempt for government, and Newt Gingrich, whose entire campaign staff had just resigned due to his lack of discipline and inability to run a serious campaign. All candidates focused more on bashing Obama than each other, since it is early in the race and there will be time enough for that this coming fall. Rick Santorum, another fiscal and social conservative (but in this case Catholic) and former Senator for Pennsylvania, completes the second-tier line-up of Republican candidates.But the Republican field has not firmed up yet, and there could be some surprise Republican candidates entering the race, as the President appears more vulnerable. In fact, only yesterday John Huntsman, a new intriguing figure who has been Obama's ambassador to China, joined the fray announcing his candidacy from Liberty Island, next to the Statue of Liberty, in the same spot where Ronald Reagan announced his in 1980. Huntsman, former governor of Utah, is a billionaire, a moderate and a Mormon, just like Romney. Both will skip Iowa, the first test for candidates, and one dominated by Evangelical "value" voters. Both are well-spoken, good looking family men with no rough edges. Unlike Romney, he has very little name recognition at the national level, and spent years as a missionary in China, where he learnt to speak Mandarin fluently. What he brings to the race is his expertise in that country, the main holder of American's debt, and therefore, the one that worries Americans the most. He has framed this primary contest as one between "renewal and decline". He speaks in a very quiet, civil tone and he introduced himself to the public through a stream of unusual videos, one for example that shows the candidate himself, in motocross attire from heads to toe, riding his motorbike across the Utah desert, as dreamy country music plays in the background. The White House is said to be concerned about his candidacy, not only because of moderation, his capacity and his presidential demeanor but also because he has been an insider of this administration and may use information thus acquired against the President. He could become a formidable opponent, a Republican mirror image of the President.Another prospective candidate, who, if he decides to run, could throw all calculations into disarray, is Rick Perry, the Governor of Texas. He is an attractive candidate for the party establishment and has two very strong qualities: first, he is a social conservative who could supersede Bachman and Pawlenty in drawing the Tea Party vote; second, he has been a successful governor who can boast about his job creation record in Texas (40% of all new jobs during the recovery were created in Texas). He is still testing the waters, and similarly to Huntsman, may perhaps use 2012 as a platform that can propel him into the 2016 election. Although he has not announced his candidacy, observers point to his convening of a "National Day of Prayer" for early August as a sign that he may run. He would be a formidable contester, since he can speak both the language of the Tea Party as well as the national language of this 2012 election, which is the economy and jobs.In comparing the Republican Party today with the one of ten years ago, one cannot help but notice the big shift that has occurred, and in doing so, perhaps be less dismissive of Ron Paul's philosophical influence on the party rank and file. The truth is the libertarian streak has made important inroads inside the party, and voters are now serious about not only fiscal conservatism and smaller government, but also a retrenchment of America's role in the world. This was apparent during last week's debate and the public conversations that followed in the airwaves throughout the week. Most of the candidates blasted Obama for intervening in Libya and called for an early withdrawal from Afghanistan. Michelle Bachman invoked the War Powers Resolution, passed in 1973 during Watergate, which obligates the President to seek the approval of Congress 60 days after the beginning of hostilities. The Republican Party has traditionally been the home of National Security "hawks", and the last strong isolationist mood in the party dates to the 1920s. While an isolationist wing emerged again right before Gen. Eisenhower became president, after that it was represented by a very small group, led in the last twenty years or so by Pat Buchanan. Today, a war-weary and budget- conscious American public is in favor of withdrawal from Afghanistan by a wide majority (73% of all Americans, 59% among Republicans), in spite of the fact that most had understood that to be a "war of necessity" as opposed to Iraq, a war of choice. If we count American military presence in Iraq, Libya, Yemen and the tribal areas of Pakistan, today the US is involved in five different conflicts, and spending billions of dollars a month on them, most of which are considered wars of choice. Today, President Obama is in fact a victim of his own success: bin Laden is dead, so Americans want out of Afghanistan. This is echoed loudly enough by his opponents. The President is thus under pressure to bring the troops home not only by libertarians but also by extreme Right candidates (Bachman) and even by mainstream candidates like Huntsman and Romney.After the debate, Republican Senators John Mc Cain and Lindsay Graham and Defense Secretary Gates took to the airwaves to admonish the candidates on this issue, accusing them of choosing politics over policy in matters of national security. Mc Cain went so far as to say that Reagan would not recognize his own party: "This is not the Republican Party of Ronald Reagan, who was always willing to stand up for freedom all over the world". He insisted that Khadafy was crumbling and that US logistical support, intelligence and refueling capabilities had to be continued to finish him off. He went even further and picked the opportunity to criticize Obama for not using America's own airpower, and instead "leading from behind". This was a theme that Bachman had also used in her speech, somewhat incoherently, since she vilified Obama for allowing the French to lead the operation in Libya while at the same time invoking the War Powers Resolution and demanding US withdrawal, since there were no apparent US interests involved there. Mc Cain in his own interview with Christiane Amanpour, later refuted Bachman's claim by stating that Khadafi had consistently supported terrorism, was responsible for the bombing of Pan Am 103 and was about to massacre his own people at Benghazi when NATO intervened and stopped him. "Our interests are our values" and "Sometimes leadership entails sacrifice," he added.To Romney's equivocal reference to the "Afghanis (sic) war of Independence" (an expression that per se brings serious doubts to his basic knowledge of geopolitics) Senator Lindsay Graham also in his own interview, later retorted: "This is not a war of Afghan independence, from my point of view" (of course, it isn't, it's a civil war!). He continued: "This is the center of gravity against the war on terror, radical Islam. It is in our national security interest to make sure that the Taliban never come back". He warned them not to try to position themselves to "the Left" of President Obama on this issue" and he hinted that that decision would lose them the nomination.Among the wide array of opinions, only Tim Pawlenty heeded the party line that the advice of military commanders and the situation on the ground would be the main determinant of troop withdrawals under his watch. Outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates criticized the "declinists" who put the short term expediency politics ahead of long-term national security interests. He added that examining the bottom line only is short-sighted, since intervention is not about sheer cost, it is about the cost of failure of early withdrawals, such as Afghanistan in 1989. Earlier, on his last trip as defense secretary, Gates had bluntly told NATO members meeting in Brussels that the military weakness of most members and their lack of will to share risks and costs of NATO operations were putting severe strains on the organization and particularly on the United States. Indeed, less than a third of NATO members are taking part in the Libyan operation, although NATO is a consensus- based organization and therefore, all members voted to approve it.According Secretary Gates, the need to cut spending and radically reduce the budget has become an obsession and sparked a new current of isolationism that now insidiously divides the traditionally hawkish Republican Party. This, he told a Newsweek interviewer, is one of the main reasons that have led to his resignation, after serving two administrations and becoming the epitome of bipartisanship. His unwillingness to plan for more withdrawals and find other ways to reduce the bloated defense budget has been criticized both from the Left and the Right. He complains about how both "Congress budget hawks and defense hawks" constantly interfere with his work. He ends by saying he refuses to be part of a nation that is forced to scale back its military power so much that it can no longer lead. His frustration is apparent; his resignation paved the way for Obama's announcement of troop withdrawal, a few days later.This last week, the presidential politics of war became clearer. Feeling the pressure of Republicans attacking him from his "left flank", President Obama told a war-weary nation that he plans to start withdrawing troops by December this year, ending the surge by the summer of 2012 and bringing home most of the rest by 2014. Although there is a widespread sense that Obama has gotten so involved in the daily details of the war that would prefer to stay on and see his counterinsurgency policy through, he has quickly readjusted to the realities at home and accelerated the withdrawal timeline that his generals had recommended. With his earlier decisions of aggressively pursuing the war on terror, signing off on drone killing missions, and having bin Laden killed inside Pakistan, he successfully beat the image of a Dovish President, weak in National Security. This past Wednesday, with the words, "It is time to do nation-building at home", he acknowledged the public's concerns about the waste of American power, blood and treasure abroad while the country is still suffering from the recession, and quickly moved back to center.This is the spirit of the times. It requires a new type of leadership, one that is strong enough to face down enemies, yet flexible enough to accommodate to the new and constantly shifting realities, to accept a revised status of the nation and to lead it into new era in its history. Time will show whether such leader is among the Republicans new line-up or whether he is already in the White House.Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science and Geography Director, ODU Model United Nations Program Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia

Most post-modern societies are being challenged by a widening gap that divides their populations by the classic cleavages of age, class, region and religion. Exacerbated by the forces of globalization and the immediacy of technology, they result in constant clashes that cause an exponential increase in social tensions and insecurity. Even if the Norwegian killer was insane and can not be used as example, he was still a member of the dominant culture failing to accommodate to post-modern circumstances. In the United States this gap is vividly evident in the current debt ceiling debate, which is only a symptom of much serious divisions that threaten the country's social unity and political future.A brief look at recent headlines in the United States can give outsiders and idea of the country's social and political environment.On Sunday July 24th, a new law approving gay marriage came into effect in New York, making it the sixth and largest state in the nation (plus the District of Columbia) to have legalized same-sex marriage. In Manhattan, people celebrated on Fifth Avenue, singing and dancing to the music and well-suited lyrics of New York, New York ("If we can make it here, we'll make it anywhere…"). On July 0th, Republican candidates Michelle Bachman and Rick Santoro a "Marriage Vow" swearing fidelity to their spouses, promising they would "vigorously oppose any redefinition of marriage" and would take steps to amend welfare legislation that did not reinforce conventional marriage. This is only a sample of the extreme polarization the country is facing both economically and socially. It is a critical moment in United States history, one that may require a deep reflection on the basic principles the nation was founded upon and a renewal of the social compact.Prodded by the Tea Party leaders, who presently wield an amount of power disproportionate to their numbers, Republican candidates have been signing pledges on an array of different topics in order to prove their conservative credentials. Both Michelle Bachman and Mitt Romney also signed a no-new-taxes pledge, together with a "cut, cap and balance pledge" to amend the Constitution to require a balanced budget and congressional super majorities to raise taxes. These two pledges, albeit non-enforceable and thus largely symbolic, are now the single most important obstacle to reach a deal in Congress about balancing the budget and avoiding default on the national debt. Tea Party Nation leader Judson Phillips has threatened to recruit candidates to mount primary challenges against any GOP member that votes for a compromise on the debt ceiling that involves any type of revenue increases to balance the budget. The GOP Congressional leadership has been hijacked by intransigent ideologues, represented in the House by 87 freshmen with disproportionate power over the more established professional politicians who understand that democratic governance requires give and take, and that politics in a pluralistic society is the art of the achievable.This country was founded on the premise of compromise, negotiation and cooperation, as it is evident from the history of the Constitution and the layers of governmental power devised mainly to counterbalance one another: states versus federal, legislative versus executive, Senate v. House, and an independent judiciary. It was clear even then, that solutions in what promised to be a huge, diverse society with deep regional and religious cleavages would require compromise. But today, in the "worst Congress ever" as Norman Ornstein calls it in his recent article in Foreign Policy, compromise is a bad word. The House is controlled by a GOP freshmen class that owes its seats to Tea Party ideologues and is refusing to raise the debt ceiling even as President Obama has agreed to cuts in spending that include cuts in entitlements, in exchange for ending subsidies on ethanol and other corporate subsidies (he has even given up on the expiration of the Bush era tax cuts he had included in his first proposal). This package that would represent over 3 trillion dollars in cuts from the federal budget, including reductions in Medicare and other social programs, would have allowed the debt ceiling to be raised so that the US could avoid defaulting on its debt by August 2nd. It was on the table last week and close to being signed on by House Speaker John Boehner but he refused it at the last minute because of pressure from his own caucus. The Tea Party is pushing professional legislators toward the abyss, and with them, the whole country. The Tea Party is a social movement that was born out of frustration and disappointment with government spending over the last twelve years. President George W. Bush inherited a budget surplus from the Clinton-Gingrich years. But that surplus quickly vanished as Bush proposed and got passed serious tax cuts on the wealthy and then embarked on two wars that are still going on today. In response, a large coalition of Independents, Republicans and a few former Democrats formed a protest movement that defines itself for what it is against: big government, big media, big banks, unsustainable deficits and intrusive federal regulation. In spite of some evident intrinsic contradictions in their philosophy (for example some the new regulations they so vehemently oppose such as the Dodd-Frank legislation are meant to constrain the actions of "big banks" they so strongly abhor), the Tea Party has been very successful in focusing the public's attention on the federal budget deficit and on the federal debt that has ballooned in the last two decades. Those are its core concerns, together with a deep-seated contempt for and rejection of, everything the well-educated elites are for the most in favor of: environmental sustainability, a foreign policy based on multilateralism, gay rights and immigration reform legislation that recognizes the realities of the estimated twelve million undocumented workers in the country. After two months of wrangling, neither side has managed to get what it wanted, the US credit rating is about to be downgraded (with the subsequent increase in interest rates and damaging effects on an already slow economy) and the vitriolic Washington environment is alienating people on the Right and on the Left. Pressured by the Tea Partiers and their anti-tax obsession, Republicans have refused to compromise to avoid a default, and in so doing they are sabotaging their own chances for 2012. Most Americans are appalled at the GOP's refusal to endorse Obama's proposal that would cut the deficit by $3.7 trillion through a mix of spending cuts, entitlement reform and ending some corporate subsidies and tax deductions. In so doing, the GOP is alienating independent voters that want to avoid default and are ready for a deal. A new political center of gravity is forming. The number of registered voters that identify themselves as Independent is growing (40% in latest poll), while the numbers of Republicans and Democrats are sinking and there is a new online movement from the grassroots to form a third party.Paradoxically, out of all this Byzantine intrigue in the hallways of Congress, and given the outcome of no deal announced on Monday night, President Obama may come out as the winner. To the dismay of his most progressive base, Obama, intent on finding some common ground with the opposition has shifted to the center-right of the political spectrum on his proposals, daring to sacrifice some cuts on entitlements in exchange for revenue increases, only to see them rejected by the Republicans. He is close to winning a stand-alone debt ceiling increase while having proven to be the only reasonable adult in this struggle. This would gain him the support of many independents and help him avoid a confrontation within his own party. It would also allow him to focus on unemployment, the real immediate crisis that most directly impacts people's lives. However, Democrats in the House and Senate are afraid that concessions on reducing some Medicare benefits, for example, or postponing the eligibility age, would ruin the clarity of their message to seniors during the election. Conversely, Tea Partiers see a compromise involving any sort of revenue increases by the government, even non-tax measures such as ending corporate subsidies, as a betrayal of their principles. The Tea Partiers have brought into focus the spending crisis that has been growing unchecked for a long time, and one the country cannot obviously tax its way out of. Some facts cannot be denied: debt is the result of spending not backed by revenue. Total government spending at all levels has risen to 37% of the GDP today from 27% in 1960. It could reach 50% by 2038. The debt-to-GDP ratio has reached 100% today, from 42% in 1980. The big moral struggle is still ahead. There is no question that the government is spending too much, but the real debate is about priorities and the philosophies that underlie those priorities. The President has recognized that the budget deficit is important to voters, most of which have come to the conclusion that since the stimulus spending did not solve the problem of unemployment, deficit reduction appears to be a better way to improve the economy than investing in education, infrastructure and new energy technologies. Obama must acknowledge this, and make it part of his discourse.But the President must also continue to make a case for the common good ("there are things we can still do together", he said in his last speech), the social safety net and America's future. He can do this by personalizing the budget battles the way Clinton did. Are budget battles about choices or necessities? Why give more tax cuts to the wealthy if their wealth has grown through the recession while the rest saw their wealth diminish? Why subsidize corporate agriculture and ethanol production? Social programs like Medicare serve all Americans, why focus on cutting it while giving a pass to the upper income- and- wealth echelon? General elections are won from the center. Strong strident advocates make for weak candidates. Undoubtedly, the 2012 election will be about money, about fiscal discipline, but it will also be about a more equal distribution, and it will require strong leadership from the two respective philosophical corners to come to a consensus. That is why the Republican establishment is so worried about the lack of gravitas in their field of candidates. That is why some yearn for budget whiz Paul Ryan, or Governor Chris Christie or Rick Perry….or anybody really, that looks and sounds as if he can take on Obama in the intricacies of the budget, the debt ceiling, and social programs reform. That may also be why Jeb Bush was asked on Fox News about his intentions to run for President again two days ago. This time his response was more nuanced: he said that while he doesn't anticipate it, he hasn't ruled it out ("but, he added, "I haven't ruled out being in Dancing with the Stars, either").In the meantime, the Wall Street Journal today announced that, based on the Pew Research Center tabulations of SIPP and Census date, the wealth gap between America's whites and its two largest minorities, Blacks and Hispanics, has widened to unprecedented levels due to the housing crisis and the Great Recession. Alan Greenspan, former President of the Federal Reserve has said repeatedly that the wealth gap that has grown consistently for the last decade is a threat not only to our country but to capitalism itself. Poverty and unemployment are a combustive mix: if fiscal responsibility ends up being based on the back of the poor, social conflict will erupt. It is unconscionable, for example, to think that hedge fund managers pay significantly less taxes than their secretaries.Some Republicans want to abolish every piece of social legislation and re-litigate every progressive judicial decision since the New Deal. As part of pledge game, Michelle Bachman and four other candidates also signed the "Susan B. Anthony pledge "promising to appoint abortion opponents to their cabinets and to deny all funding for Planned Parenthood when they become presidents. The bizarre "Marriage Vow "pledge signed by Bachmann and Santoro not only opposes same-sex marriage and includes a personal promise to be faithful to their spouses, but (most peculiarly yet redundantly) it also rejects Sharia Law (which, by the way, like Bachman, also opposes gay marriage and female adultery, which it punishes by death!)The only candidate that has refused to sign any pledge is Jon Huntsman, who understands the perils of siding too closely with the rebellious Tea Party. Even if some of its main points have successfully brought into focus the deficit issue, the Tea Party is still supported by a minority and resented by most Republicans. Its anti-technocratic, anti-Washington message has resonance, but it may have pushed the GOP too far into a corner. Its message is also becoming blurred when it steps into the social arena: its racist and homophobic overtones do not reflect the spirit of the times and are offensive to the "millenials", the youngest generation of voters born in the 80s and 90s, which Republicans still hope to attract in 2012. Social movements are major vehicles of participation and can re-energize a worn out party. They reflect the spirit of the times, often in an extremist way that is what gives them prominence: their passion for the cause, their original approach, are all important, but their message has to resonate with the public if they are to succeed. They emerge, coalesce, grow and achieve some successes. However, once their main point is made, three things can happen: they can become a party, their main ideas can be incorporated into mainstream politics, or they dissipate and be quickly forgotten. The Tea Party brought into focus the issue of fiscal responsibility, it infused conservatism with new energy and found a natural home in the Republican Party, which had become profligate, and will have to prove from now on that it is sincere about austerity. Its impact is undeniable: it has also attracted Independents and in so doing, has per force moved the Democratic Party to the center-right. Mimicking the "big tent" approach of Republicans, the Tea Party has lately been focusing strategically on fiscal responsibility, limited government and free markets and its main groups have avoided divisive social issues when speaking to the general public. But their demands of ideological purity from their candidates, their emphasis on returning to the strict meaning of the Constitution and the values of the Founding Father, their defense of states rights and gun rights, belie their claims of inclusiveness for all Americans; in its coded language, its contempt for immigrants and its not-so- veiled racism, one senses a strongly reactionary sentiment bordering on uncontainable fanaticism which is completely out of step with most Americans and which will make it very difficult to widen its appeal beyond what it has already achieved.To paraphrase deceased Republican leader Barry Goldwater, the Tea Party's aim isnot to streamline government or make it more efficient, but to get rid of every piece of social legislation and economic regulation passed since the New Deal. Their purpose is not to share the burden of the weakest members of society, nor to educate their children so they can have equality of opportunity, but to defend the individual freedoms of those who can stand on their own. In sum, they are extremists for whom tolerance and moderation are vices, not virtues, and therefore they have no place in a democracy.Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science and Geography Director, ODU Model United Nations Program Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia

Against the background of a new Labor Day weekend job report that found zero job net growth for the month of August, Republican candidates held another debate, this time under the auspices of MSNBC, not Fox. It took place in the Reagan library, in Simi Valley, California, with the 1980s Air Force One plane used by Reagan looming behind them as a powerful yet incongruent décor. Texas Governor Rick Perry, who entered the race three weeks ago and has already managed to reshape it, made it a contest between himself and Mitt Romney. Jon Huntsman is now a distant third in the polls, and the rest have been consigned to the back bench. Perry has consolidated support across a large swath of the Republican base, including Tea Partiers and the Evangelical right and already has amassed a war chest of campaign funds from contributors from Texas and across the country. Interestingly enough, Karl Rove, the self appointed kingmaker of the GOP and former GW Bush closest advisor, has come out against Perry, calling some of his views "toxic".As the first fundamental tests of the Republican primary approach, the campaign clearly entered a new stage last Wednesday during a debate that was mainly a duel between two protagonists, while the rest, acting as a Greek chorus reinforcing or challenging their responses, were given very little time by hosts Brian Williams (NBC) and John Harris (Politico). The primary field as first constituted was lackluster and therefore demanded new candidates. Perry seems to have satisfied that demand for the time being. Nevertheless, after the debate there was still some discontent among establishment Republicans, so the race is still fluid and new candidates may jump in before the first deadline in October.Governor Perry, as the front-runner in the latest polls, was not surprisingly the target of most of the others throughout the night. He has executive experience, a commanding demeanor, and a record to run on. Although not completely articulate, and lacking Romney's polished eloquence, he is tough and quick in his retorts, and his rhetoric resounded with the audience, drawing the strongest applause every time. His claim that he has created more jobs in Texas than Obama has managed to create nationally may be a winner with voters, but Texas' record on almost every other issue is unflattering and thus, main ammunition for his opponents. He was reminded, for example, that of all fifty states, Texas is last on education, to which he responded that Texas' problems stem from its long border with Mexico. That probably did not go well with the Hispanic voters watching on Univisión and Telemundo, but Perry doesn't seem to care, since he is riding the wave of anti-Latino feelings around the country. Confronted with the claim that Texas has the largest number of people without health insurance than all other 49 states , he did not give a direct answer but chose instead to mumble something about how "all Texans want is to get the federal government out of their lives". Both Michelle Bachman and Rick Santorum questioned Perry's social conservatism given his policy as governor, for example, to inoculate adolescent girls against HPV, which they portrayed as a government intrusion into the family realm and a license to practice pre-marital sex. And Ron Paul, a congressman from Texas, was a constant goad on the Governor's side, reminding the public that Perry used to be a Democrat and wholeheartedly supported Al Gore on his presidential bid in 1988. Perry defended himself well as he dismissed all the charges against him with one-liners and a disdainful smile. A shrewd politician and experience campaigner, he took the initiative at every turn and was able to steer the conversation to his own record of job creation as governor of Texas, contrasting it mockingly with Romney's as governor of Massachusetts. But Romney appeared unfazed as he joked that Perry could not take credit for everything that has gone well in the State of Texas, including its wealth of oil and gas, its zero state income tax and the (related) fact that main corporations made their headquarters there long before Perry was governor. Massachusetts is a much smaller state and has none of those advantages, he added. There were several quick exchanges like this: both candidates were well prepared to respond with facts and statistics, and the perception was that they both did well, with Perry defending himself aggressively at times and Romney maintaining his smooth and relaxed demeanor, even as he waited for the opportunity to deliver a blow to his new challenger.Host Brian Williams soon gave him that opportunity by asking Perry a question about Social Security, the government pension fund that experts say, will become insolvent in the year 2036 if it is not reformed. Perry's answer, which confirmed similar statements in his recently published book, made all the headlines the next day. He called it a "Ponzi scheme' (implying a criminal enterprise) and added that it was a "monstrous lie" to tell young people under thirty that they would get their Social Security when their time comes for them to retire: they won't. This statement has been reported by the Romney campaign as Perry's Waterloo: no candidate will win an election by making this kind of claim against the "third rail" of politics, a cherished and untouchable public trust; to do so is pure political suicide. Similar claims had prompted Karl Rove's comment about Perry's toxicity and spurred doubts about his electability. Ironically, it is the rhetoric and not the substance that separates the two candidates on this issue: as presidents, both would likely propose some privatization of Social Security, perhaps in the form of personal retirement accounts that can be managed by the workers themselves and would allow them to invest in the stock market. Another of Brian William's questions brought an unexpected burst of applause by the all- Republican audience even before Perry had had a chance to answer it. Williams asked how he could sleep at night knowing his state had applied the death penalty to 234 convicts, the highest rate in the nation, and some of whom were perhaps innocent. Perry said the crimes they had perpetrated deserved it, and that yes, he slept fine at night knowing that the appeals process was thorough and fair. Of course, people are entitled to their views on the death penalty, and quotes from the Bible have been used to justify it. But it is sad and even incongruous to see a purportedly well educated middle class audience of a purportedly Christian nation cheer the notion. Patti Davis, President Reagan's daughter, later said to an interviewer it was almost" blasphemous" to celebrate the death penalty at the Reagan library, given the fact that her father had approached the issue with a heavy heart and burden to his conscience, albeit accepting it as a necessary evil. Mitt Romney appeared poised, fluent on the economy and self confident. It may help him knowing that he has 250 billion dollars in his own personal account, and that he has outpaced all other candidates so far in fundraising. He seems to be the choice of the business elite and of urban and suburban Republicans (60% of his donors come from big cities and their surroundings). On the other hand, Perry's supporters say that through his ten years as governor of Texas, Perry has laid the groundwork to raise all the money he might need for a national election. He has a donor network that can "bundle" millions. Texas places no limits on how much donors can give to political campaigns, even as federal law limits donations to the derisory amount of $2,500 per person. Still, some critics say Perry would need to capture a broader donor base to compete in a national election. Michelle Bachman's adventure into the Republican primary may be coming to an end as her star fades and Tea Partiers and Evangelicals transfer their support to Rick Perry. Her campaign is in disarray over fundraising and strategy. Ed Rollins, a veteran GOP operative who managed Reagan's 1984 campaign, resigned as her advisor after Bachman could not be persuaded to focus on campaigning in Iowa only (where the first primary caucus will take place and where she won a straw poll a few weeks ago), instead of trying to run a national campaign. She hasn't been able to raise enough money outside Iowa and that limits her campaign's choices. Perry has taken her thunder. It doesn't help that the Congress woman keeps repeating her Manichean views on every single issue, insisting for example again during this debate, that it was wrong for the US to intervene in Libya because there was no national interest involved in the region, a position that nobody in the GOP establishment shares, especially now that Qaddafi is all but defeated.On Thursday, after two changes in schedule were forced on the White House (one due to the GOP debate on Wednesday, the other due to the opening of the NFL season shown at prime time on Thursday night), President Obama delivered his much awaited jobs creation speech. He unveiled a $ 447 billion plan, a mixture of tax cuts and new spending programs. It includes extending cuts in payroll taxes to individuals and employers, new infrastructure spending, a new mortgage refinancing program, retraining for the unemployed and tax credits to businesses that employ those who have been out of a job for over six moths. He also talked about a private-public infrastructure bank and emphasized that all this new spending would be coupled with more cuts in the deficit later. This was an attempt at a new marketing of the President's measures to stimulate the economy: he was more specific, more conciliatory and avoided using the word "stimulus" that has gotten so much bad press since most people think the initial package did not help the economy one bit.The President spoke with new confidence and conviction; he sounded re-energized and optimistic, and evoked in the public memories of "Obama the candidate". The next morning he was on the road to sell his plan to voters first in Virginia, speaking to 9,000 people gathered at the University of Richmond. Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina are the three states the President strategically chose to visit. Obama won all three in the 2008 election but they each voted Republicans to their legislatures in last year's mid-term elections. The Republican response in Congress was cautiously positive. Indeed, even as Obama's numbers in the polls continue to drop (44% approval rate of his person, with 59% disapproving of his handling of the economy, is the latest), approval of Congress is at an all time low of 13%. A change is tone has registered as Republicans realize that their do-nothing strategy has gone too far and it is time to stop playing the political game and address economic recovery in earnest. It is indeed refreshing, after the acerbic debt ceiling fights, to hear House majority leader Eric Cantor say it's time to build consensus and work together. Their brinkmanship has infuriated their constituents and put at risk all the gains made in last year's mid-term elections.It remains to be seen whether the electorate's disgust with excessive conflict and confrontation within the DC belt also extends to the presidential primary. Will voters choose the bold and aggressive governor from Texas who better reflects their anger with his provocative language (he wants to cut the "head off the snake" (meaning the federal government's interference with states policies), or the cooler, more cerebral, more conciliatory (indeed, in some ways, more Obama-like) candidate from Massachusetts that wants moderation and speaks to the middle class? In this head-to-head contest between Perry and Romney, one can assume people will ultimately choose the one they see can solve their problems, end the paralysis and get the country moving again. But the country's social fabric is torn by unemployment, anger and frustration with government and hopelessness about the future. As the more aggressive candidate, Perry may well be the one that embodies the spirit of the times.In his first national appearance, the Texan did not make any major mistakes. He has dislodged Romney from top in national polls, but not in New Hampshire, where Romney still leads by a wide margin. From now on, the calendar will drive the candidates' strategies. If Perry wins Iowa and Romney New Hampshire, it will definitely become a two person race going forward into South Carolina, where Baptists most likely will choose a Texan Evangelist over a New Englander Mormon. That might interrupt Romney's momentum. Then comes Florida, where there is a big number of Tea Partiers and an even larger number of retirees. The vote of these two groups will be decisive. Perry could lose the retirees on his Social Security attacks, which were mainly addressed to young voters who don't vote in primaries. But there is plenty of time to adjust his views and rectify his blunders so as to become more electable.Cocky, dark and handsome, a cross between Johnny Cash and John Wayne, Perry has a formidable presence that makes a good impression on voters. Blunt and direct in his speech, with a distinct Southern accent, his peculiar kind of charisma compensates for his lack of polish. He is tough and rugged, doesn't back down, and appeared solid in his philosophy of "detax, deregulate and delitigate". He is clearly the candidate that can win the Mid-West and the Deep South. The question is whether he will withstand the deeper scrutiny of a presidential race he entered late, and whether he can refine his arguments and still be reassuring. Romney still appears as the more electable candidate in a national election and the one that can more easily confront Obama. But he has two main weak points: his religion (he is a Mormon, a religion that has a bad name among other Christian denominations) and the Massachusetts health care law he signed when he was governor, that his rivals claim is a replica of what they disdainfully call "Obamacare", which all candidates, including Romney, have avowed to repeal as soon as they get to the White House. Will the race become a two-man contest from this point on? Americans should not hold their breath; there is still talk about new candidates entering the race: Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani seem to be waiting on the sidelines, ready to jump into the race at any time if prompted to do so by the polls or by the GOP establishment. The current survivors may still be challenged by others with more staying power and reality show experience.Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science and Geography Director, ODU Model United Nations Program Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia

Andehrs Behring Breivik no encaja en ninguna categoría existente de actuación violenta o política. Como lo revela su manifiesto, que dará que hablar durante años, Breivik es un terrorista sui generis.Brevemente, Breivik es un joven noruego que el pasado viernes cometió dos ataques terroristas. En el primero detonó una bomba en el distrito gubernamental de Oslo. En el segundo apareció disfrazado de policía en una pequeña isla donde se celebraba una reunión anual de las juventudes del Partido Laborista del país, y atacó a la multitud con armas y municiones de guerra.El manifiesto que el agresor envió a algunos miles de contactos horas antes de cometer el ataque es una obra sin precedentes en la historia de la acción criminal e ideológica. En primer lugar, el texto suma más de mil quinientas páginas, de las cuales Breivik es el autor de más de la mitad. En segundo lugar, la obra está escrita en perfecto inglés, con el objetivo expreso de difundir la ideología ahí presentada a la mayor cantidad de personas posible. En tercer lugar, los contenidos del trabajo son muy variados y llegan a un nivel de detalle inaudito. Este último aspecto es lo que hace de Breivik y su manifiesto algo extraordinario. Entre otras cosas, el lector encontrará:Una exposición detallada de la ideología política del autor (a la cual llama "Cultural conservatism or a nationalist/conservative direction"), con discusiones sobre Antonio Gramsci, György Lukács, Karl Marx, la historia del comunismo, tablas estadísticas sobre la demografía europea y otros elementos.Una descripción de los orígenes de la organización que pretende tener detrás, la Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici o PCCTS. El nombre es el término en latín para la orden medieval monástica y militar más conocida como los Templarios.Una guía meticulosa sobre cómo comprar los ingredientes para la elaboración de explosivos, así como su preparación, su detonación en ensayos, e incluso dónde y cómo esconderlos.Una guía similar para la obtención de armas, con discusiones de diversas fuentes como la mafia albanesa o la rusa. También explica cómo preparar una armadura de combate, así como los principios del combate urbano con armas de fuego.Una bitácora de su "trabajo" desde 2002 en adelante, que incluye su dieta con detalles sobre su ingestión de proteínas y su rutina diaria.Un presupuesto de toda su "obra" desde ese año en adelante. Breivik afirma haber invertido €317.000 a lo largo de una década en su "proyecto".Instrucciones para la construcción de su epitafio.Instrucciones para la implementación de un sistema de medallas, uniformes y ritos para la orden neo-templaria, con diagramas, nombres y criterios para la aplicación de cada una.Pasos básicos de contra-inteligencia para evitar ser detectado.Un currículum vitae completo.No hay cuestiones de menor importancia para Breivik: el ensayo también incluye discusiones detalladas sobre el estado actual de la educación terciaria en Estados Unidos y Europa, extensas explicaciones sobre la teología y la historia islámica, críticas hacia las letras del hip-hop misógino estadounidense, listas de canciones inspiradoras, etc. Una enorme proporción de los textos, como el propio Breivik admite, son de autores con argumentos válidos y que están muy lejanos de promover o aceptar actos de violencia como el suyo.El cuadro que ofrece la lectura de este ensayo es de una persona de una enorme inteligencia, capacidad de organización y, sobre todo, disciplina. Breivik es un individuo altamente preparado física y mentalmente para la grotesca tarea que se propuso. Tal como indica su ensayo, ya tiene preparados los discursos que realizará en su juicio, que pretende que sea altamente público. Antes de lanzar su ataque ya tenía decidido qué criterios aplicaría con el abogado que le asignara el estado, lo que le contestará al juez y demás quienes le digan que es un criminal psicótico, y cómo planea que termine el juicio.Esto último hace que sea poco probable que aparezcan otros Breiviks – aunque sigue siendo posible. Resulta simplemente increíble que pueda haber otro individuo que comparta la misma ideología hasta el mismo nivel de compromiso, y que sobre todo elija seguir el mismo camino.Breivik se ve a sí mismo como una persona fuertemente politizada, por lo cual es necesario discutirlo en esos términos. De los primeros que surgen apuradamente en los medios –seguramente por no haber leído el manuscrito-, no se aplica casi ninguno. Breivik no es nacionalsocialista o "neo-nazi"; tampoco es asimilable al Unabomber (por más que haya coincidencias en sus textos), ni al Ku Klux Klan o a los partidos nacionalistas europeos.De hecho, quizá la forma más correcta de definir a Breivik es resucitando el significado verdadero de un término muy abusado: "de derecha". Breivik ha elegido responder a la amenaza que percibe en Europa, que es sin dudas el Islam, con un remedio neo-medieval. En su ensayo, Breivik postula que la forma óptima de organización política en Europa debe estar basada en la monarquía, y no en repúblicas:"The king or queen of a country is more democratic than a president ever could be because he or she represents all citizens." (el original no es de Breivik).El noruego está a favor de la fusión de todas las iglesias bajo el Papa nuevamente, aún siendo él mismo luterano (no practicante, a diferencia de lo que sugieren los medios). La nueva mega-Iglesia tendría un monopolio público de la religión, así como acceso privilegiado a los contenidos de la educación y los medios. Su visión de una sociedad conservadora es esta: "Ladies should be wives and homemakers, not cops or soldiers (…) Children should not be born out of wedlock. Glorification of homosexuality should be shunned."Aunque Breivik dedica literalmente cientos de páginas a textos sobre la historia de la violencia islámica contra Europa (y también sobre el caso opuesto), en ningún momento menciona los más de mil años de calamidades, miseria y sufrimiento humano que fueron consecuencia directa del sistema medieval-monárquico-eclesiástico.El principal objetivo de Breivik y sus "templarios" es la erradicación de la presencia del Islam en Europa a través de tres modalidades. La primera es la conversión al cristianismo (incluyendo como variable su creación intelectual más débil, los cristianismos "agnóstico" y "ateo"). Esta vía tiene clarísimos componentes anti-liberales y anti-democráticos, ya que los musulmanes conversos deberían renunciar a sus nombres, idiomas, vínculos con sus países de origen (incluso por vía electrónica) y otras cuestiones básicas. Para Breivik, incluso será necesario que "All traces of Islamic culture in Europe will be eradicated, even locations considered historical" – algo por definición poco "conservador".Además, Breivik no tiene ilusiones sobre el "liberalismo islámico": "to take the violence out of Islam would require it to jettison two things: the Quran as the word of Allah and Muhammad as Allah's prophet. In other words, to pacify Islam would require its transformation into something that it is not."La segunda modalidad de erradicación del Islam es la limpieza cultural, que consistiría de deportaciones o expulsiones (Breivik menciona muchos modelos, incluyendo las gigantescas ordenadas por Stalin). La última es la exterminación.Es en referencia a esto último que Breivik dedica un pasaje a discutir a Adolf Hitler y el nacionalsocialismo. El autor se aleja de estos claramente, aunque por razones muy diferentes de las del ciudadano común. Su explicación es que la "causa" nacionalsocialista y el liderazgo de Hitler destruyeron a los nacionalismos europeos por más de un siglo (es decir, hasta bien entrado el siglo XXI), porque optaron directamente por el camino de la exterminación. El resultado fue una guerra que terminó en derrota, y la entrega del continente al bolchevismo y uno de sus herederos, la socialdemocracia multicultural.Esto explica una de las principales diferencias entre Breivik y el movimiento neo-nacionalsocialista es su posición respecto a Israel y los judíos. El terrorista noruego interpreta al estado israelí como un modelo a seguir de "reunión nacional" étnica, y simpatiza enormemente con su lucha anti-jihad. Ergo, para Breivik se trata de un aliado ante un enemigo en común. El mismo principio aplica Breivik, quien se define como anti-racista, a las alianzas que propone con asiáticos orientales, hindúes y otros con tal de luchar contra el Islam.A quien sí defiende Breivik abiertamente es a Slobodan Milosevic. De hecho, el noruego argumenta que fueron los ataques de la OTAN a la Serbia de ese dictador genocida lo que primero despertó su instinto conservador. Esa podría ser una pista significativa para entender el rompecabezas ideológico del agresor, ya que las dos intervenciones internacionales en Yugoslavia ocurrieron antes del Once de septiembre, que es el gran disparador de la actual preocupación por la jihad entre muchos occidentales.En la visión de Breivik, quizá el sistema de organización social ideal sería elapartheid, pero a diferencia del caso de Sudáfrica, no dentro de un país. Para él, los judíos deberían haber sido expulsados de Europa en los 1930s; ahora deberían ser expulsados los musulmanes. El autor incluso menciona los casos de países de Asia Oriental del presente, como Corea del Sur y Japón, como ejemplos de naciones étnicamente homogéneas y prósperas. Evidentemente, Breivik es una persona que piensa en términos profundamente colectivistas. No hay derechos individuales para las personas que no forman parte de su grupo. Esta forma de concebir el mundo, sumada a la forma en que Breivik se presenta como líder de un movimiento ideológico violento, lo hacen similar a figuras como Lenin, Hitler, Mao, el Che Guevara u Osama bin Laden.De hecho, como todo pretendiente a líder carismático, Breivik incluye en su manifiesto instrucciones para tener preparadas fotografías en las que el atacante se "vea bien", pensando en el momento en el cual su rostro sea visto por el mundo – tal como está ocurriendo ahora. Así se lo propuso Breivik: "As a Justiciar Knight you will go into history as one of the most influential individuals of your time. So you need to look your absolute best and ensure that you produce quality marketing material prior to operation." El texto incluso recomienda utilizar una cama solar y aplicarse maquillaje antes de tomarse las fotografías.El aspecto más sorprendente del planteo de Breivik es el blanco que escogió para su ataque. Al leer el inmenso manifiesto y contrastarlo con los hechos de los días pasados, es inevitable quedarse con la sensación de que fue todo una excusa para perpetrar un acto de extrema violencia contra jóvenes inocentes (y desarmados, por supuesto). El manifiesto incluso lo admite con una subsección entera: "The cruel nature of our operations". Breivik explica que aunque el enemigo objetivo es el Islam en Europa, el objetivo inmediato son los europeos que han trabajado durante cerca de medio siglo para que exista esa presencia islámica en la región.Estos son, para el noruego, los multiculturalistas, marxistas y demás miembros de una suerte de élite europea. De hecho, su objetivo explícito es que para el año 2020 ocurran golpes de estado en diversos países de Europa occidental (junto con la abolición de la Unión Europea), de modo de instalar regímenes conservadores que trabajen para la eliminación simultánea del marxismo multicultural y del Islam.Estas élites y su "political correctness" son las responsables, para Breivik, de que no se puedan discutir abiertamente cuestiones que preocupan a un nacionalista conservador como él. La principal de ellas es la presencia de musulmanes en Europa. La sección tres del manifiesto es fundamental, porque tras más de 750 páginas de "diagnóstico" sobre el estado actual de Europa, el autor quiebra con todos los demás que citó y anuncia su alejamiento de la vía pacífica. Por ejemplo, en la página 791 aparece, como un subtítulo más, un anuncio importante: "Why armed resistance against the cultural Marxist/multiculturalist regimes of Western Europe is the only rational approach".De hecho, en esa sección hay varias páginas dedicadas a enunciar los cargos legales que se le imputan a multiplicidad de líderes europeos. Como parte de su gigantesca acusación contra el sistema político-social europeo de posguerra, Breivik incluso ofrece cálculos específicos de las cantidades de europeos cuyos derechos han sido violados de diversas maneras por los efectos de esas políticos, que van desde la violación y el asesinato hasta los despidos de personas. Todos se imputan, en conjunto y criminalmente, a estas "élites" cuya muerte se anuncia poco a poco.En lugar de estas personas aparecerá, en palabras de Breivik, un "cultural conservative tribunal" en cada país que implemente un nuevo régimen político. Como parte de esta iniciativa, aparecen mencionadas casualmente algunas medidas atroces: "All Muslims are to be immediately deported to their country of origin. Each family (family head) will receive 25 000 Euro providing they accept the deportation terms. Anyone who violently resists deportation will be executed". Breivik también prevé compensaciones financieras para los sujetos que fueron "víctimas intelectuales" del sistema previo, así como específicamente para los ciudadanos de Serbia por el bombardeo de OTAN. También incluye los parámetros de su propia "ley de medios", por utilizar un desafortunado término rioplatense, que implica la imposición de cuotas de periodistas e intelectuales "conservadores" y nacionalistas en diversas organizaciones mediáticas.El método que ha elegido Breivik, conscientemente sin duda, es similar al viejo anarquismo de la propaganda por el hecho, que consiste de atacantes solitarios que cometen actos espectaculares de demostración e inspiración ideológica. El noruego llama a su campaña de violencia "A Declaration of pre-emptive War" contra sus dos enemigos. Breivik indica claramente que aquellos que existan como él actualmente en Europa son pocos pero que están en aumento; su ataque está pensado para encender la chispa de la conmoción en la región, lo cual incluiría también la aparición de más adeptos. Tácticamente, el ataque del pasado viernes 22 de julio en Noruega es definido por su autor como "military shock attacks by clandestine cell systems".Hay más pasajes que directamente preanuncian el ataque que Breivik escogió lanzar: "consider making use of a remote detonation, (…) to attract attention to one location. Ensure that the enemy forces are heading for this location. By then, you will be on the opposite side of town and in the middle of the process of finishing your primary goal." El blanco se vuelve cada vez más específico: el primero de la lista que hay en el manifiesto es "political parties - cultural Marxist/multiculturalist political parties."En el apartado correspondiente a este tipo de organización, el primer país detallado es Noruega, y el primer partido que aparece ahí es el "Norwegian Labour Party". Más adelante, nuevamente en primer lugar entre una lista de blancos, dice que un blanco primario es: "the annual party meeting of the socialist/social democrat party in your country."Curiosamente, aunque Breivik propone algunas formas de organización colectiva (como la neo-templaria), sus instrucciones para los actos de terrorismo son estrictas respecto a que las células deben ser individuales. Es por eso que Breivik el terrorista pasó desapercibido, a juzgar por la información disponible, incluso en los círculos nacionalistas no violentos.De los nueve miembros que supuestamente asistieron en 2002 a la reunión fundacional en Londres de la organización neo-templaria (todos anónimos), cuatro son descritos como "cristiano ateo" o "cristiano agnóstico". El propio Breivik está muy indeciso respecto a su religión: "I'm not going to pretend I'm a very religious person as that would be a lie (…) I consider myself to be 100% Christian (…) I'm not an excessively religious man". Sería interesante saber qué opinaría Hugues de Payens, fundador de la orden original, respecto a esta falta de disciplina teológica (que en realidad es una ausencia total). Son sin ninguna duda los nombres de estos nueve miembros iniciales, y de otros, lo que más están buscando los servicios de inteligencia de varios estados europeos.La visión del mundo de Breivik está claramente influenciada por el pensamiento colectivista, y su propia obra parece aproximarse a un sistema de pensamiento que podría llamarse ideológico. Es por eso que es posible concluir que no se trata de un lunático desequilibrado que pertenece a un manicomio. Es peor que eso: una persona que en todo momento supo lo que hacía, que se preparó durante años para hacerlo, y que desplegó un alto nivel de meticulosidad para lograrlo. Hasta el efecto de su ataque está pensado desde hace años: "The art of asymmetrical warfare is less about inflicting immediate damage but all about the indirect long term psychological and ideological damage. Our shock attacks are theatre and theatre is always performed for an audience".Las descripciones más personales de Breivik son reveladoras del grado de control que tenía sobre sí mismo: "I have managed to stay focused and highly motivated for a duration of more than 9 years now (…) I have never been happier than I am today (…) I do a mental check almost every day through meditation and philosophizing (…) I simulate various future scenarios relating to resistance efforts, confrontations with police, future interrogation scenarios, future court appearances, future media interviews etc".El objetivo de Breivik es la fundación de una nueva cadena de nacionalismos post-nazis en Europa, y es importante que ese proyecto fracase. El autor concibió un "100 year plan to contribute to seize political power in Western European countries currently controlled by anti-nationalists" (de ahí el título de su manifiesto: 2083). En sus planes más delirantes hacia el futuro, Breivik menciona todo tipo de planes, desde el robo y la detonación de armas nucleares en las capitales europeas hasta la colaboración con Al-Qaeda, el gobierno de Irán, y otros terroristas islámicos.Como se dijo anteriormente, el manifiesto es increíblemente largo y contiene todo tipo de cosas. Hay discusiones muy detalladas sobre la niñez ("My best friend for many years, a Muslim"), adolescencia (incluyendo encuentros con pandillas pakistaníes y un pasado como "graffiti artist") y juventud del autor, con descripciones (con nombres) de sus amigos y hasta las vidas sexuales de sus familiares más cercanos. Hay planes para la importación de inmigrantes en la era "post-islámica" de Europa, con detalles sobre los horarios, la compensación, las localidades y más. Breivik tiene hasta pensado cuál será el nuevo himno de Europa. También explica que él no fue el fundador de la organización neo-templaria, sino el octavo miembro (algo que recuerda a la historia de Adolf Hitler y su ingreso al NSDAP), y que a través de ella conoció a un criminal de guerra serbio en Liberia. Su mentor fue un inglés, fundador de la organización y sin duda un importantísimo blanco para la inteligencia doméstica británica en este mismo momento.Actualmente el "caso Breivik" se encuentra en una etapa que el propio terrorista ya tiene planeada desde hace años: "Your arrest will mark the initiation of the propaganda phase. Your trial offers you a stage to the world (…) A Justiciar Knight is not only a valorous resistance fighter, a one man army; he is a one man marketing agency as well". El terrorista está muy consciente de la opinión que el mundo se ha formado sobre él, y ya ha recorrido mentalmente el camino para superar el ostracismo de su causa: "It might sound completely ridiculous and funny to most people today. But by presenting the following accusations and demands in all seriousness we are indirectly conditioning everyone listening for the conflicts and scenarios ahead. They will laugh today, but in the back of their minds, they have an ounce of fear, respect and admiration for our cause and the alternative and authority we represent".Breivik no es un criminal o incluso un terrorista común. Es una figura nefasta con una ideología totalmente nueva. Es muy importante conocer los términos ideológicos y metodológicos en los que operó, porque existe una preocupante posibilidad de que haya otros como él en el futuro.*Licenciado en Estudios Internacionales - Universidad ORT Uruguay Candidato al Master of Arts in Security Studies - Georgetown University

The number 1 edition of volume XXII of the year 2021, eight research articles, five review articles and one corresponding to the special section, university life. The first research article RELATION BETWEEN THE ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDE AND THE PURCHASE OF SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTS IN THE CONSUMERS OF MEDELLÍN, COLOMBIA, written by Diana María López Celis of the Konrad Lorenz University and Mónica Eugenia Peñalosa Otero of the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University, address the responsible consumption issue and its relationship with the environment. The research was carried out in the city of Medellín - Colombia and 390 people over 18 years of age were surveyed. Data analysis was carried out, the results of which yielded interesting aspects such as a change in people's buying behavior, with a view to preserving the environment. In second place is the article EFFECTS OF THE FEATURES OF VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE THAT INCREASE THEIR POPULARITY: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS by Carlos Fernando Osorio Andrade, Augusto Rodríguez Orejuela, Fernando Moreno Betancourt, professors at the Universidad del Valle, make an immersion in the world of multimedia platforms and use YouTube as a source of information to analyse the effect of some aspects such as: the strategy of the message, the consistency of the brand and the technical characteristics of the video on the popularity or download of videos corresponding to 4 cell phone companies , specifically Tigo, Movistar, Claro , Avantel. Third, in the article TYPOLOGIES OF POVERTY IN CALI: AN ANALYSIS BASED ON SISBEN, written by María Isabel Caicedo Hurtado and María Castillo Valencia of the Universidad del Valle in Colombia, a comparative study of the poverty conditions of the people surveyed by the Identification System of Potential Beneficiaries of Social Programs (SISBEN) for 2009 and 2019. This information is used to estimate the different types of poverty, based on the monetary poverty line and basic needs dissatisfied households in the city of Cali. The conclusions are very interesting in that there is evidence of an impoverishment of the people who enter the SISBEN and the inclusion of the poor in communes or neighborhoods of the city that had not previously been registered. In the fourth article ANALYSIS OF VENEZUELAN MIGRATION IN THE CITY OF PASTO: CHARACTERISTICS AND PERCEPTIONS OF MIGRANTS written by Bayron Paz Noguera; Oscar Alpala Ramos; Evelyn Villota Vivas, presents a socioeconomic characterization of the Venezuelan migrants who are in the city of Pasto and includes the reasons that led them to leave their country. For the research, which is also exploratory, a survey was applied to 180 people in which questions were included that allowed conclusions to be drawn regarding the situation of migrants in the city. It is interesting in that it shows empirically that some reasons for the exodus are insecurity, poverty and discontent with the government of Nicolás Maduro. In the fifth place is presented the article ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND DESIGN: CHARACTERIZATION OF ENTREPRENEURIAL INITIATIVES OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGNERS by María Cristina Ascuntar Rivera and Francisco Rafael Ayala Gallardo who make an analysis of the entrepreneurial initiatives of the students of the industrial design program of the University de Nariño in Colombia, which is presented as one of the degree options at this institution. The documentary review is established for a period of 18 years (2000-2018), 201 research projects were reviewed in different modalities of which only 5% corresponded to the modality of business creation. It is concluded that it is necessary to strengthen entrepreneurship and the modality of business creation, among other recommendations. In the sixth research article, BUSINESS INTENTION AND CULTURAL DIMENSIONS IN MASTER'S STUDENTS IN ADMINISTRATION IN COLOMBIA written by Edwin Ignacio Tarapuez Chamorro, Juan Manuel Aristizábal Tamayo and Adriana Patricia Uribe Urán, the dependence between business intention and the cultural dimensions of MBA students in Colombia, based on Hofstede's studies on culture, and as reference two variables: ease of doing business, included in the Doing Business study of the World Bank (2013) and the assessment of the entrepreneurial environment in Colombia contained in the General Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). For the research, a non-probabilistic survey was applied to 485 people from 36 face-to-face programs in 14 cities in Colombia divided between high income and low income, obtaining interesting results regarding the six dimensions studied. In the seventh research article CONSUMER DECISION MAKING AND CONSERVATION IN COSTA RICA presented by Pablo Andrés Sánchez Campos, an analysis of the consumer decision-making of respondents in Costa Rica and the influence of conservatism in this type of decision is carried out. The data are analyzed using statistical techniques and instruments that provide interesting conclusions to the investigation. In the eighth research article SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING EN EMPRESAS AGRÍCOLAS CUBANAS written by Rudibel Perdigón Llanes and Hubert Viltres Sala, the importance of the use of social networks and the Internet for increasing profits and the visibility of companies is taken up. In the investigation, information was collected from 61 companies of the Agricultural Business Group of the Ministry of Agriculture of Cuba, concluding that it is necessary to reinforce their positioning due to their low index of digital positioning, which hinders their economic growth. Within the group of review articles is the one presented by Luis Améstica Rivas, Andrea King Domínguez, Carlos Cruzat Valenzuela, and Constanza Stuardo Solar from the Universidad de Chile called ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE COUNCIL. A BIBLIOMETRIC STUDY. The authors carried out an interesting review of 4,468 articles related to the business area, using bibliometric techniques supported by the VOSviewer software, in order to establish the importance and relationship between decision-making by Boards of Directors and financial performance of the companies. The second review article is the one presented by Claudia Magali Solarte Solarte, Martha Lida Solarte Solarte, Gloria Alicia Rivera Vallejo of the Universidad Cesmag located in Colombia called THE ROLE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN CONFLICT AND POSTCONFLICT: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF LITERATURE. With the help of specialized databases such as Scopus, Scielo, Redalyc, Science Direct and Google Scholar, the authors explored some general terms related to entrepreneurship, in view of their interest in determining how entrepreneurship becomes a possible alternative of productive reintegration for ex-combatants and victims of the armed conflict in different countries of the world. In the third review article, TOURIST COMPETITIVENESS. AN APPROACH FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF BOYACÁ, COLOMBIA written by Ana Milena Serrano Amado, Luz A. Montoya Restrepo, Nidia Paola Amado Cely, the determining factors of the competitiveness of tourist destinations in the Province of Sugamuxi were identified, using the Crouch and Ritchie model. Some existing competitiveness models were reviewed and interesting conclusions were established with a view to generating a growing tourism dynamic in said province. In the fourth review article, TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT AND SOLIDARITY ECONOMY: ANALYSIS FROM THE CONCEPT OF DEVELOPMENT, THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE INCORPORATION OF COMMUNITIES IN A TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY, the authors Helmer Fernando Llanez Anaya and Claudia Patricia Sacristán Rodríguez, propose a analysis framework to articulate territorial development and the solidarity economy from three dimensions: the idea of development, the environmental dimension and the incorporation of communities in a territorial development strategy. For them, they conducted a document review using databases such as Redalyc, Scielo, Research Gate, scopus and Web of Science through the metasearch engine of the Javeriana University library. In the last review article OFERTA EXPORTABLE DEL CACAO FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF NARIÑO, (2010-2018), the authors Yhancy Eliana Coral Rojas, Gladys Omaira Melo Mosquera, Darlan Arley Agredo Madroñero and Jenny Katherine Moncayo Rosero, from the Universidad de Nariño in Colombia , carry out a secondary review on the cocoa sector in Colombia, using the general database of exports of Nariño of the official platform of the DIAN entity that presents the export declarations of each region in Colombia, the information platform of Legiscomex and the ranking tool by tariff subheading and by department of and the ordering variable in FOB value (US $). With the data obtained, some recommendations are established for the cocoa sector of the department of Nariño. ; La edición No 1 del volumen XXII del año 2021, contiene ocho artículos de investigación, cinco de revisión y uno correspondiente a la sección especial, vida universitaria. El primer artículo de investigación RELACIÓN ENTRE LA ACTITUD AMBIENTAL Y LA COMPRA DE PRODUCTOS SOCIALMENTE RESPONSABLES EN LOS CONSUMIDORES DE MEDELLÍN, COLOMBIA, escrito por Diana María López Celis de la Universidad Konrad Lorenz y Mónica Eugenia Peñalosa Otero de la Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano, abordan el tema de consumo responsable y su relación con el medio ambiente. La investigación de desarrolló en la ciudad de Medellín – Colombia y se encuestaron 390 personas mayores de 18 años. Se realizó el análisis de los datos, cuyos resultados arrojaron aspectos interesantes como un cambio en el comportamiento de compra de las personas, con miras a la preservación del medio ambiente. En segundo lugar se encuentra el artículo EFECTOS DE LAS CARACTERÍSTICAS DE VIDEOS EN YOUTUBE QUE AUMENTAN SU POPULARIDAD: UN ANÁLISIS EMPÍRICO de Carlos Fernando Osorio Andrade, Augusto Rodríguez Orejuela, Fernando Moreno Betancourt, profesores de la Universidad del Valle, hacen una inmersión en el mundo de las plataformas multimedia y utilizan YouTube como fuente de información para analizar el efecto de algunos aspectos tales como: la estrategia del mensaje, la consistencia de marca y las características técnicas del video sobre la popularidad o descarga de videos correspondientes a 4 empresas de telefonía celular, específicamente Tigo, Movistar, Claro, Avantel. En tercer lugar, en el artículo TIPOLOGÍAS DE POBREZA EN CALI: UN ANÁLISIS CON BASE EN EL SISBEN escrito por María Isabel Caicedo Hurtado y María Castillo Valencia de la Universidad del Valle en Colombia, se elaboran un estudio comparativo de las condiciones de pobreza de las personas encuestadas por el Sistema de Identificación de Potenciales Beneficiarios de Programas Sociales (SISBEN) para en el año 2009 y para el año 2019. Se utiliza esta información para estimar las diferentes tipologías de pobreza, en función de la línea de pobreza monetaria y necesidades básicas insatisfechas de los hogares de la ciudad de Cali. Las conclusiones son muy interesantes en tanto se evidencia un empobrecimiento de las personas que ingresan al SISBEN y la inclusión de pobres en comunas o barrios de la ciudad que antes no se habían registrado. En el cuarto artículo ANÁLISIS DE LA MIGRACIÓN VENEZOLANA EN LA CIUDAD DE PASTO: CARACTERÍSTICAS Y PERCEPCIONES DE LOS MIGRANTES escrito por Bayron Paz Noguera; Oscar Alpala Ramos; Evelyn Villota Vivas, se presenta una caracterización socioeconómica de los migrantes venezolanos que se encuentran en la ciudad de Pasto y se incluyen las razones que los llevaron a salir de su país. Para la investigación, que además es de tipo exploratorio, se aplicó una encuesta a 180 personas en la que se incluyeron preguntas que permitieron extraer conclusiones respecto a la situación de los migrantes en la ciudad. Es interesante en tanto demuestra empíricamente que algunas razones para el éxodo son la inseguridad, la pobreza y el descontento con el gobierno de Nicolás Maduro. En el quinto lugar se presenta el artículo EMPRENDIMIENTO Y DISEÑO: CARACTERIZACIÓN DE LAS INICIATIVAS EMPRENDEDORAS DE LOS DISEÑADORES INDUSTRIALES de María Cristina Ascuntar Rivera y Francisco Rafael Ayala Gallardo quienes hacen un análisis de las iniciativas emprendedoras de los estudiantes del programa de diseño industrial de la Universidad de Nariño en Colombia, que se presenta como una de las opciones de grado en esta institución. La revisión documental se establece para un período de 18 años (2000- 2018), se revisaron 201 proyectos de investigación en diferentes modalidades de los cuales únicamente el 5% correspondió a la modalidad de creación de empresa. Se concluye que es preciso fortalecer el emprendimiento y la modalidad de creación de empresas, entre otras recomendaciones. En el sexto artículo de investigación, INTENCIÓN EMPRESARIAL Y DIMENSIONES CULTURALES EN ESTUDIANTES DE MAESTRÍA EN ADMINISTRACIÓN EN COLOMBIA escrito por Edwin Ignacio Tarapuez Chamorro, Juan Manuel Aristizábal Tamayo y Adriana Patricia Uribe Urán, se analiza la dependencia entre la intención empresarial y las dimensiones culturales de los estudiantes de Maestría en Administración (MBA) en Colombia, tomando como base los estudios de Hofstede sobre la cultura, y como referentes dos variables: la facilidad para hacer negocios, incluida en el estudio Doing Business del Banco Mundial (2013) y la valoración del entorno emprendedor en Colombia contenida en el General Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). Para la investigación se aplicó una encuesta no probabilística a 485 personas de 36 programas presenciales en 14 ciudades de Colombia divididas entre altos ingresos y bajos ingresos, obteniendo resultados interesantes en cuanto a las seis dimensiones estudiadas. En el séptimo artículo de investigación TOMA DE DECISIONES DE CONSUMIDORES Y CONSERVADURISMO EN COSTA RICA presentado por Pablo Andrés Sánchez Campos, se realiza un análisis la toma de decisiones de consumo de encuestados en Costa Rica y la influencia del conservadurismo en este tipo de decisiones. Los datos se analizan utilizando técnicas e instrumentos estadísticos que aportan interesantes conclusiones a la investigación. En el octavo artículo de investigación SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING EN EMPRESAS AGRÍCOLAS CUBANAS escrito por Rudibel Perdigón Llanes y Hubert Viltres Sala, se retoma la importancia que tiene el uso de las redes sociales e internet para el incremento de utilidades y la visibilidad de las empresas. En la investigación se recolectó información de 61 empresas del Grupo Empresarial Agrícola del Ministerio de la Agricultura de Cuba, concluyendo que es necesario reforzar el posicionamiento de las mismas debido a su bajo índice de posicionamiento digital, lo que obstaculiza su crecimiento económico. Dentro del grupo de los artículos de revisión se encuentra el presentado por Luis Améstica Rivas, Andrea King Domínguez, Carlos Cruzat Valenzuela, Constanza Stuardo Solar de la Universidad de Chile denominado CONSEJO DE ADMINISTRACIÓN Y DESEMPEÑO FINANCIERO. UN ESTUDIO BIBLIOMÉTRICO. Los autores realizaron una interesante revisión de 4.468 artículos relacionados con el área de negocios, utilizaron técnicas bibliométricas apoyadas por el software VOSviewer, con el propósito de establecer la importancia y relación entre la toma de decisiones por parte de los Consejos de Administración y el desempeño financiero de las compañías. El segundo artículo de revisión es el presentado por Claudia Magali Solarte Solarte, Martha Lida Solarte Solarte, Gloria Alicia Rivera Vallejo de la Universidad Cesmag ubicada en Colombia denominado PAPEL DEL EMPRENDIMIENTO EN EL CONFLICTO Y POSTCONFLICTO: UNA REVISIÓN SISTEMÁTICA DE LITERATURA. Con la ayuda de las bases de datos especializadas como Scopus, Scielo, Redalyc, Science Direct y Google Scholar, las autoras exploraron algunos términos generales relacionados con el emprendimiento, en vista de su interés por determinar la manera cómo el emprendimiento se convierte en una posible alternativa de reinserción productiva para excombatientes y víctimas del conflicto armado en diferentes países del mundo. En el tercer artículo de revisión, LA COMPETITIVIDAD TURÍSTICA. UNA APROXIMACIÓN DESDE EL DEPARTAMENTO DE BOYACÁ, COLOMBIA escrito por Ana Milena Serrano Amado, Luz A. Montoya Restrepo, Nidia Paola Amado Cely, se identificaron los factores determinantes de la competitividad de los destinos turísticos en la Provincia de Sugamuxi, utilizando el modelo de Crouch y Ritchie. Se revisaron algunos modelos de competitividad existentes y se establecieron interesantes conclusiones con miras a generar una dinámica turística creciente en dicha provincia. En el cuarto artículo de revisión, DESARROLLO TERRITORIAL Y ECONOMÍA SOLIDARIA: ANÁLISIS DESDE EL CONCEPTO DE DESARROLLO, EL MEDIO AMBIENTE Y LA INCORPORACIÓN DE LAS COMUNIDADES EN UNA ESTRATEGIA DE DESARROLLO TERRITORIAL, los autores Helmer Fernando Llanez Anaya y Claudia Patricia Sacristán Rodríguez, proponer un marco de análisis para articular el desarrollo territorial y la economía solidaria desde tres dimensiones: la idea de desarrollo, la dimensión ambiental y la incorporación de las comunidades en una estrategia de desarrollo territorial. Para ellos realizaron una revisión documental utilizando bases de datos como Redalyc, Scielo, Research Gate, scopus y Web of Science a través del metabuscador de la biblioteca de la Universidad Javeriana. En el último artículo de revisión OFERTA EXPORTABLE DEL CACAO DEL DEPARTAMENTO DE NARIÑO, (2010-2018), los autores Yhancy Eliana Coral Rojas, Gladys Omaira Melo Mosquera, Darlan Arley Agredo Madroñero y Jenny Katherine Moncayo Rosero, de la Universidad de nariño en Colombia, realizan una revisión secundaria sobre el sector cacaotero en Colombia, utilizando la base de datos general de exportaciones de Nariño de la plataforma oficial de la DIAN entidad que presenta las declaraciones de exportación de cada región en Colombia, la plataforma de información de Legiscomex y la herramienta ranking por subpartida arancelaria y por departamento de y la variable de ordenamiento en valor FOB (US$). Con los datos obtenidos se establecen algunas recomendaciones para el sector cacaoterio del departamento de Nariño. ; O número 1 do volume XXII do ano 2021 contém cinco artigos de pesquisa, cinco artigos de revisão e um correspondente à seção especial Vida universitária. Primeiro artigo de pesquisa RELAÇÃO ENTRE A ATIVIDADE AMBIENTAL E A COMPRA DE PRODUTOS SOCIALMENTE RESPONSÁVEIS POR CONSUMIDORES DE MEDELLÍN, COLÔMBIA, escrito por Diana María López Celis da Universidade Konrad Lorenz e Mónica Eugenia Peñalosa Otero da Universidade Jorge Tadeo Empréstimo temático de consumo responsável e sua relação com o meio ambiente. Pesquisa de desenvolvimento na cidade de Medellín - Colômbia e 390 pessoas tinham mais de 18 anos. Foi realizada a análise dos dados, cujos resultados trouxeram aspectos interessantes como a mudança no comportamento de compra das pessoas, com vistas à preservação do meio ambiente. Em segundo lugar, o artigo EFEITOS DAS CARACTERÍSTICAS DOS VÍDEOS NO YOUTUBE QUE AUMENTAM SUA POPULARIDADE: A ANÁLISE EMPÍRICA de Carlos Fernando Osorio Andrade, Augusto Rodríguez Orejuela, Fernando Moreno Betancourt, professores da Universidad del Valle, fazem uma imersão no mundo de plataformas multimídia e usar o YouTube como fonte de informação para analisar a eficácia de alguns aspectos como: a estratégia da mensagem, a consistência da marca e as características técnicas do vídeo sobre a popularidade do download de vídeos correspondentes a 4 empresas de telefonia , especificamente Tigo, Movistar, Claro, Avantel. Em terceiro lugar, no artigo TIPOLOGIAS DE POBREZA EM CALI: UMA ANÁLISE COM BASE NO SISBEN, escrito por María Isabel Caicedo Hurtado e María Castillo Valencia, da Universidad del Valle na Colômbia, foi desenvolvido um estudo comparativo das condições de pobreza na Colômbia. eles. pessoas entrevistadas pelo Sistema de Identificação de Potenciais Beneficiários de Programas Sociais (SISBEN) para o ano de 2009 e para o ano de 2019. Essas informações são utilizadas para estimar os diferentes tipos de pobreza, de acordo com a linha de pobreza monetária e necessidades básicas de pessoas insatisfeitas. a cidade de Cali. As conclusões são muito interessantes, tanto que há indícios de um empobrecimento das pessoas que ingressam no SISBEN e da inclusão dos pobres nas comunas da cidade que não eram cadastrados anteriormente. No quarto artigo ANÁLISE DA MIGRAÇÃO VENEZUELANA NA CIDADE DE PASTO: CARACTERÍSTICAS E PERCEPÇÕES DOS MIGRANTES, escrito por Bayron Paz Noguera; Oscar Alpala Ramos; Evelyn Villota Vivas apresenta uma caracterização socioeconômica dos migrantes venezuelanos que se encontram na cidade de Pasto e inclui os motivos que os levaram a deixar seu país. Para a pesquisa, que também é exploratória, foi aplicada uma survey a 180 pessoas, que incluiu questões que permitissem tirar conclusões sobre a situação dos migrantes na cidade. É interessante, tanto empiricamente, que alguns motivos para o êxodo da insegurança, pobreza e descontentamento com o governo de Nicolás Maduro. Em quinto lugar, o artigo EMPREENDEDORISMO E DESIGN: CARACTERIZAÇÃO DAS INICIATIVAS DE DESIGNERS INDUSTRIAIS de María Cristina Ascuntar Rivera e Francisco Rafael Ayala Gallardo, que faz uma análise das iniciativas empreendedoras de estudantes industriais de seus alunos. de Nariño na Colômbia, que se apresenta como uma das opções de graça nesta instituição. A revisão documental está prevista para um período de 18 anos (2000-2018), foram revisados 201 projetos de pesquisa em diferentes modalidades, dos quais apenas 5% correspondem ao método de criação de empresas. Conclui-se que é necessário fortalecer o empreendedorismo e a criação de negócios, entre outras recomendações. No sexto artigo de pesquisa, INTENÇÃO EMPRESARIAL E DIMENSÕES CULTURAIS EM ALUNOS DE MESTRE EM ADMINISTRAÇÃO NA COLÔMBIA, escrito por Edwin Ignacio Tarapuez Chamorro, Juan Manuel Aristizábal Tamayo e Adriana Patricia Uribe Urán, a dependência entre a intenção empresarial e as dimensões culturais de Alunos de MBA na Colômbia, com base nos estudos de Hofstede sobre cultura, e como referência duas variáveis: facilidade de fazer negócios, incluída no estudo Doing Business do Banco Mundial (2013) e a avaliação do ambiente empresarial na Colômbia contido no General Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). Para a pesquisa, foi aplicada uma pesquisa não probabilística a 485 pessoas de 36 programas presenciais em 14 cidades da Colômbia divididas entre alta e baixa renda, obtendo resultados interessantes em relação às seis dimensões estudadas. No sétimo artigo de pesquisa TOMADA DE DECISÕES E CONSERVAÇÃO DO CONSUMIDOR NA COSTA RICA apresentada por Pablo Andrés Sánchez Campos, é feita uma análise da tomada de decisão dos respondentes do consumidor na Costa Rica e a influência do conservadorismo neste tipo de decisão. Os dados são analisados por meio de técnicas e instrumentos estatísticos que fornecem conclusões interessantes para a investigação. No oitavo artigo de investigação SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING EN EMPRESAS AGRÍCOLAS CUBANAS da autoria de Rudibel Perdigón Llanes e Hubert Viltres Sala, retoma-se a importância da utilização das redes sociais e da Internet para aumentar os lucros e a visibilidade das empresas. Na investigação foram coletadas informações de 61 empresas do Grupo Empresarial Agrícola do Ministério da Agricultura de Cuba, concluindo que é necessário reforçar seu posicionamento devido ao seu baixo índice de posicionamento digital, que dificulta seu crescimento econômico. Dentro do grupo de artigos de revisão está o apresentado por Luis Améstica Rivas, Andrea King Domínguez, Carlos Cruzat Valenzuela e Constanza Stuardo Solar da Universidade do Chile denominado CONSELHO DE ADMINISTRAÇÃO E DESEMPENHO FINANCEIRO. UM ESTUDO BIBLIOMÉTRICO. Os autores realizaram uma interessante revisão de 4.468 artigos relacionados à área de negócios, utilizando técnicas bibliométricas apoiadas no software VOSviewer, a fim de estabelecer a importância e a relação entre a tomada de decisão dos Conselhos de Administração e o desempenho financeiro. das empresas. O segundo artigo de revisão é o apresentado por Claudia Magali Solarte Solarte, Martha Lida Solarte Solarte, Gloria Alicia Rivera Vallejo da Universidade Cesmag localizada na Colômbia denominado O PAPEL DO EMPREENDEDORISMO NO CONFLITO E PÓS-CONFLITO: UMA REVISÃO SISTEMÁTICA DA LITERATURA. Com a ajuda de bancos de dados especializados como Scopus, Scielo, Redalyc, Science Direct e Google Scholar, os autores exploraram alguns termos gerais relacionados ao empreendedorismo, tendo em vista seu interesse em determinar cómo o empreendedorismo se torna um possível alternativa produtiva de reintegração para ex-combatentes e vítimas do conflito armado em diversos países do mundo. No terceiro artigo de revisão, COMPETITIVIDADE TURÍSTICA. UMA ABORDAGEM DO DEPARTAMENTO DE BOYACÁ, COLÔMBIA escrito por Ana Milena Serrano Amado, Luz A. Montoya Restrepo, Nidia Paola Amado Cely, foram identificados os fatores determinantes da competitividade dos destinos turísticos da Província de Sugamuxi, a partir do modelo Crouch e Ritchie. Foram revistos alguns modelos de competitividade existentes e estabelecidas conclusões interessantes com vista a gerar uma dinâmica turística crescente na referida província. No quarto artigo de revisão, DESENVOLVIMENTO TERRITORIAL E ECONOMIA SOLIDÁRIA: ANÁLISE A PARTIR DO CONCEITO DE DESENVOLVIMENTO, MEIO AMBIENTE E INCORPORAÇÃO DE COMUNIDADES EM UMA ESTRATÉGIA DE DESENVOLVIMENTO TERRITORIAL, os autores Helmer Fernando Llanez Anaya e Claudia Patricia a Rodríguez, propõem quadro de análise para articular o desenvolvimento territorial e a economia solidária a partir de três dimensões: a ideia de desenvolvimento, a dimensão ambiental e a incorporação das comunidades numa estratégia de desenvolvimento territorial. Para eles, realizaram uma revisão documental em bancos de dados como Redalyc, Scielo, Research Gate, scopus e Web of Science por meio do mecanismo de metabusca da biblioteca da Universidade Javeriana. No último artigo de revisão OFERTA EXPORTAVEL DE CACAU DO DEPARTAMENTO DE NARIÑO, (2010-2018), os autores Yhancy Eliana Coral Rojas, Gladys Omaira Melo Mosquera, Darlan Arley Agredo Madroñero e Jenny Katherine Moncayo Rosero, da Universidade de Nariño na Colômbia , realizar uma revisão secundária sobre o setor do cacau na Colômbia, utilizando a base de dados geral de exportações de Nariño da plataforma oficial da entidade DIAN que apresenta as declarações de exportação de cada região da Colômbia, a plataforma de informação do Legiscomex e do ferramenta de classificação por subtítulo tarifário e por departamento e a variável de pedido em valor FOB (US $). Com os dados obtidos, são estabelecidas algumas recomendações para o setor cacaueiro do departamento de Nariño.