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1281. As Mexico Imploded: Action and Inaction in the United States

Author:
Sidney Weintraub
Publication Date:
07-1997
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The North-South Center, University of Miami
Abstract:
On December 20, 1994, Mexican financial and monetary authorities raised the band within which the peso was permitted to fluctuate by 15 percent. They expected a short-lived shock, some economic adjustment, and then back to business as usual with a modestly devalued peso. Mexico, after all, had a history of currency devaluations, particularly during the transitions from one administration to another. Beyond that, Mexico was not a world monetary powerhouse and what it did would not normally attract great or sustained international attention.
Topic:
Economics and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States, Latin America, and Mexico

1282. Cato Institute's 15th Annual Monetary Conference

Author:
Anna J. Schwartz, Stanley Fischer, Jerry L. Jordan, Leland B. Yeager, Francisco Gil-Diaz, Roberto Salinas-Leon, A. James Meigs, Lawrence Kudlow, William A. Niskanen, Michael Prowse, and Bert Ely
Publication Date:
10-1997
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
On Tuesday, October 15, 1997 the Cato Institute continued its 15 year tradition of exploring pressing and timely issues in international fiscal policy with its meeting Money and Capital Flows in a Global Economy. Speakers including Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan; First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Stanley Fisher; and the Bank of Mexico's Vice Governor, Francisco Gil-Díaz, convened to sort through the pressing issues relevant to global capital flows that face the world economy.
Topic:
Economics, Globalization, and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, North America, Mexico, and Nagasaki

1283. Latin America and the Second Clinton Administration

Author:
Mark Falcoff
Publication Date:
02-1997
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Presidents of the United States are elected to govern the American people, not the Latin American republics. Consequently, one should be neither surprised nor particularly troubled by the fact that many of our chief executives have failed to elicit much enthusiasm south of the border. Indeed, given the genuine differences of national self-interest, we would have ample reason to worry were it otherwise. Even so, one cannot help noticing how very unpopular the first Clinton administration has been in Latin America and with what trepidation most of the republics face the prospects of a second four years.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Economics, Trade, and Bill Clinton
Political Geography:
Latin America and United States of America

1284. Time to End the Certification Circus

Author:
Mark Falcoff
Publication Date:
04-1997
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
More than a decade ago, the U.S. Congress established a procedure whereby each year the president must “certify” that a given country is cooperating with us in the eradication of drug production and trafficking. Governments that lag behind, show little enthusiasm for our crusade, or are found colluding with narco-lords are subject to sanctions. Those “decertified” are denied foreign assistance, as well as U.S. votes for loans at the international financial institutions. Such countries–or, rather, our investors in their countries–also become ineligible for premiums from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Narcotics Trafficking, and Drugs
Political Geography:
Latin America and United States of America

1285. Brazil: The Twisted Path to Reform

Author:
Mark Falcoff
Publication Date:
05-1997
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Although Mexico is, without doubt, the most important Latin American country for the United States, by any standard Brazil should rank close behind. It represents our second largest export market in the region and has become the second largest venue of U.S. investment there. More to the point, in many ways, Brazil is South America, in the sense that its economy is larger than that of all its neighbors combined. In many ways, it is a trendsetter for an entire continent. The success or failure of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso’s reform program will decisively shape the future of Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay and influence strongly developments in Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Economics, Government, and Reform
Political Geography:
Brazil, Latin America, and United States of America

1286. Arms Sales: An Old Issue Revisited

Author:
Mark Falcoff
Publication Date:
06-1997
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Is the United States on the verge of pushing the major Latin American countries into a new arms race? Time seems to think so, to judge by a long article in the April 14 issue. Subtitled “the inside story of how the Pentagon and big defense contractors got the President to open the way for weapons sales to Latin America,” Time claims to provide the background to the Clinton administration’s current review of arms transfer policy. In so doing, the article revives an old controversy, namely, what role the United States plays (or should play) in the acquisition (or denial) of expensive military hardware, particularly to countries that lie within its own sphere of influence and, in the opinion of arms control experts, humanitarians, and journalists, “don’t need weapons at all.”
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Arms Trade
Political Geography:
Latin America

1287. Mexico’s Midterm Elections: A Major Turning Point?

Author:
Mark Falcoff
Publication Date:
07-1997
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
On July 6, Mexicans will go to the polls to elect a new Chamber of Deputies, renew a quarter of the Senate, and choose governors and legislators in six states. They will also have the opportunity to elect–for the first time–the governor of Mexico City, a position that, until now, has been appointive rather than elected. These races amount to both a midterm referendum on the stewardship of President Ernesto Zedillo and a crucial test of his ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Politics, Reform, Elections, and Health Crisis
Political Geography:
Latin America and Mexico

1288. Argentina: Another Round at the Polls

Author:
Mark Falcoff
Publication Date:
10-1997
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
This month President Clinton visits Argentina, a major South American country that in recent years has become one of our most valued and trusted Latin allies. His presence there will underscore the special relationship that President Carlos Sal Menem has forged with the United States, a relationship that is a mirror image of Argentina’s historic antagonism toward Washington and all its works. Clinton’s presence will also highlight Argentina’s significant victories in the economic field–in the war against inflation, in the struggle to reestablish creditworthiness, and, above all, in its efforts to attract significant new foreign investment from Western Europe, Japan, and the United States. The visit precedes by about ten days an important midterm election, which in all probability will determine the political lineup for that country’s 1999 presidential election. In this regard, the most important development has been the creation of a multiparty coalition, the Alliance, which will be running joint lists against the candidates of Menem’s own Peronist Party. If the Peronists hold their own on October 26, Menem will be tempted to make a bid for an unprecedented third term. If they are soundly defeated, the struggle for succession within Peronism will begin the morning after. But a victory for the Alliance by no means clearly points the way for the opposition, which is beset by profound divisions of its own. This vagueness makes these elections a particularly interesting lens through which to view Argentina’s continuing evolution.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Diplomacy, and Economics
Political Geography:
Argentina and Latin America

1289. Defiant Again: Indigenous Poeples and Latin American Security

Author:
Donna Lee Van Cott
Publication Date:
10-1996
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
The cycle of Indian rebellion and government repression that characterized the first centuries of contact between European and Amerindian peoples cannot yet be consigned to the history books. The eruption of an armed movement in southern Mexico, comprised primarily of destitute Maya Indians, as well as smaller demonstrations of resistance in Brazil, Ecuador, and elsewhere speaks eloquently to this fact. While the majority of conflicts between the estimated 40 million indigenous peoples in Latin America and the societies in which they live are now played out in the political arena, security issues continue to generate violent interethnic conflict. Since the Conquest, the interests of indigenous communities usually have conflicted with national governments' security policies. These include a dimension explicitly intended to control the autonomous tendencies of indigenous communities, suppress Indian political organizing, and erase the independent identity of Indian nations.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, and International Law
Political Geography:
Brazil, South America, Latin America, and Central America

1290. The Journey to Democracy: 1986-1996

Author:
Robert A. Pastor
Publication Date:
01-1996
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Carter Center
Abstract:
In my travels throughout Latin America, I have always found the region's leaders eager to converse with American statesmen, but with few exceptions, they mostly had to content themselves with speaking to specialists like me. The kind of transnational dialogue that would permit hemispheric relations to rise to a higher level just did not exist. When President Carter asked if I would direct a new program at The Carter Center, my thoughts turned to the question of whether I could help form a group of senior statesmen from thoughts the hemisphere, who not only could consult with each other, but also work together to advance the ideals of human rights, democracy, social justice, and equitable development that lie at the core of the inter-American promise.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Democratization, and Human Rights
Political Geography:
United States, South America, Latin America, Central America, and Caribbean

1291. Poverty in Latin America: Issues and New Responses-A Rapporteurs' Report

Author:
Gabriela Ippolito-O'Donnell and Brenda Markovitz
Publication Date:
03-1996
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The Kellogg Institute hosted an academic workshop on “Poverty in Latin America: Issues and New Responses,” from 30 September to 1 October 1995. This was the third annual workshop in the series “Project Latin America 2000,” supported by The Coca-Cola Company. The workshop gathered scholars, policymakers, business and labor leaders, grassroots practitioners, and journalists from throughout the Americas to examine current trends in poverty, inequality, and employment emerging in the aftermath of structural adjustment, and to share policy experiences aimed at improving employment opportunities, organizational capabilities, and living conditions of the urban and rural poor. Vilmar Faria (Special Advisor to the President, Brazil) and Víctor Tokman (Assistant Director General and Regional Director for the Americas, International Labor Organization, Peru) organized these events. This report summarizes the academic workshop, including abstracts of each of the papers presented, the discussants’ remarks, the issues debated, and the organizers’ conclusions.
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, Poverty, Economic Growth, Social Justice, and Public Policy
Political Geography:
South America and Latin America

1292. Another Institutionalization: Latin America and Elsewhere

Author:
Guillermo O'Donnell
Publication Date:
03-1996
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The paper expresses skepticism about concepts current in the contemporary literature on democratization, such as 'democratic consolidation' and/or the 'lack of institutionalization' from which most of the new democracies supposedly suffer. The further claim is made that these democracies-or 'polyarchies', to use the term preferred here-have, in fact, two very important institutions, elections and particularism/clientelism, which are not generally recognized as such due to the narrow way in which political scientists usually conceptualize institutions. Finally, the paper traces some correlates and elective affinities resulting from what it labels 'informal institutionalization.' The main argument is that, in order to contribute to improving the quality of many of the new polyarchies, analysts must describe their main features realistically, which requires moving well beyond merely negative characterizations limited to what these countries seem to lack in comparison with older polyarchies.
Topic:
Democratization, Governance, and Institutions
Political Geography:
Europe and Latin America

1293. Poverty and Inequality in Latin America: Some Political Reflections

Author:
Guillermo O'Donnell
Publication Date:
07-1996
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The paper begins with a brief overview of the present social situation of Latin America, arguing that during the 1980s the widespread poverty and deep social inequality already existing in the region further increased. After this the paper reviews several strategies that could be used by would-be reformers, pointing out the potentialities but also the limitations of these strategies. Consequently the present text examines the broad contours of political coalitions that might be able to deal reasonably effectively with poverty and inequality. The paper concludes by arguing that the only possible foundation for these strategies and coalitions is a morally and democratically inspired view of the respect due to the dignity of every human being. The likelihood of such an emergence is not assessed.
Topic:
Democratization, Politics, Poverty, and Inequality
Political Geography:
South America and Latin America

1294. Mexico: The Artist Is A Woman

Author:
Lucreita Giese, Carmen Boullosa, Marjorie Agosín, Sandra Berler, Elena Gascón-Vera, Laura Riesco, and Margo Glantz
Publication Date:
01-1995
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University
Abstract:
The present volume includes essays presented March 4, 1994 at the symposium “Mexico: The Artist Is a Woman” at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. The event commemorated the work of Latin American women in film, photography, and literature. The contributions of these artists in their respective fields reveal the originality and diversity of contemporary Mexican art. Each of the participants has an outstanding artistic career.
Political Geography:
Latin America and Mexico

1295. Report on a Property Issues Conference

Author:
Jimmy Carter, Jennifer McCoy, George Price, and Robert Pastor
Publication Date:
07-1995
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Carter Center
Abstract:
The Carter Center and UNDP co-sponsored a Conference in Nicaragua on July 4-5, 1995 to accelerate resolution of the property problem that has entangled the country's politics and impeded its economic development and democratic consolidation. The culmination of more than one year of intensive analysis and numerous expert missions to Nicaragua by the Carter Center, in collaboration with the UNDP Property Project, the Conference brought together for the first time a group of Nicaraguan leaders representing the entire spectrum of affected interests. With Sandinista leaders sitting next to persons whose property was confiscated in the revolution, the meeting was a visible reminder of the remarkable transformation of Nicaragua from a society torn by war in the 1980s to one committed to the search for solutions to national problems through peaceful, legal means. Hosted by the UNDP and chaired by Jimmy Carter and George Price, the meeting provided an important boost to the Nicaraguan leaders to formulate a definitive solution to the property issue. The conference identified the elements of a package solution and the next steps needed to resolve the complex property problem. During the course of the day and a half meeting, significant consensus emerged on a number of general principles: including that small beneficiaries of urban and agrarian reforms should be protected, that former owners should be compensated with improved bonds, and that recipients of larger properties should either pay for or return those properties (see Appendices 1 and 2). In conversations on the issue of U.S. property claims, Nicaraguan officials explained the progress that has been made on resolving the claims of U.S. citizens, of which one-third to one-half were Nicaraguans who were alleged to have been associates of the former Somoza government and are now U.S. citizens. Former president Carter proposed a Follow-up Commission of representatives of the groups at the Conference to meet immediately to translate the consensus and the general proposals into specific decisions and laws. The 18-person Commission was selected and met on July 14 under the auspices of the UNDP. All parties attended, and the Commission moved expeditiously to develop concrete proposals in two subcommittees: (a) to provide security for small property holders and (b) to increase the value of the bonds. The entire group also discussed large property issues, expanding the privatization program, and ways to address abuses. The Commission set a deadline to complete all their work in three months.
Topic:
International Cooperation and United Nations
Political Geography:
United States, Latin America, Central America, North America, and Nagasaki

1296. Mission to Haiti #3

Author:
Robert A. Pastor
Publication Date:
03-1995
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Carter Center
Abstract:
Independent candidates and representatives from 27 political parties contested more than 2,000 municipal and Parliamentary postions in elections in Haiti on June 25, 1995. In the pre-election period, the Provisional Election Council (CEP) judged the qualifications of nearly 12,000 candidates, and disqualified about one thousand without explanations. The process was so prolonged and contentious that the ballots had to be changed up to the last days, and there were numerous mistakes. The CEP's erratic performance led three parties to boycott the election, and virtually all to question the CEP's judgment and independence. The unresponsiveness of the CEP to legitimate complaints raised by the political parties sowed seeds of distrust in the electoral process.
Topic:
Government and Politics
Political Geography:
United Nations, Latin America, and Caribbean

1297. Nicaraguan Property Disputes

Publication Date:
04-1995
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Carter Center
Abstract:
With the first peaceful transfer of power from one political party to another in Nicaraguan history in 1990, Nicaraguans ended a decade-long civil war and began a process of reconciliation. Within the space of a year, the army was shrunk from 96,000 to less than 15,000 troops, the Nicaraguan Resistance was demobilized, and new forms of dialogue between previously hostile groups emerged. Nevertheless, economic recovery remained elusive in the face of hyperinflation, high expectations and competing demands among organized groups, and a lack of confidence among investors and producers. Disputes over property have played a significant role in Nicaragua's recent political and economic experience, and are a fundamental factor in its future economic recovery and political reconciliation.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Economics, International Law, and Politics
Political Geography:
Latin America and Central America

1298. Elections in Mexico: Third Report

Publication Date:
08-1994
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Carter Center
Abstract:
The national elections on August 21, 1994 will be an important milestone in Mexico's political opening. During the last four years, the Mexican Congress approved a number of important reforms to the electoral process. Yet the Mexican population remains highly skeptical about the integrity of the elections. Opinion polls show that nearly one-half of respondents expect fraud, and more than one half expect post-electoral violence.
Topic:
Democratization and Government
Political Geography:
Latin America, North America, and Mexico

1299. Asian Economic Success and Latin American Failure in the 1980s: New Analyses and Future Policy Implications

Author:
Ajit Singh
Publication Date:
03-1994
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
A striking feature of the world economy during the last decade has been the collapse of economic growth in Latin America whilst industrialization and development have proceeded apace in the Asian countries. This paper first assesses alternative explanations of the Asian economic success and the Latin American failure during the 1980s. Secondly, it examines the related question of the long-term development strategies followed by the outstandingly successful East Asian economies. The paper arrives at rather different analyses and policy conclusions on these issues from those of the international financial institutions and the mainstream economists.
Topic:
Economic Growth, Economic Development, and Financial Institutions
Political Geography:
Asia and Latin America

1300. Religious Change and Women's Status in Latin America: A Comparison of Catholic Base Communities and Pentecostal Churches

Author:
Carol Ann Drogus
Publication Date:
03-1994
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The last 20 years have seen the emergence in Latin America of two religious trends that challenge the traditional Catholic culture. These are the Catholic comunidades eclesiales de base (base communities or CEBs) and Protestant pentecostal religious groups. The author examines the ways in which women's experiences in CEBs and pentecostal groups may change their gender attitudes and roles and describes the new forms of symbolic and participatory opportunities for women within each group. Do women respond to these opportunities by demanding greater access to traditionally male roles in the religious and public spheres? On the other hand, do women tend to gain greater stature and authority in their more traditional roles within the family as a result of their participation in religious groups? The author finds that while both CEB and pentecostal women reconceptualize gender roles, the two religious settings produce different outcomes. Due to the heterogeneity of available sources and methods, the analysis offers necessarily tentative conclusions. It does yield interesting and suggestive contrasts between the two religious groups, however, which can inform both theory and future empirical research.
Topic:
Religion, Women, Catholic Church, Society, and Gender
Political Geography:
Latin America