Political Geography: Latin America

601. China's Evolving Role in Latin America: Can it Be a Win-Win?

Author:: Enrique Dussel Peters
Publication Date:: 09-2015
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Atlantic Council
Abstract:: Weeks before Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with President Barack Obama in Washington, the Atlantic Council's Latin America Center launched a new report that unravels the complexities of the Latin America-China relationship. Titled China's Evolving Role in Latin America: Can it Be a Win-Win?, the report provides five recommendations to help both China and Latin America usher in a mutually beneficial post-commodity-boom relationship. The key to long-term success will be to insure that the relationship promotes—rather than delays—economic growth and social progress in the hemisphere. In the report, renowned Mexico-based China Expert Enrique Dussel Peters, an Atlantic Coucil author and Professor at the Graduate School of Economics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), calls for a ratcheting up of strategic planning and multilateral support so the relation¬ship is a win-win for all parties, including the United States. A deep dive of the state of play is provided for five countries: Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, and Venezuela. These countries illustrate the spectrum of ties with China, ranging from those with long and complex historical relation¬ships to those almost entirely structured around recent opportunities for economic cooperation.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Economics, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:: China and Latin America

602. His Excellency Juan Manuel Santos, President of the Republic of Colombia

Author:: Juan Manuel Santos
Publication Date:: 09-2015
Content Type:: Video
Abstract:: This World Leaders Forum program features an address by His Excellency Juan Manuel Santos, President of the Republic of Colombia, titled, Colombia on the Road to Peace: The Rise of a New Hope, followed by a panel discussion with Columbia University faculty and a question and answer session with the audience.
Topic:: Political Violence, Development, Peace Studies, and Narcotics Trafficking
Political Geography:: Latin America

603. From objects of history to agents of change: Retrospective overview of indigenous movements in the Andean Region

Author:: Thea Gelbspan
Publication Date:: 10-2015
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: There are times where most organizations dedicated to advancing human rights and sustainable development must face the question: What does positive change look like? How does it happen? And, what do we need to understand in order to support these processes effectively? The case of the indigenous movements of the Andean region provides a compelling response to these questions. This book presents a retrospective overview of the social and political movements of indigenous peoples in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia between 1980 and 2010. It describes key developments that set the context for the strategies employed by indigenous organizations in the Andean highlands and the western Amazon in order to have a say in decisions that affect their lands and their lives. It also details the ways in which Oxfam America accompanied these movements in the struggle to claim their rights and identifies some key achievements and lessons learned in the course of their long partnership.
Topic:: Development, International Organization, Political Economy, and History
Political Geography:: Latin America

604. Eco-Competitiveness and Eco-Efficiency: Carbon Neutrality in Latin America

Author:: René Castro
Publication Date:: 11-2015
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:: In 2014, world per capita greenhouse gas emissions, expressed in carbon dioxide equivalent terms (CO2e), exceeded 7 tons. Per capita emissions for Latin America and the Caribbean were even higher, at 9 tons CO2e. To achieve international goals for the stabilization of atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is calling for annual emissions to fall to 2 tons per capita by the year 2050 and 1 ton per capita by the year 2100. It is clear that we face a moral problem: everyone needs to, and can contribute to, the fight against climate change (Pope Francis, 2015). Improvements in eco-efficiency—defined as a combination of reducing waste and reducing the use of raw inputs—offer one strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions while also lowering production costs. In addition, changes in culture—at the level of individual businesses, countries, or both—can enhance the eco-competitive position of these businesses and countries. This paper describes three examples from Costa Rica and shows how the goal of achieving carbon neutrality can provide incentives for improving eco-efficiency and eco-competitiveness.
Topic:: Climate Change, Industrial Policy, International Cooperation, Treaties and Agreements, and Governance
Political Geography:: Latin America

605. Soft Balancing in the Americas: Latin American Opposition to U.S. Intervention, 1898–1936

Author:: Max Paul Friedman and Tom Long
Publication Date:: 08-2015
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Security
Institution:: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:: In the aftermath of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, scholars of international relations debated how to best characterize the rising tide of global opposition. The concept of “soft balancing” emerged as an influential, though contested, explanation of a new phenomenon in a unipolar world: states seeking to constrain the ability of the United States to deploy military force by using multinational organizations, international law, and coalition building. Soft balancing can also be observed in regional unipolar systems. Multinational archival research reveals how Argentina, Mexico, and other Latin American countries responded to expanding U.S. power and military assertiveness in the early twentieth century through coordinated diplomatic maneuvering that provides a strong example of soft balancing. Examination of this earlier case makes an empirical contribution to the emerging soft-balancing literature and suggests that soft balancing need not lead to hard balancing or open conflict.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Imperialism, Post Colonialism, and Military Intervention
Political Geography:: United States, Argentina, Latin America, and Mexico

606. Amérique latine - L’année politique 2015

Author:: Maya Collombon, Hélène Combes, Olivier Dabène, Gaspard Estrada, Marie-Laure Geoffray, Ana Carolina González Espinosa, Erica Guevara, Damien Larrouqué, Marilde Loiola de Menezes, Frédéric Louault, Frédéric Massé, Mohcine Mounjid, Eduardo Rios, and Darío Rodriguez
Publication Date:: 12-2015
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales (CERI)
Abstract:: Amérique latine - L’Année politique is a publication by CERI-Sciences Po’s Political Observatory of Latin America and the Caribbean (OPALC). The study extends the work presented on the Observatory’s website (www.sciencespo.fr/opalc) by offering tools for understanding a continent that is in the grip of deep transformations.
Topic:: Political Violence, Economics, Regional Cooperation, Bilateral Relations, Sociology, and Elections
Political Geography:: Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Arab Countries, Latin America, Nicaragua, Caribbean, Venezuela, Mexico, and United States of America

607. L’insécurité énergétique en Amérique du Sud : développement des réseaux et intégration sectorielle entre le Pérou et le Chili (Energy Insecurity in South America : Network Development and Sectoral Integration in Chile and Peru)

Author:: Alvaro Artigas
Publication Date:: 10-2015
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales (CERI)
Abstract:: The South American continent has experienced a robust economic growth presently overshadowed by an uneven energy integration that fails to meet both an ever-growing industrial and metropolitan demand. Several integration mechanisms co-exist, but a poor integration layout threatens the energy security of the region and individual countries. Several factors contribute to this. Firstly, the very template of regional integration has failed to deliver a valid set of supranational coordination mechanisms aimed at coordinating and sorting out disputes among individual countries. Secondly, national States tie security to self-sufficiency in the face of mutual distrust, thus rendering potential advantages of market and networks integration a less desirable choice. The example of Chile and Peru integration drive reveals many of these dynamics while showing at the same time the windfalls of a transversal sectoral coordination over diplomatic exchange by individual states. What is the potential for an alternative template where the State will play a less intrusive role while consigning territorial disagreements backstage?
Topic:: Economics, International Trade and Finance, Political Economy, Natural Resources, and Regional Integration
Political Geography:: South America, Latin America, Chile, and Peru

608. Violence in Latin America: FSR Interviews Mónica Serrano

Author:: Mónica Serrano
Publication Date:: 07-2015
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Fletcher Security Review
Institution:: The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Abstract:: Mónica Serrano is Professor of International Relations at El Colegio de México, Senior Research Associate at the Centre for International Studies, Oxford University and a Senior Fellow at the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, CUNY. Between 2008 and 2011, as Executive Director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, she worked closely with the UN and other human rights organizations to build momentum behind an emerging international norm to prevent mass atrocities. Dr. Serrano has written extensively on international security, and on the international relations of Latin America, with particular reference to international institutions, security, human rights, transnational crime and civil-military relations.
Topic:: Crime, Globalization, Law Enforcement, Financial Crimes, Violence, Interview, International Crime, and Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
Political Geography:: Colombia, Latin America, and Mexico

609. SOUTH AMERICA FACING BILATERAL INVESTMENT TREATIES: TOWARDS A RETURN OF THE STATE IN DISPUTE SETTLEMENT?

Author:: Magdalena Bas Vilizzio
Publication Date:: 12-2015
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs
Abstract:: In their external relations, States require a regulatory framework intended to preserve their sovereignty, the legal attribute of which independent States are granted and recognized each other and to the exclusion of any other organization. Therefore, it emerges the necessity of a coordination juridical system as International Public Law. However, the regulation of certain subjects has generated changes putting into question some traditional postulates related to the system. That is the case of investor – State dispute settlement, mainly based on bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and on the Convention on the settlement of investment disputes between States and nationals of other States, signed in Washington in 1965 (CW) that creates the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)….
Topic:: Diplomacy, International Law, Regional Cooperation, and Sovereignty
Political Geography:: South America and Latin America

610. The origin of the South American Defense Council. An Argentinean perspective from two models in friction / El origen del Consejo de Defensa Suramericano. Modelos en pugna desde una perspectiva argentina

Author:: Nicolás Comini
Publication Date:: 12-2015
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
Institution:: International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
Abstract:: The South American Defense Council creation was a gradual, complex and multidirectional process. From the beginning, two organizational models marked the negotiations pulse. The forum of politic dialogue and coordination was in constant friction –direct and indirect, depending of the momentum- with the collective security alliance option. The first one was promoted by Brazil and the second one by Venezuela. The article examines Argentina’s position during the work group negotiation of the Council facing both models. In addition, it also analyzes how that position affected the Council’s profile. Argentina went through an unconfident position to an explicit support to the new institution. The main reasons are in this paper.
Topic:: Defense Policy, Regional Cooperation, Integration, and South American Union (UNASUR)
Political Geography:: South America and Latin America

611. Communications Surveilance in Colombia: The Chasm between Technological Capacity and the Legal Framework

Author:: Carlos Cortés Castillo and Celeste Kauffman
Publication Date:: 02-2015
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Dejusticia
Abstract:: This book aims to examinate the colombian legal and jurisprudential framework related to the communication surveillance of today’s technologies. Phrased in the form of hypothesis, the purpose is to demonstrate how intelligence-related laws and jurisprudence fail to ensure that potentially affected rights remain intact.
Topic:: Security, Science and Technology, Communications, and Cybersecurity
Political Geography:: Colombia and Latin America

612. Amphibious Research: Action Research in a Multimedia World

Author:: César Rodríguez
Publication Date:: 06-2015
Content Type:: Research Paper
Institution:: Dejusticia
Abstract:: Action research combines academic studies, participation in public debates, public policy advocay and the strengthening of institutions (for example, think tanks and nongovernmental organizations). This book explores the advantages and challenges of this type of work. Closely interacting with diverse audiences tends to give the action researcher greater empirical accuracy and relevance, and also serves as as source of motivation. Nevertheless, it can also lead to the risk of dispersion, lack of analytical distance and burnout.
Topic:: Science and Technology, Research, Academia, and Multimedia
Political Geography:: Latin America

613. Executive Summary Effective Criminal Defence in Latin America

Author:: Alberto Binder, Ed Cape, and Zaza Namoradze
Publication Date:: 10-2015
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Dejusticia
Abstract:: This document contains the results of a research project, Effective Criminal Defence in Latin America, which was conducted over a two and a half year period commencing in the summer of 2012. It discusses the main issues concerning criminal defence rights for each jurisdiction in the study; (ii) in light of these findings, recommendations designed to improve access to effective criminal defence in practice for each jurisdiction; and (iii) recommendations for the development of international standards on effective criminal defence for the Latin American region.
Topic:: International Law, Criminal Justice, Justice, Criminology, and Legal Sector
Political Geography:: Latin America

614. A Democracy Assembly to Face the New Authoritarian Challenges

Author:: Ladan Boroumand
Publication Date:: 12-2015
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
Abstract:: Sixteen years after the first World Movement Assembly, the situation has dramatically changed. We no longer have the strong wind of triumphant democracy in our sails. Instead, we are facing a reinvigorated wind of authoritarianism that defies us not only in practice but also ideologically and tests our understanding of our own values, our consistency, and our commitment. During the last wave of democratization, civil society emerged as a recognized and legitimate actor on the international stage. If as civil society actors we are being silenced and made irrelevant in our countries, with the help of democratic governments and the global human-rights community we can use the virtual and international stage to reemerge as strong, relevant actors and impose ourselves as our governments’ interlocutors.
Topic:: Civil Society, Human Rights, Authoritarianism, and Democracy
Political Geography:: Latin America and Global Focus

615. From the Center to the Periphery: Holy See's Diplomacy Ideological Displacement After Pope Francis

Author:: Anna Carletti
Publication Date:: 06-2015
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:: Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:: Through an international reading of the first years of his pontificate, associated to the analysis of the global and regional context – emphasizing the Latin-American conjuncture – that preceded him, this research highlights the role that the Holy See can play in the current reordering moment, not only of the religious, but also of the political context. This study also seeks to build new conceptual categories that may be able to explain the notion of transnational religious actor and its role on the international arena, which is considered a secularized system.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Religion, Catholic Church, and Secularism
Political Geography:: Europe, Latin America, and Vatican city

616. United States, Latin America and the XXI Century World: Forging a New Geopolitical Space

Author:: Severino Cabral
Publication Date:: 12-2015
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:: Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:: The paper aims to analyze the relationship of the United States and Cuba considering the post-Cold War international environment, characterized by the rise of a multipolar order and Chinese influence, and the emergence of the Latin world and other relevant regional actors in a new era of global economy.
Topic:: International Relations, Diplomacy, Regional Cooperation, and Global Political Economy
Political Geography:: United States, China, Cuba, Latin America, and North America

617. The Place for Combating Corruption on the Mercosur Agenda (2003-2015)

Author:: Leonardo Granato and Rogerio Gesta Leal
Publication Date:: 12-2015
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:: Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:: The study of anti-corruption policies is a relatively new phenomenon in Latin America. Having in mind that the Inter-American and the United Nations Conventions on the combating of corruption, of 1996 and 2003, respectively, establish the need to deepen intergovernmental cooperation in a complementary and convergent manner to national efforts in this regard, this paper proposes a study of the place that the fight against corruption has had on the Mercosur agenda in the period of 2003-2015, and of its expressions related to the institutionality of the bloc.
Topic:: Corruption, International Cooperation, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:: South America, Latin America, and North America

618. The Colombian peacebuilding process: discussion at an international seminar

Author:: Augusto Varas
Publication Date:: 01-2015
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:: Peace talks between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia have created international expectations of an end to the longest internal armed conflict in Latin America. However, peace negotiations are facing crucial obstacles: agreements reached thus far are too general and need further detailed development; both parties are facing internal opposition; the social demand for transitional justice is widespread, but its implementation will be difficult; and, because of this, legitimising a peace agreement would require a protracted political effort, civic participation and a solid communication campaign explaining the terms of the agreement. The post-agreement phase would require the implementation of key public policies to close the rural-urban gap and cut the guerrilla-drug trafficking link; new and more efficient government agencies at the subnational level should be created to deliver public goods; military institutions should have greater civilian control and leadership to transform their role from internal security to that of national defence; and since the peace process has been gender blind, it will be crucial to increase women’s participation in the peacebuilding process. Arms decommissioning and arsenal destruction should have a blueprint, and social movements should oversee the enforcement of peace agreements and peacebuilding policies.
Topic:: Narcotics Trafficking, Peacekeeping, Conflict, and Drugs
Political Geography:: Colombia, South America, and Latin America

619. The Colombian peace process: paradoxes and dilemmas

Author:: Juan Gabriel Tokatlian
Publication Date:: 01-2015
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:: The parties to the conflict in Colombia are relatively close to a final agreement, but obstacles remain. Internal tensions remain high in Colombia, despite the advances in Havana, and the need to promote a “pedagogy for peace” is urgent in light of these tensions. In particular, the transformations and adjustments required to achieve a successful peace and not just a temporary reduction of violence need to be focused on. A NOREF-Universidad Di Tella seminar in Buenos Aires concluded that the GOC-FARC negotiation process is gradually becoming a fact of Colombian politics, but frictions will grow as peace becomes more likely. The issues of land, the state and the rule of law will remain central to Colombian society and therefore to the peace process. In a problem-filled global environment, peace in Colombia could be a positive factor. The U.S. has not undermined the peace negotiations as it did under previous Colombian administrations, while the participation of Latin America will be significant in building peace in Colombia.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Peacekeeping, Negotiation, and Violence
Political Geography:: Colombia, South America, and Latin America

620. An agriculture-focused, regionally disaggregated SAM for Mexico 2008

Author:: Luis Carlos Jemio, Lykke E. Andersen, Clemens Breisinger, and Manfred Wiebelt
Publication Date:: 01-2015
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:: This paper describes the construction of a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) for the Mexican economy for year 2008. It presents the methodology and data sources used, assumptions made, criteria adopted to disaggregate the SAM’s accounts and the main results obtained. The Mexico SAM was built as the main data base for the calibration of a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Model, used to investigate the quantitative effects of climate change on the Mexican economy, with emphasis on analyzing its distributional impacts. Since the effects of climate change are mainly transmitted to the economy through the agricultural sector and since impacts on agriculture differ across regions, the Mexico SAM presents a significant disaggregation in the accounts referred to the agricultural activities and to income distribution, redistribution and income spending across households and regions. The final disaggregated SAM is quite large and is included in the accompanying spreadsheet file.
Topic:: Agriculture, Economy, and Social Accounting
Political Geography:: Latin America and Mexico

621. Reforming National Oil Companies: Nine Recommendations

Author:: Patrick Heller, Paasha Mahdavi, and Johannes Schreuder
Publication Date:: 07-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Natural Resource Governance Institute
Abstract:: Some national oil companies (NOCs) have contributed heavily to successful efforts to harness benefits from the oil sector and drive broader national development. In other cases, however, NOCs have become inefficient managers of national resources, obstacles to private investment, drains on public coffers, or sources of patronage and corruption. As such, NOC reform—incremental in some cases, fundamental in others—lies at or near the top of the policy agendas of many oil-rich countries. Building on existing literature, we surveyed 12 NOCs from diverse geographical and operational contexts to distill practical steps that policy-makers can take to make their countries' NOCs more effective and more accountable—to governments and to citizens. Our recommendations can be seen in both the executive summary and the full report.
Topic:: Oil, Transparency, Data, and State-Owned Enterprises
Political Geography:: Europe, Malaysia, Middle East, Kazakhstan, Norway, Asia, Kuwait, Brazil, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Latin America, Mexico, Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, Cameroon, and Sub-Saharan Africa

622. Left in the Cold? The ELN and Colombia's Peace Talks

Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: Whether the National Liberation Army (ELN) joins the current peace process is one of the biggest uncertainties around Colombia's historic opportunity to end decades of deadly conflict. Exploratory contacts continue, and pressure to advance decisively is growing, as the Havana negotiations with the larger Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) approach a decisive point. However, hopes fresh negotiations with the second insurgency were imminent were repeatedly dashed in 2013. Agreeing on an agenda and procedures that satisfy the ELN and are consistent with the Havana frame-work will not be easy. The ELN thinks the government needs to make an overture or risk ongoing conflict; the government believes the ELN must show flexibility or risk being left out. But delay is in neither's long-term interest. A process from which the ELN is missing or to which it comes late would lack an essential element for the construction of sustainable peace. Both sides, therefore, should shift gears to open negotiations soonest, without waiting for a perfect alignment of stars in the long 2014 electoral season.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Treaties and Agreements, War on Drugs, Insurgency, and Narcotics Trafficking
Political Geography:: Colombia and Latin America

623. Scarcity without Leviathan: The Violent Effects of Cocaine Supply Shortages in the Mexican Drug War

Author:: Juan Camilo Castillo, Daniel Mejia, and Pascual Restrepo
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:: Using the case of the cocaine trade in Mexico as a relevant and salient example, this paper shows that scarcity leads to violence in markets without third party enforcement. We construct a model in which supply shortages increase total revenue when demand is inelastic. If property rights over revenues are not well defined because of the lack of reliable third party enforcement, the incentives to prey on others and avoid predation by exercising violence increase with scarcity, thus increasing violence. We test our model and the proposed channel using data for the cocaine trade in Mexico. We found that exogenous supply shocks originated in changes in the amount of cocaine seized in Colombia (Mexico's main cocaine supplier) create scarcity and increase drug-related violence in Mexico.
Topic:: Crime, Economics, War on Drugs, Narcotics Trafficking, and Law Enforcement
Political Geography:: Colombia, Latin America, and Mexico

624. From Maize to Haze: Agricultural Shocks and the Growth of the Mexican Drug Sector

Author:: Oeindrila Dube, Omar Garcia-Ponce, and Kevin Thom
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:: We examine how commodity price shocks experienced by rural producers affect the drug trade in Mexico. Our analysis exploits exogenous movements in the Mexican maize price stemming from weather conditions in U.S. maize-growing regions, as well as export flows of other major maize producers. Using data on over 2,200 municipios spanning 1990-2010, we show that lower prices differentially increased the cultivation of both marijuana and opium poppies in municipios more climatically suited to growing maize. This increase was accompanied by differentially lower rural wages, suggesting that households planted more drug crops in response to the decreased income generating potential of maize farming.
Topic:: Agriculture, Economics, Poverty, War on Drugs, and Narcotics Trafficking
Political Geography:: Latin America and Mexico

625. Beyond Equal Rights

Author:: Michelle Bachelet
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Women's political and economic participation strengthens democracy, equality and the economy. And while women's empowerment and full participation in society are important goals in themselves, they are also vital for reducing poverty, achieving universal education, improving maternal and child health, and fulfilling other development goals. Increasing the presence of women in politics not only responds to their rights as citizens; it enriches political discourse, decision-making and inclusiveness, and improves social conditions through the passage of equitable laws and policies.
Topic:: Economics and Politics
Political Geography:: Latin America

626. Cholera and the Road to Modernity: Lessons from One Latin American Epidemic for Another

Author:: Jonathan Weigel and Paul Farmer
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Haiti is currently battling the world's largest cholera epidemic in half a century. An integrated, comprehensive response—including case-finding and rapid treatment, water and sanitation efforts, and vaccination—could bring cholera to heel on Hispaniola and help prevent its spread elsewhere in the region.1 But the local and international response has, to date, fallen short. Tens of thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths were reported in May and June of this year.2 If the disease had appeared in the United States or elsewhere in the developed world, all available control tools would have been deployed. But the safe, effective and inexpensive cholera vaccine has only recently become available in Haiti. In April, the Haitian Ministry of Health and two healthcare nonprofits began delivering vaccines to about 91,000 people in rural and urban Haiti.
Topic:: Development and Health
Political Geography:: United States and Latin America

627. The Paradox of Girls' Educational Attainment

Author:: Hugo Nopo
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Women's socioeconomic and political progress advanced dramatically across the globe in the last half of the twentieth century, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean. Yet gender disparities remain high, and bridging those gaps has been a slow process. This is partly explained by negative stereotypes and misguided perceptions of gender roles—both still prevalent in Latin America. Such stereotypes not only distort many social interactions at home and in the workplace; they act as disincentives for girls to apply themselves in advanced study—particularly in mathematics. Just as significantly, they affect the overall labor supply. In both formal and informal labor markets, where Latin American families get 80 percent of their total income, gender gaps remain. Although the level of women's participation in the workforce has markedly increased over the past two decades across the region, three out of every five workers are male.
Topic:: Education
Political Geography:: Latin America and Caribbean

628. Increasing Women's Representation in Politics

Author:: Magda Hinojosa
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Dilma Rousseff. Laura Chinchilla. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Michelle Bachelet. The political successes of these women should not divert our attention from the sizeable gender imbalance in politics that exists across the region. Slightly more than half of all Latin American citizens are female, but women occupy only one of every seven seats in legislatures—and only one of every 20 mayoral posts in the region. In fact, the existence of a presidenta appears to tell us little about how women fare politically in her country. Although Dilma Rouseff holds Brazil's highest office, only 8.8 percent of federal deputies in Brazil are women and only 14.3 percent of ministers are women. This is far behind the rest of the region. And despite Michelle Bachelet's success in Chile, women's representation in Chile's national legislature is below the regional average. [See Table 1] Women have made tremendous gains since the 1970s, when women's representation in Costa Rica's national assembly (at a mere 7 percent) was the highest in the region, and when five countries filled less than 1 percent of their legislative seats with women. The most striking changes in women's legislative representation have come since 2000—not coincidentally, after the majority of Latin American countries adopted gender quotas during the late 1990s.
Topic:: Politics
Political Geography:: Brazil, Latin America, and Chile

629. Women in Robes

Author:: Sital Kalantry
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: For the first time in United States history, three of the nine justices sitting on the Supreme Court are women. About 33 percent of state and federal court judges in the U.S. are women, slightly higher than the global average of 27 percent. Why does this matter? Scores of empirical studies have attempted to determine whether the gender of a judge makes a difference to his or her decisions. But regardless of whether it does, equal representation for women in the judiciary strengthens the rule of law and should be a goal across the Americas. Increasingly, women in the region have overcome stiff challenges to becoming judges. Although the statistics for Latin American countries are slightly lower overall than in the U.S., they signal impressive progress. [See Table 1] For example, in 2010 18 percent of judges in Brazil's highest court were women, compared to 0 percent in 1998. In Peru, the figure was 23 percent in 2010 versus 6 percent in 1998.
Political Geography:: United States, Europe, Brazil, and Latin America

630. Diversity Equals Dollars

Author:: Cedric Herring
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: For many people, gender diversity is important because it removes barriers that have historically prevented women from taking their rightful places in the corridors of power. But there's also a specific business case to be made: including more women in the corporate setting will help meet customers' needs, enrich understanding of the pulse of the marketplace and improve the quality of products and services. The business case rests on what should be an obvious point: companies cannot effectively sell to women if they do not understand and value women, whether as customers or as employees. Therefore, increasing gender diversity in Latin American companies, especially in mass consumer-oriented sectors where women form large portions of the actual or potential customer base, will help boost their bottom line. In the United States, proponents of diversity commonly make the claim that diversity pays. The greater the diversity among employees, the broader their perspectives, resulting in an ability to marshal a wider array of intellectual and cultural resources to solve problems. Diversity also is a source of creative conflict that can lead to a re-examination of assumptions that would otherwise be dominated by male points of view. The putative competitive advantages—fresh ideas, positive outreach and communication with customers, more qualified workers— have persuaded many companies that diversity can produce greater profit.
Political Geography:: United States and Latin America

631. The Public Debate Over Private Lives

Author:: Joan Caivano and Jane Marcus-Delgado
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Every day, women across Latin America are terminating their pregnancies under illegal and unsafe circumstances. The number of unsafe abortions—which represent about 95 percent of the total—grew from 3.9 million in 2003 to 4.2 million in 2008, with the annual abortion rate holding steady during that period, at about 32 abortions per 1,000 women between the ages 15 to 44. That's more than double the rate in Western Europe (12 per 1,000)—where abortion is generally permitted without exception. The high rate of unsafe abortions, which is defined by the World Health Organization as a termination of pregnancy performed by individuals without necessary skills, or under conditions that are below minimum medical standards (or both), underlines the dismal state of reproductive rights in the region. And it has had chilling consequences for poor and rural women in particular.
Topic:: World Health Organization
Political Geography:: Latin America

632. Peace, Women and Security: A Latin American Perspective

Author:: Renata Avelar Giannini
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: The United Nations Security Council has promoted a gender focus in peacekeeping operations, including the protection of civilians, since the adoption of Resolution 1325 (RES1325) in 2000. The logic is simple: involving women in peace negotiations and reconstruction efforts helps ensure a more equitable and stable society following conflict. Since December 2000, Latin American participation in peacekeeping operations has increased by nearly 1,000 percent.1 Of 7,140 military troops deployed in peacekeeping operations worldwide, female personnel participating in those missions total 238, or 3.3 percent. In the two missions with the most Latin American personnel, the region's female representation is higher than that of many other countries, but still lower than the target of 10 percent laid out in UN RES1325. For example, female personnel make up only 2 percent of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), but they make up 2.5 percent of all troops deployed from Latin America.2 Likewise, in the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, overall female participation is 2.2 percent, but women make up 6.4 percent of Latin American personnel deployed.
Topic:: Security and United Nations
Political Geography:: Latin America

633. The Uphill Battle of Justice Reform

Author:: Maria Garcia Andia
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: The strength and quality of democracy depend on how well judiciaries perform and function. In Latin America, after more than 20 years of judicial reforms, there have been some notable achievements. But there is a long way to go before judiciaries can adequately carry out their responsibilities to resolve conflicts, define and interpret rights and laws, and provide the framework for accessible, impartial systems of justice. The judicial reform movement that began in the 1980s—an effort that accompanied the rebuilding of democratic systems—sought to overhaul existing penal codes and procedures to respond to citizens' claims of human rights violations, and to pursue truth, justice and accountability for abuses committed during the dictatorships. Reforms were later expanded and deepened, while others did not take effect until the late 2000s.
Topic:: Government
Political Geography:: Brazil and Latin America

634. Latin America's tourism boom — Evangelicalism in Brazil.

Author:: Olivia Ruggles-Brise
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Latin America's travel and tourism industry took a hit during the 2008–2009 recession. International arrivals slowed and tourists had less money to spend. But over the longer term, tourism has been a success story—and forecasts suggest continued growth. That should surprise no one. Latin America's sheer diversity in scenic beauty, cuisine and cultures has combined with an increasingly sophisticated domestic industry to cater to every kind of traveler. Since 2006, tourism's direct contribution to GDP in Latin America has grown by 7 percent in real terms—more than double the world average—to reach an estimated $134 billion in 2011. This figure, which is projected to rise to $224 billion in 2022, includes revenue generated by tourism-oriented services such as hotels and airlines, as well as restaurant and leisure industries that cater to tourists. Forecasts for this year suggest tourism's direct contributions will grow by 6.5 percent, behind only Northeast and South Asia (6.7 percent).
Topic:: Economics
Political Geography:: United States, Brazil, and Latin America

635. Book reviews on Chilean democracy, the region's commodity boom and the politics of redistribution.

Author:: Maria de los Angeles Fernandez and Peter M. Siavelis
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Commentary on Chilean democracy has evolved from praise to concern since conservative President Sebastián Piñera moved into La Moneda Palace in 2010, bringing the Right to power for the first time in over 50 years. The praise was well-earned. Piñera's victory not only showed the Right's vote-getting ability; the peaceful alternation of power in Chile offered conclusive demonstration of one of the continent's most successful democratic transitions. Nevertheless, the Right's victory, which ended 20 years of government by the center-left Concertación, also coincided with a challenge to perceptions about Chile as a paragon of fiscal discipline and political stability. Contemporary Chile is convulsed by social mobilization, and by demands for redistribution and deep reforms to the economic and social model that was once heralded across the region.
Topic:: Government and Politics
Political Geography:: Europe and Latin America

636. Not Poor, But Not Middle Class Yet

Author:: Luis Felipe Lopez-Calva
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: During the first decade of the twenty-first century, Latin America's increasing prosperity and social progress have led analysts to conclude that historic change is taking place. Indeed, poverty in Latin America fell from 41.4 percent in 2000 to 28 percent in 2010, even at a time of global distress1—a result, in part, of both sustained economic growth and reductions in inequality. As a result, the focus in policy circles has switched to the role an emerging middle class can play in the region, both as an engine of growth and as the foundation for social cohesion and better governance. The key to understanding this shift is accurately defining the middle class in economic terms.
Topic:: Economics and Governance
Political Geography:: Latin America

637. Latin America's Middle Class in Global Perspective

Author:: Jamele Rigolini
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Latin America and the Caribbean is experiencing a dramatic surge of its middle class. In just a decade, the proportion of people in Latin America and the Caribbean with a daily per capita income (in purchasing power parity) between $10 and $50 a day went from around one-fifth to one-third. For the first time in history, there are as many people in the middle class as there are in moderate poverty (i.e., per capita earnings below $4 per day). This socioeconomic shift stems largely from the sustained rates of economic growth in the 2000s that in most—though not all— countries trickled down and generated higher incomes. But growth in the 2000s was not exclusive to Latin America and the Caribbean. While the industrialized world was facing a challenging decade, many emerging economies surfed past the global turbulences and continued to grow, lifting people out of poverty and feeding the ranks of their middle classes.
Topic:: Poverty
Political Geography:: Latin America and Caribbean

638. The Middle Class Market Boom

Author:: Maria-Eugenia Boza
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: There's been an amazing revolution in the global commercial landscape. The developing world has emerged as one of the most promising wholesale and retail markets. Many of these regions in the past were valued primarily as a source of cheap labor—often in maquilas and sweatshops. Today they are seen as a source of new consumers.
Political Geography:: China, India, and Latin America

639. Ask the Experts

Author:: Alicia Barcena, Franciso Rivera-Batiz, Georges Haddad, and Rebeca Grynspan
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Educational achievement has always marked and defined the middle class. Public policies that have led to mass access to education have led to a broad-based improvement in educational accomplishments, among them higher completion rates in secondary and tertiary education. This has led to more upward mobility in terms of earnings and types of occupation. Still, there has been an education depreciation effect. The higher the average years of schooling, the more demanding the labor market becomes in rewarding those educational achievements. Many non-manual jobs that require more schooling often see their rate of return to education deteriorate. As those non-manual jobs pay less for schooled employees, their workers fall below the income threshold characteristic of the middle class.
Topic:: Education
Political Geography:: United States and Latin America

640. Double Profit: Financing Consumers

Author:: Alana Tummino
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Across Latin America, retailers, telecommunications companies and shopping malls are reaping the benefits of a growing middle class that is able to shop more and spend more. According to McKinsey Company, Latin America is one of the largest emerging markets in the world with a combined GDP of $3.2 trillion, boasting triple the GDP per capita of China and seven times that of India.
Topic:: Emerging Markets
Political Geography:: China, India, and Latin America

641. Latin America's mortgage market — Human rights threats — Brazil's World Cup and Olympics readiness.

Author:: Luis Cubeddu, Camilo Tovar, and Evridiki Tsounta
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Since 2003, mortgage credit in Latin America has expanded at an annual rate of 14 percent (adjusted for inflation)—well above rates observed in emerging Asia but below the exorbitant rates seen in emerging Europe before its housing bust. The region's credit expansion has been accompanied by burgeoning real estate prices and construction activity—now representing more than 6 percent of GDP, higher than in emerging Asia or Europe. Mortgage growth has been particularly strong in Brazil, where the five-fold increase in mortgage credit since 2007 has been accompanied by a near tripling of house prices in the main metropolitan areas.
Topic:: Human Rights
Political Geography:: Brazil and Latin America

642. Promoting the International Use of Emerging Country Currencies: The Case of Local Currency Debt Issuance for Latin America and the Caribbean

Author:: Andrew Powell
Publication Date:: 01-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: There are many dimensions to the international use of a nation's currency. These include the use of a currency for trade invoicing and settlement, the use of a currency to denominate assets to be held as a store of value, for example, as central bank reserves, and the use of a currency to denominate liabilities such as loans or bonds.
Topic:: Debt, Economics, and Governance
Political Geography:: Latin America and Caribbean

643. A High-Carbon Partnership? Chinese-Latin American Relations in a Carbon-Constrained World

Author:: Timmons Roberts and Guy Edwards
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Brookings Institution
Abstract:: China's rapidly increasing investment, trade and loans in Latin America may be entrenching high-carbon development pathways in the region, a trend scarcely mentioned in policy circles. High-carbon activities include the extraction of fossil fuels and other natural resources, expansion of large-scale agriculture and the energy-intensive stages of processing natural resources into intermediate goods. This paper addresses three examples, including Chinese investments in Venezuela's oil sector and a Costa Rican oil refinery, and Chinese investment in and purchases of Brazilian soybeans. We pose the question of whether there is a tie between China's role in opening up vast resources in Latin America and the way those nations make national climate policy and how they behave at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations. We focus on the period between the 2009 Copenhagen round of negotiations and the run-up to the Paris negotiations scheduled for 2015, when the UNFCCC will attempt to finalize a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol.
Topic:: Agriculture, Development, International Trade and Finance, Oil, Natural Resources, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:: China and Latin America

644. Effective Public Policies and Active Citizenship: Brazil's experience of building a food and nutrition security system

Author:: Marília Leão and Renato S. Maluf
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Brazil has achieved promising results in the fight against hunger and poverty. This paper describes the path toward building a new governance framework for the provision of public policies that initiated a virtuous cycle for the progressive elimination of hunger and poverty. However, it is important to emphasize that the country continues to be characterized by dynamics that generate inequalities and threaten social and environmental justice.
Topic:: Agriculture, Economics, Poverty, Food, and Governance
Political Geography:: Brazil and Latin America

645. Resource Nationalism: Beyond Ideology

Author:: Hal Weitzman
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Latin America's political Left has displayed symptoms of bipolarity for much of the past decade. An early purveyor of this diagnosis was Jorge Castañeda, former Mexican foreign secretary (2001-2003), who in 2004 identified what he called "two Lefts" in a piece for Project Syndicate. One Left had "truly socialist and progressive roots" that was "following pragmatic, sensible and realistic paths." The other stemmed from "a populist, purely nationalist past" that had "proven much less responsive to modernizing influences."
Political Geography:: Latin America

646. Crossing Boundaries

Author:: Anthony Bebbington
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: The extraction of oil, natural gas and minerals is transforming Latin America. The conflicts that accompany this extraction have become part of the social and political landscape in much of the region. Some of this conflict has been violent. In June 2009, a confrontation between protestors and police in Bagua, Peru left at least 43 people dead, including 33 policemen. In September 2011, the Bolivian government cracked down on protestors who marched from Trinidad to La Paz in opposition to a highway designed to pass through the Territorio Indígena y Parque Nacional Isiboro Sécure (Isiboro Sécure Indigenous Territory and National Park-TIPNIS) that, among other things, would have facilitated hydrocarbon extraction. Mining Watch reports that since 2008, four activists have been murdered in Cabañas, El Salvador, where Canada's Pacific Rim Mining Corporation hopes to open a new gold mine; local organizations believe these deaths are linked to the mining project. In the Cajamarca region of Peru, site of the Yanacocha gold mine, many activists and protestors have been harassed and some killed for over a decade.
Political Geography:: Latin America

647. Avoiding the Resource Curse

Author:: Rosemary Thorp, Jose Carlos Orihuela, and Maritza Paredes
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: A country's ownership of rich natural resources is not necessarily a blessing. It presents a set of extraordinary challenges for policy makers. Bonanzas in foreign exchange all too easily create overvaluation and undermine efforts at economic diversification. At the socio-political level, mineral exploitation provokes intractable social conflicts, while the prospect of environmental contamination is ever-present.
Political Geography:: Canada and Latin America

648. The latest shift in Spain-Latin America migration — Chile's start-up ecosystem — Mexico's aviation parts industry

Author:: Aurora Garcia Ballesteros and Beatriz Cristina Jiminez Blasco
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Latin America has historically played an important role in Spain's migratory cycles—both as a sender and as a recipient. Spanish political immigration to the hemisphere surged following the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) and again after World War II, when Spaniards flocked to Latin America for economic reasons. The flow reversed with the late-1980s economic crises in Latin America. Between 1996 and 2010, Latin Americans in Spain—measured by those who obtained Spanish citizenship—grew nearly tenfold, from 263,190 to 2,459,089. Now Europe's economic crisis, which has acutely affected Spain, is causing the flows to shift again. According to data from Spain's National Institute of Statistics (INE), for the first time in this century, more people are now leaving Spain than moving to it. Net migration in 2011 was reported at negative 50,090 people, with 507,740 leaving Spain and 457,650 arriving.
Topic:: Economics, Migration, and War
Political Geography:: Latin America and Spain

649. Latin America's Changing Global Connections

Author:: Leani García
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: There's no denying it; whether it's share of trade or percent of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the hemi sphere, the U.S.' economic presence has decreased. Even when the U.S. didn't slip a place in terms of a trade partner, its overall share of countries' imports or exports declined across the board, while other countries' increased—especially China's. In the same period, in Argentina and Brazil, the share of U.S. FDI declined by 22% and 27%, respectively.
Topic:: Economics and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:: Brazil, Argentina, and Latin America

650. Latin America Goes Global

Author:: Jorge Heine
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: On January 26 and 27, representatives from 61 nations, including 43 heads of state, gathered in Santiago, Chile for the 7th bi-regional summit of EU-LAC Heads of State and Government. It was one of the largest summits ever held in South America, and the first time that the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), launched in 2010, participated as the EU's institutional counterpart.
Topic:: Government
Political Geography:: South America, Latin America, Chile, and Santiago

651. Gringo Stay Here!

Author:: Andy Baker
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: "Why do they hate us?” This question1, on so many U.S. citizens' minds over the decade following the September 11, 2001, attacks, is often asked about Islamic extremists and even the broader Muslim world. Among the most common responses is that “they” resent U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. When the focus shifts to Latin America, U.S. foreign policy similarly appears to be the principal reason for anti-Americanism. This seems to make sense. One would be hard-pressed to find another world region with greater and more long-standing grievances about Washington's actions. The Monroe Doctrine, Dollar Diplomacy and Cold War Containment were euphemisms for imperial abuses committed against Latin America over the course of two centuries.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Cold War, and Islam
Political Geography:: United States, Middle East, and Latin America

652. The Next Big Thing? The Trans-Pacific Partnership Latin America

Author:: Jeffrey J. Schott and Barbara Kotschwar
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: The hottest topic in world trade these days is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Hailed as a state-of-the-art free trade agreement (FTA), it will unite 11 countries—Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam—with a combined GDP of almost $21 trillion (about 30 percent of world GDP) and $4.4 trillion in exports of goods and services, or about a fifth of total world exports. If you add Japan and South Korea—who are actively exploring entry later this year—TPP would cover 40 percent of world GDP and nearly a third of world exports.
Political Geography:: United States, Malaysia, Canada, Latin America, Singapore, Peru, New Zealand, and Brunei

653. The Next Step: Latin America's Growing Economies

Author:: Alejandro M. Werner and Oya Celasun
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Latin America has bounced back economically in the past decade. Between 2002 and 2012, the region has seen strong and stable growth, low inflation and improved economic fundamentals. As a result, the weight of the region in global economic output increased from about 6 percent in the 1990s to 8 percent in 2012. With that has come a greater voice in the global economy.
Topic:: Economics
Political Geography:: Brazil, Latin America, and Mexico

654. Brazil's Second-Best Financial Strategy

Author:: Seth Colby
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: In November 2009, the cover of The Economist showed the iconic Christ statue overlooking Rio de Janeiro blasting off into outer space. This image, along with the cover headline, "Brazil Takes Off," represented the Carnaval-like euphoria about Brazil that infected journalists and financial markets at the time, buoyed by the country's impressive economic performance in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis.
Topic:: Economics and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:: Brazil and Latin America

655. Latin America Has Moved On: U.S. Scholarship Hasn't

Author:: Mariano Bertucci
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: The study of what scholars focus on and debate helps to shape how policy is understood and discussed in the public realm and, sometimes, even made. However, a close look at the past three decades of scholarly publications on U.S.–Latin American relations, covering 174 peer-reviewed articles and 167 non-edited books, reveals a disconnect with many of the themes and realities in the region today.
Topic:: Security and Foreign Policy
Political Geography:: Latin America

656. Ask the Experts: Going Global

Author:: Howard J. Wiarda, Flavio Dario Espinal, Pablo E. Guidatti, and Cynthia J. Arnson
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Political and economic integration schemes have long been a staple of Latin American foreign policy. But changes in the regional and global economy since the early 2000s have created new incentives for the reform of global governance mechanisms to reflect the new constellations of political and economic power. South American countries benefited from soaring Chinese demand for commodities, energy and agricultural products, put their fiscal houses in order after years of painful adjustment, and implemented social programs that lifted tens of millions of people out of poverty and reduced inequality. The United States and Europe, meanwhile, remain mired in recession, leading prominent Latin American intellectuals to speak of historic power shifts from West to East.
Political Geography:: United States, Europe, and Latin America

657. The 2013 Social Inclusion Index

Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: We created the Social Inclusion Index last year for the fifth anniversary issue of AQ to provide a more nuanced and multifaceted discussion of a topic that is very much on the agenda of policymakers, multilateral agencies and politicians.
Political Geography:: Latin America

658. Affirmative Action in the Americas

Author:: Tanya K. Hernandez
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: The Americas present many contrasting approaches to affirmative action. In the United States, the Supreme Court reaffirmed its constitutionality, while at the same time narrowing the ability to use race in the Fisher v. Texas case. In contrast, several Latin American countries are beginning to explore more dynamic affirmative action policies. While many of these policies are recent and still developing, the new Latin American interest in affirmative action programs indicates how useful such programs can be in pursuing racial justice. In fact, Latin America has in some ways gone much further in broadly embracing affirmative action as a human right-a key, perhaps, to the growing support for the concept.
Topic:: Human Rights
Political Geography:: United States, Germany, and Latin America

659. Clean, Cheap Energy

Author:: Mari Hayman
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: While clean energy sources are gradually becoming more affordable, wind turbines and solar panels are still prohibitively expensive for much of the world's poor. To fill the demand for cheap, alternative energy, a number of do-it-yourself innovations that cost next to nothing have popped up across the globe. They require little technical expertise to use, and could provide a lifeline for low-income households. Take, for example, the "solar bottle bulb"—a plastic bottle filled with purified water and bleach that is used as a makeshift light bulb in the Philippines. Though the bulbs only work during daylight hours, they offer poor families a cheap, renewable energy source and generate as much light as a 55-watt bulb. Since 2011, the MyShelter Foundation has promoted the Isang Litrong Liwanag ("Liter of Light") project, which trains residents to make and install the bulbs themselves and aims to light 1 million homes by the end of 2015. SOCCKET, a soccer ball that stores kinetic energy while getting kicked around to power everything from cell phones and batteries to LED reading lamps, is another example of do-it-yourself energy. When the soccer ball is in motion, a pendulum mechanism inside generates energy that is stored in a lightweight lithium ion battery within the ball. After the game is over, electronic devices can be powered by plugging into a socket on the ball. According to SOCCKET co-creator Jessica Matthews, it's a fun and effective way to generate electricity. Thirty minutes of soccer can provide about three hours of LED light, and thousands of the balls, which retail for around $100, have been distributed to developing countries in Africa and Latin America through Matthew's for-profit social enterprise, Uncharted Play, which is planning a retail launch this fall...
Political Geography:: Canada and Latin America

660. Cross-border e-commerce — Telecommunications reform in Mexico — Emerging debt markets

Author:: Kent Allen
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: E-Commerce: Easing Cross-Border E-Commerce BY KENT ALLEN The age of digital commerce is dawning in Latin America, with cross-border marketers looking to the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics in Brazil as opportunities to connect with online shoppers. Will the region capitalize on its e-commerce potential? The cross-border e-commerce math is simple. More online traffic means more sales opportunities, especially for digitally savvy brands from the U.S. and United Kingdom. The number of Latin Americans accessing the Internet jumped 12 percent last year, and mobile traffic is on the rise too. From July 2011 to July 2012, Flurry Analytics reports that four of the 10 fastest growing iOS and Android markets, as measured by the number of active devices, were in the Americas: Chile (279 percent); Brazil (220 percent); Argentina (217 percent); and Mexico (193 percent). Federico Torres, CEO of Traetelo, a cross-border marketplace solely focused on Latin America, explained why the region's future is digital at the June 2013 Chicago Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition, the world's largest e-commerce conference. According to Traetelo, Chile (27 percent growth), Mexico (19 percent) and Brazil (19 percent) were among the five fastest-growing e-commerce markets in the world last year. “Three-quarters of Latin America shoppers find the products they search for on U.S. e-commerce sites,” said Torres.
Topic:: Government and Reform
Political Geography:: United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, Latin America, and Mexico

661. Waiting for the "Bitles" in Mexico — World Games in Cali — Milkshakeburgers in the U.S. —10 Things to Do in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Panorama Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and events from around the hemisphere with AQ's Panorama. Each issue, AQ packs its bags and offers readers travel tips on a new Americas destination. In this issue: Mexico is Still Waiting for “Los Bitles” World Games, Cali American Sabor 10 Things to Do: Ponce, Puerto Rico Heart-Stopping U.S. Food Festivals From the Think Tanks.
Topic:: Security and Governance
Political Geography:: United States, Europe, Latin America, and Mexico

662. Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Author:: Silvio Waisbord
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Media concentration remains a crucial challenge for democracy in Latin America. There are no media monopolies, strictly speaking, in the sense of a single corporation owning all media offerings, but media market concentration remains high. Legacy media properties, as well as the majority of advertising expenditures, are controlled by a small number of companies. Some television markets are "imperfect duopolies," such as in Mexico, where Grupo Televisa and TV Azteca reap the lion's share of ownership, advertising and audiences. In Colombia, CaracolTV and RCNTV attract over 60 percent of television advertising.
Political Geography:: Latin America and Mexico

663. Journalism in Post-Coup Honduras

Author:: Carlos Lauría and Sara Rafsky
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: During the past two decades, as transnational criminal networks have expanded their reach, violence and murder have plagued several Latin American countries. But even among those countries, Honduras stands apart. With an annual homicide rate of 85.5 murders per 100,000 inhabitants-an average of 598 a month, 20 a day, according to a 2012 study conducted by the Violence Observatory at the Honduran National Autonomous University— no place in the region is more violent.
Political Geography:: Latin America

664. John Carey on Latin American populism — Adriana La Rotta on the narco years in Colombia — Nancy Pérez on Central American migrants

Author:: John Carey, Adriana La Rotta, and Nancy Perez
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Latin American Populism in the Twenty-First Century edited by Carlos de la Torre and Cynthia J. Arnson BY JOHN M. CAREY Legend has it that on his deathbed, Juan Domingo Perón, the former President of Argentina, uttered a curse condemning any would-be biographer to dedicate his or her career to defining populism. Or perhaps the curse was issued on the lost page of the late Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas' suicide note, or slipped in among the bills in an envelope passed surreptitiously by Alberto Fujimori to some Peruvian legislator, or whispered by the recently deceased Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez into the ear of his successor, Nicolás Maduro. No matter. Whoever first uttered the curse, it worked: political scientists studying the region have wrestled and been obsessed with the concept for decades. We want to write about populism. Indeed, we need to write about it, because populism is among the most important and persistent phenomena in modern Latin American politics. But because the populist label has been applied to such a broad array of phenomena, we are condemned to define it before we can embark on any serious analysis. Academic exactitude being what it is, this leads first to extended consideration of what others have held populism to be, followed by a self-perpetuating and seemingly inescapable cycle of judgment, distinction and justification.
Topic:: Economics and Migration
Political Geography:: United States, Argentina, Colombia, Latin America, and Central America

665. The Defense Acquisition Trilemma: The Case of Brazil

Author:: Patrice Franko
Publication Date:: 01-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Abstract:: Brazil is a puzzling new player in the global system. Emerging as a complex international actor, it has come to be seen as a significant economic competitor and dynamic force in world politics. But transformational changes in the economic and political realms have not been accompanied by advances in military power. While Brazil has entered the world stage as an agile soft power exercising influence in setting global agendas and earning a seat at the economic table of policymakers, its military capacity lags. The national security strategy announced under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2008 intended to redress this power gap. President Dilma Rousseff 's 2011 White Paper—so detailed that it is called a "White Book"—provides the conceptual roadmap to achieve a new military balance. But military modernization is still a work in progress.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, Development, Economics, and Emerging Markets
Political Geography:: Brazil and Latin America

666. Women's Representation and Legislative Committee Appointments: The Case of the Argentine Provinces

Author:: Tiffany Barnes
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:: Over the last two decades a large number of countries worldwide have adopted a gender quota to increase women's political representation in the legislature. While quotas are designed to achieve equality in legislative power and decision-making, it is unclear if electing more women to legislative office is sufficient to accomplish institutional incorporation. Once women are elected to office, are they being incorporated into the legislative body and gaining their own political power, or are they being marginalized? Using an original data set that tracks committee appointments in the twenty-two Argentine legislative chambers over an eighteen-year period, I evaluate the extent to which women have access to powerful committee appointments—beyond traditional women's domains committees—and how women's access to committee appointments changes over time. I hypothesize that while women may initially be sidelined, as they gain more experience in the legislature they may overcome institutional barriers and develop institutional knowledge that will better equip them to work within the system to gain access to valuable committee appointments.
Topic:: Democratization, Development, Gender Issues, and Politics
Political Geography:: Argentina and Latin America

667. Beyond Haiti: Enhancing Latin American Military and Police Contributions to UN Peacekeeping

Author:: Bianca Selway
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:: With fifteen UN peacekeeping missions already in operation and another in the Central African Republic on the horizon, UN peacekeeping continues to be in high demand. Today, DPKO deploys more than 83,000 troops, 13,000 police, and 2,000 observers, contributed voluntarily by member states. A majority of these are provided by African and South Asian member states, which together provide 74 percent of the UN's uniformed personnel. Latin America has a longstanding history of participating in UN peacekeeping, stretching back more than fifty years to some of the earliest peacekeeping operations. At present, Latin America contributes almost 7 percent of all UN troops and nearly 2 percent of UN police. Two Latin American states occupy spots in the group of top twenty uniformed contributors: Uruguay with a total of 2,164 uniformed personnel and Brazil with 1,755. Latin American contributions are predominantly military contributions (as opposed to police) to the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), with support to missions in sub-Saharan Africa amounting to less than 2 percent of the total uniformed deployments to the region.
Topic:: International Cooperation, United Nations, Foreign Aid, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:: Africa, South Asia, Brazil, United Nations, and Latin America

668. Smallholders at Risk: Monoculture expansion, land, food and livelihoods in Latin America

Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Greater investment in agriculture is needed to reduce rural poverty and improve food security. This means not simply increasing supply but ensuring that adequate, nutritious food is accessible to every person at all times. How investment is made, its context and conditions, is at least as important as how much is invested.
Topic:: Agriculture, Economics, Markets, and Food
Political Geography:: South America and Latin America

669. Who Wants to Farm? Youth Aspirations, Opportunities and Rising Food Prices

Author:: Jennifer Leavy and Naomi Hossain
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Who wants to farm? In an era of land grabs and environmental uncertainty, improving smallholder productivity has become a higher priority on the poverty and food security agenda in development, focusing attention on the next generation of farmers. Yet emerging evidence about the material realities and social norms and desires of young people in developing countries indicates a reasonably widespread withdrawal from work on the land as an emerging norm. While de-agrarianisation is not new, policymakers are correct to be concerned about a withdrawal from the sector: smallholder productivity growth, and agricultural transformation more broadly, depend in part on the extent to which capable, skilled young people can be retained or attracted to farming, and on policies that support that retention. So who wants to farm, and under what conditions? Where are economic, environmental and social conditions favourable to active recruitment by educated young people into farming? What policy and programmatic conditions are creating attractive opportunities in farming or agro-food industry livelihoods?
Topic:: Agriculture, Economics, and Food
Political Geography:: Africa and Latin America

670. Rising powers in Africa: what does this mean for the African peace and security agenda?

Author:: Elling N. Tjønneland
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:: Much has been written about the role of the rising or emerging powers and their accelerating economic engagement in Africa. Much less is known about how they contribute to or impact on the African peace and security agenda. This report takes a comparative look at the roles of China, India, Brazil and South African in relation to the African Union and its African Peace and Security Architecture. Each of these four countries has a distinct commercial and corporate approach to Africa, despite a shared political commitment to South-South cooperation. However, as they extend their economic engagement they are becoming more sensitive to insecurity and volatility. The Asian and Latin American countries, which traditionally have strongly emphasised non-intervention, are gradually becoming more involved in the African security agenda. They are increasingly concerned about their image and reputation and the security of their citizens and business interests, and are becoming more prepared to act multilaterally and to work with others in facilitating security and stability. As an African power, South Africa plays a more direct role and has emerged as a major architect of the continent's evolving peace and security architecture. This report summarises elements from a broader research project on rising powers and the African peace and security agenda undertaken by CMI in cooperation with NOREF.
Topic:: Economics, Human Rights, International Cooperation, Regional Cooperation, and International Security
Political Geography:: Africa, India, Asia, South Africa, Brazil, and Latin America

671. National to City, Diagnosis to Funding

Author:: Ellis J. Juan
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: For too long, Latin America's urbanization has been haphazard and chaotic. As a result, the world's most urbanized region (with over 80 percent of its population living in cities) became associated with sprawl, waste, inefficiency, pollution, and increasing vulnerability to climate change.
Political Geography:: Latin America

672. Safe Streets, Safe Cities

Author:: Dr. Nancy E. Brune
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Discussions of sustainable cities tend to focus on environmental goals such as developing eco-friendly architecture, recycling, and improving the resiliency of urban infrastructure systems. But public or citizen security is an equally important aspect of building a sustainable city. Often, it is the issue that tops the list of citizens' concerns—and with good reason.
Political Geography:: Latin America

673. Cuba's bid for foreign investment — The Pacto por México — The Canada-EU Trade Agreement.

Author:: Duncan Wood, Marc Frank, and John Parisella
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Cuba: Port Upgrades and Free-Trade Zones BY MARC FRANK When Latin American and Caribbean heads of state gather in Cuba in January 2014 for the Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States— CELAC) summit, the agenda will include a side trip to Mariel Bay. There, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and Cuban President Raúl Castro will cut the ribbon on a brand new container terminal that Cuba hopes will replace Havana as the country's principal port. Brazil financed more than two-thirds of the $900 million project, built in partnership with Brazilian construction company Odebrecht over six years—providing $670 million in loans for terminal construction and infrastructure development such as rail and road. The facility, with an initial capacity of 850,000 to 1 million containers, will be operated by Singaporean port operator PSA International. The Mariel Bay facility, located 28 miles (45 kilometers) west of the capital on the northern coast, was built to attract traffic from the larger container ships expected to traverse the Panama Canal in 2015. It could also serve as a major transfer point for cargo heading to other destinations. But the competition is already fierce. The Dominican Republic, Jamaica, the Bahamas, and Panama are all rushing to improve their port facilities.
Topic:: Development and Government
Political Geography:: Europe, Canada, Cuba, Latin America, and Caribbean

674. Development: Advancement through International Organizations

Author:: Rohinton Medhora and David Malone
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: The familiar world of international organizations principally devoted to development has been upended by two phenomena. First is the emergence of sustained economic success in the developing world (mostly in Asia, but increasingly also in Africa and, in a less spectacular way, Latin America) amid compelling, continuing need among the world's poor. Second, the slow-moving, serious financial and economic crisis of the industrialized world since 2008 has reordered priorities in many of their capitals toward domestic spending and away from costly international projects.
Topic:: Development, Economics, International Cooperation, International Organization, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:: Africa, Asia, United Nations, and Latin America

675. The developmental state is dead, long live the developmental regime! Interpreting Néstor Kirchner's Argentina 2003–2007

Author:: Christopher Wylde
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of International Relations and Development
Institution:: Central and East European International Studies Association
Abstract:: The post-crisis administration of Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007) saw significant changes in the political economy of Argentina. After characterising these changes this article attempts to place the evidence within an appropriate meta-theoretical interpretation. The article concludes that while elements of historical forms of political economy exist in Néstor Kirchner's regime - elements of populism, elements of neoliberalism - in its entirety, one must look to other explanations not traditionally associated with Latin America, that is, the developmental regime. Such a conclusion facilitates both an enhanced understanding of post-crisis Argentine political economy, and an opportunity to further develop a developmental regime approach.
Topic:: Development and Political Economy
Political Geography:: Argentina and Latin America

676. Democracy, social welfare and political violence: the case of Latin America

Author:: Davide Grassi
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of International Relations and Development
Institution:: Central and East European International Studies Association
Abstract:: The return of democracy in Latin America has been associated with a decline in political violence, but also with a failure to redress welfare troubles or restore social justice. This essay provides an exploration of these problematic relationships. It argues that the impact of democracy on social welfare and internal civil violence is complex, develops unevenly and is mediated by a host of contributing factors. The bearing of democracy on political violence has been especially weak. In some countries democratic elites played a role in reducing or eliminating armed conflicts by offering a series of political concessions to the opposition, in particular communication channels with the government and social and political rewards. However, political violence survived or intensified under democracy elsewhere, while it was eradicated by force and (less frequently) by concessions in a number of authoritarian settings. Democracy has also affected welfare policies, through the appearance and progressive strengthening of social organisations and political parties that favoured channelling benefits towards the less advantaged. Yet, welfare protection also took place under populist and authoritarian governments, and it was influenced by a series of additional economic, political and social factors.
Topic:: Political Violence, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:: Latin America

677. Fiscal Justice to Reduce Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean

Author:: Itriago Déborah
Publication Date:: 09-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Despite economic growth and the reduction of both poverty and inequality that Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has experienced during the last decade, it still remains the most unequal region in the world.
Topic:: Economics, Political Economy, and Sociology
Political Geography:: Latin America and Caribbean

678. Sergio Cabral Filho, former Governor of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Author:: Sergio Cabral Filho
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: Columbia University World Leaders Forum
Abstract:: This World Leaders Forum program, titled "Rio de Janeiro: from Ostracism to Protagonism" features an address by Sergio Cabral Filho, former Governor of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Introduction and Moderated by Lee C. Bollinger, President, Columbia University in the City of New York.
Topic:: Development, Emerging Markets, Political Economy, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:: New York, Brazil, and Latin America

679. Country Study: Peru

Author:: Cynthia Sanborn and Alvaro Paredes
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: During his 2011 presidential campaign, Peruvian President Ollanta Humala promised a new relationship between the Peruvian state and Indigenous peoples, in which the rights of the latter would be guaranteed and their participation in government would be treatedas fundamental.
Topic:: Government
Political Geography:: Latin America and Peru

680. Getting to the Table

Author:: Diana Arbeláez-Ruiz and Daniel M. Franks
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Mining is a lot more than complex technology, logistics and finance. While mineral extraction does require an amazing array of machinery, computers, and processes for transporting and treating the materials, it is just as much a social project that is negotiated and conducted within a social context.
Political Geography:: Latin America

681. Speaking a Common Language with Latin America: Economics

Author:: Jose W. Fernandez
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: United States-Latin American relations have often suffered from a disconnect. While we stress security issues, the region's leaders speak of poverty reduction and trade. They resent being seen as afterthoughts to U.S. policies focused elsewhere. As a result, the region is sporadically open to new suitors, such as Spanish investors 15 years ago, or the Chinese today.
Topic:: Economics and Poverty
Political Geography:: United States, China, Latin America, and Spain

682. How Much Will Health Coverage Cost? Future Health Spending Scenarios in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico

Author:: Amanda Glassman and Juan Ignacio Zoloa
Publication Date:: 10-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:: As Latin American countries seek to expand the coverage and benefits provided by their health systems under a global drive for universal health coverage (UHC), decisions taken today–whether by government or individuals-will have an impact tomorrow on public spending requirements. To understand the implications of these decisions and define needed policy reforms, this paper calculates long-term projections for public spending on health in three countries, analyzing different scenarios related to population, risk factors, labor market participation, and technological growth. In addition, the paper simulates the effects of different policy options and their potential knock-on effects on health expenditure.
Topic:: Health, Governance, and Reform
Political Geography:: Brazil, Latin America, Mexico, and Chile

683. Trading Forests: Quantifying the Contribution of Global Commodity Markets to Emissions from Tropical Deforestation

Author:: Martin Persson, Sabine Henders, and Thomas Kastner
Publication Date:: 10-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:: This paper aims to improve our understanding of how and where global supply-chains link consumers of agricultural and forest commodities across the world to forest destruction in tropical countries. A better understanding of these linkages can help inform and support the design of demand-side interventions to reduce tropical deforestation. To that end, we map the link between deforestation for four commodities (beef, soybeans, palm oil, and wood products) in eight case countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea) to consumption, through international trade. Although few, the studied countries comprise a large share of the internationally traded volumes of the analyzed commodities: 83% of beef and 99% of soybean exports from Latin America, 97% of global palm oil exports, and roughly half of (official) tropical wood products trade. The analysis covers the period 2000-2009. We find that roughly a third of tropical deforestation and associated carbon emissions (3.9 Mha and 1.7 GtCO2) in 2009 can be attributed to our four case commodities in our eight case countries. On average a third of analyzed deforestation was embodied in agricultural exports, mainly to the EU and China. However, in all countries but Bolivia and Brazil, export markets are dominant drivers of forest clearing for our case commodities. If one excludes Brazilian beef on average 57% of deforestation attributed to our case commodities was embodied in exports. The share of emissions that was embodied in exported commodities increased between 2000 and 2009 for every country in our study except Bolivia and Malaysia.
Topic:: Energy Policy, Environment, and Natural Resources
Political Geography:: China, Europe, Malaysia, Brazil, Argentina, Latin America, and Bolivia

684. Why Maintaining Tropical Forests Is Essential and Urgent for a Stable Climate

Author:: Rosa C. Goodman and Martin Herold
Publication Date:: 11-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:: Tropical forests have the highest carbon density and cover more land area than forests in any other biome. They also serve a vital role as a natural buffer to climate change ―capturing 2.2–2.7 Gt of carbon per year. Unfortunately, tropical forests, mangroves, and peatlands are also subjected to the highest levels of deforestation and account for nearly all net emissions from Forestry and Other Land Use (FOLU) (1.1–1.4 Gt C / year). Net emissions from FOLU accounted for only 11% of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions or 14% of total carbon emissions in 2010, though these figures are somewhat misleading and do not reflect the full potential of tropical forests to mitigate climate change. First, net FOLU emissions have reduced only slightly while emissions from all other sectors have skyrocketed. Secondly, the FOLU net flux is made up of two larger fluxes —deforestation emissions (2.6–2.8 Gt C / year) minus sequestration from forest regrowth (1.2–1.7 Gt C / year). Additionally, intact tropical forests also appear to be capturing at least 1.0 Gt C/ year. Gross deforestation, therefore, accounts for over a quarter of all carbon emissions, and tropical forests have removed 22–26% of all anthropogenic carbon emissions in the 2000s. If deforestation were halted entirely, forests were allowed to regrow, and mature forests were left undisturbed, tropical forests alone could have captured 25–35% of all other anthropogenic carbon emissions. On the other hand, if climate change continues unabated, forests could turn from net sinks to net sources of carbon. Forestrelated activities are among the most economically feasible and cost-effective mitigation strategies, which are important for both short- and long-term mitigation strategies. Action is needed immediately to utilize these natural mitigation solutions, and we need coordinated and comprehensive forest-related policies for mitigation. An international mechanism such as REDD+ is essential to realize the great natural potential for tropical forests to stabilize the climate.
Topic:: Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Natural Resources, and Reform
Political Geography:: Africa, South Asia, and Latin America

685. Understanding Differences in Growth Performance in Latin America and Developing Countries between the Asian and Global Financial Crises

Author:: Roberto Alvarez and José De Gregorio
Publication Date:: 11-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
Abstract:: Latin American performance during the global fi nancial crisis was unprecedented. Many developing and emerging countries successfully weathered the worst crisis since the Great Depression. Was it good luck? Was it good policies? In this paper we compare growth during the Asian and global fi nancial crises and fi nd that a looser monetary policy played an important role in mitigating crisis. We also fi nd that higher private credit, more fi nancial openness, less trade openness, and greater exchange rate intervention worsened economic performance. Our analysis of Latin American countries confi rms that eff ective macroeconomic management was key to good economic performance. Finally, we present evidence from a sample of 31 emerging markets that high terms of trade had a positive impact on resilience.
Topic:: Economics, Global Recession, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:: Asia and Latin America

686. Understanding Differences in Growth Performance in Latin America and Developing Countries between the Asian and Global Financial Crises

Author:: Roberto Alvarez and José De Gregorio
Publication Date:: 11-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
Abstract:: Latin American performance during the global financial crisis was unprecedented. Many developing and emerging countries successfully weathered the worst crisis since the Great Depression. Was it good luck? Was it good policies? In this paper we compare growth during the Asian and global financial crises and find that a looser monetary policy played an important role in mitigating crisis. We also find that higher private credit, more financial openness, less trade openness, and greater exchange rate intervention worsened economic performance. Our analysis of Latin American countries confirms that effective macroeconomic management was key to good economic performance. Finally, we present evidence from a sample of 31 emerging markets that high terms of trade had a positive impact on resilience.
Topic:: Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:: Asia and Latin America

687. The changing architecture of politics in the Asia-Pacific: Australia's middle power moment?

Author:: Mark Beeson and Richard Higgott
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:: Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:: Middle power theory is enjoying a modest renaissance. For all its possible limitations, middle power theory offers a potentially useful framework for thinking about the behavior of, and options open, to key states in the Asia-Pacific such as South Korea, Japan and Australia, states that are secondary rather than primary players. We argue that middle powers have the potential to successfully implement 'games of skill', especially at moments of international transition. Frequently, however, middle powers choose not to exercise their potential influence because of extant alliance commitments and the priority accorded to security questions. We sub-stantiate these claims through an examination of the Australian case. Australian policymakers have made much of the potential role middle powers might play, but they have frequently failed to develop an independent foreign policy position because of pre-existing alliance commitments. We suggest that if the 'middle power moment' is to amount to more than rhetoric, opportunities must be acted upon.
Topic:: International Cooperation
Political Geography:: Japan, Asia, South Korea, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific

688. Testing the creativity of Kevin Rudd's middle power diplomacy: EU–Australia partnership framework versus the Asia-Pacific community

Author:: Gürol Baba and Taylan Özgür Kaya
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:: Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:: The 2007 Australian Parliamentary Elections brought a new dynamic to Australia's foreign policy: the Kevin Rudd factor. The Prime Minister sought to develop a more proactive and multi-faceted foreign policy around 'Creative Middle Power Diplomacy'. This study aims to cast light on the dynamism in Australia's Foreign Policy with Kevin Rudd within the framework of middle power activism. The research firstly focuses on the difficulties of defining and classifying middle powers through which it will put forward specific ' commonalities' for successful middle power foreign policy outcomes. The study of the EU–Australia Partnership Framework and the Asia-Pacific Community proposals–both of which were priorities for Kevin Rudd–reveal the potential and limits of middle power activism. This study argues that in today ' s world, middle powers have growing potential to pursue specific foreign policy goals but their ability to achieve these goals is constrained by Great Powers ' interests and consent, and also by the nature or ' commonalities' of middle power diplomatic practice.
Political Geography:: Asia, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific

689. The Union of South American Nations: Mapping Multilateralism in Transition

Author:: Sandra Borda
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:: Regional politics in Latin America today are defined by a variety of trends: Brazil continues to grow, but its leadership in the region has substantially decreased during the administration of Dilma Rousseff, which began in 2011; several countries-including Argentina, Bolivia, and Venezuela-have chosen to "Latin-Americanize" their foreign policy, discarding their former alignments with the United States; left-leaning governments, clearly critical of US power in the region, have tried to consolidate organizations such as the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) to increase their autonomy vis-à-vis the United States; right and right-center governments have responded by deepening their commercial links with the United States and the European Union (EU) and by organizing the Pacific Alliance, a traditional arrangement for free-trade and freedom-of-movement; and, finally, many countries in the region are adopting-independently of their ideological and political orientations-increasingly diversified foreign policies. At the same time, the presence of extra-regional actors has become increasingly visible.
Topic:: International Cooperation, Regional Cooperation, Sovereignty, Bilateral Relations, and Governance
Political Geography:: United States, Europe, Brazil, South America, and Latin America

690. The rise of FDI income, and what it means for the balance of payments of developing countries

Author:: Miguel Pérez Ludeña
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:: Multinational enterprises (MNEs) multiplied their profits made in developing countries by four between 2002 and 2011 (at current prices). In Latin America and the Caribbean, they rose from US$20 billion in 2002 to US$113 billion in 2011. The growth rate has been even higher in Africa and China, but much lower in developed countries. This rise is explained by an increase in FDI stock in developing economies and the higher average profitability of MNEs.
Topic:: Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:: Africa, China, and Latin America

691. Understanding Latin America's Financial Inclusion Gap

Author:: Liliana Rojas-Suarez and Maria Alejandra Amado
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:: This paper analyzes Latin America's Financial Inclusion Gap, the difference between the average financial inclusion for Latin America and the corresponding average for a set of comparator countries. At the country level, we assess four types of obstacles to financial inclusion: macroeconomic weaknesses, income inequality, institutional deficiencies and financial sector inefficiencies. A key finding of this paper is that although the four types of obstacles explain the absolute level of financial inclusion, institutional deficiencies and income inequality are the most important obstacles behind the Latin America's financial inclusion gap. From our analysis at the individual level, we find that there is a Latin America-specific effect of education and income. The results suggest that the effect of attaining secondary education on the probability of being financially included is significantly higher in Latin America than in its comparators. Furthermore, the difference in the probability of being financially included between the richest and the poorest individuals is significantly higher in Latin America than in comparator countries.
Topic:: Economics, Education, Human Rights, and Poverty
Political Geography:: Latin America

692. The Laboratory of Development: The Impact of Social Policies on Children in Latin America and the Caribbean

Author:: David Steven and Alejandra Kubitschek Bujones
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center on International Cooperation (CIC)
Abstract:: In October 2013, Ambassadors from the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries in the United Nations (GRULAC), their key negotiators from respective capitals, civil society representatives, and UN System agencies from the region held a retreat on the Post-2015 Agenda.
Topic:: Development and Human Welfare
Political Geography:: United Nations, Latin America, Caribbean, and North America

693. Two Views of Consulta Previa in Guatemala: A View from the Private Sector

Author:: Cementos Progreso S.A.
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Guatemala ratified International Labour Organization Convention 169 (ILO 169) on June 5, 1996, more than a year after Guatemala's Constitutional Court, the highest court in the country, ruled in Document 199-95 that the Convention did not contradict the Guatemalan Constitution.
Political Geography:: Latin America and Guatemala

694. Speaking a Common Language with Latin America: Economics

Author:: Jose W. Fernandez
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: United States-Latin American relations have often suffered from a disconnect. While we stress security issues, the region's leaders speak of poverty reduction and trade. They resent being seen as afterthoughts to U.S. policies focused elsewhere. As a result, the region is sporadically open to new suitors, such as Spanish investors 15 years ago, or the Chinese today. Despite their frustration with Washington, Latin American leaders recognize that, as the hemisphere's largest economy and market, the U.S. remains the indispensable partner. The challenge, both for the U.S. and Latin America, is to agree on common economic priorities both sides can pursue jointly, rather than continuing parallel dialogues. Economic growth, poverty reduction and job creation are common elements on both sides' wish lists. Politically, the stars are more aligned than ever in recent history for a renewed emphasis on economics in our relations with Latin America. The administration of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has made clear that its priority will be economic reform at home and more integrated North American markets and supply chains. From the beginning of his term, the Mexican president called for elevating our economic diplomacy to the same levels as our security relationship, which led to the first High Level Economic Dialogue (HLED) between Mexico and the U.S. in late September.
Political Geography:: United States, Latin America, North America, and Mexico

695. Ask the Experts: Consulta Previa

Author:: Sonia Meza-Cuadra, Katya Salazar, César Rodríguez-Garavito, and Roberto Jungito Pombo
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: What have been the benefits of countries adopting consulta previa? Sonia Meza-Cuadra answers: Governments aim to make decisions that will improve the economic and social development and welfare of their citizens. But historically, decisions affecting Indigenous and tribal people's culture, ancestral lands and habitats have too often been made without their participation. ilo 169 and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples seek to redress this situation. The processes of free, informed prior consent, or consulta previa, have faced several challenges, most of which are rooted in the historical mistrust between governments and Indigenous peoples. Rebuilding this trust and reaching a consensus is complicated by the long absence of the state and, consequently, minimal public services in remote areas where most Indigenous people live. Progress in the implementation of ilo 169 has already benefited countries. First, the convention has improved awareness and understanding of Indigenous peoples' rights among the general population and the Indigenous community itself. Second, the laws, regulations and court decisions that have followed have laid the groundwork for more responsible and socially, economically and environmentally sustainable public and private investment. Third, in seeking to meet their commitments under the convention, governments and public officials have improved their capacity to seek popular consultation and consensus. Fourth, already the dialogues that have been established among governments, companies and communities have improved discussions among these stakeholders and lowered the long-term legal risks of these investments.
Political Geography:: Latin America

696. US-Cuba: A New Public Survey Supports Policy Change

Author:: Jason Marczak and Peter Schechter
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Atlantic Council
Abstract:: Why is now the right moment to commission a poll on the US public's views toward Cuba and US-Cuba relations? Why is a new, nonpartisan Latin America center reaching out to grab the third rail of Latin American foreign policy in the United States? Both good questions. Sometimes in foreign policy, structural impediments or stark policy differences will stymie progress in a certain area. Relations with China could not proceed until the United States recognized a “one China” policy that forever downgraded US relations with Taiwan. An activist foreign policy with Africa was impossible until the United States denounced apartheid.
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Reform
Political Geography:: Africa, United States, China, Cuba, and Latin America

697. Uncertain Energy: The Caribbean's Gamble with Venezuela

Author:: David L. Goldwyn and Cory R Gill
Publication Date:: 07-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Atlantic Council
Abstract:: It has been nearly ten years since the launch of Petrocaribe, a program designed to win the political loyalty of the Caribbean states through generous credit subsidies to help import Venezuelan crude oil and products. Recipient states have grown dependent on high-cost, high-carbon fuels for power generation and Venezuelan credit to balance their budgets.
Topic:: Economics, Energy Policy, International Trade and Finance, and Oil
Political Geography:: South America, Latin America, Caribbean, and Venezuela

698. The Future of Latin American Studies

Author:: Charles Hale
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: The field of Latin American studies has been a target for critics ever since it became a prominent feature of the U.S. academic landscape in the 1960s. Earlier critiques were quite severe, often permeated by the premise that studying Latin America from the North (and even the very concept of "Latin America" as an object of study) connoted the region's racial and cultural inferiority. This was further aggravated by the inability to fully disentangle Latin American research from U.S. economic and geopolitical interests. Even the most apparently benign scholarship was considered to be a reinforcement of North-South hierarchies of knowledge and power.
Political Geography:: Latin America

699. Protest U.

Author:: Indira Palacios-Valladares
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: Millions of students have taken to the streets across Latin America in recent years in protests that reflect an unprecedentedly broad mobilization of popular opinion.
Political Geography:: Latin America

700. Student Debt in the Americas

Author:: Carolina Ramirez
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Americas Quarterly
Institution:: Council of the Americas
Abstract:: The promise of upward mobility for Latin America's new middle classes has led to swelling university enrollment rates, but also to growing debt.
Political Geography:: Latin America

Search

Search Constraints

Search Results

Refine your search

Topic

Political Geography

Content Type

Journal

Publishing Institution

Author

Publication Year

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS