Political Geography: South America / Publication Year: within 5 Years

301. State Intelligence Gathering on the Internet and Social Media: The Case of Colombia

Author:: Lucía Camacho, Daniel Ospina Celis, and Ramón Mejía
Publication Date:: 11-2023
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Dejusticia
Abstract:: "In this report, we explore this subject by drawing on the “Secret Dossiers” case published in 2020 by Semana magazine, which shows how the Colombian state exploits social media and the internet in order to monitor and profile individuals. Our analysis warns that the safeguards present in existing legislation are rather sparse and that intelligence agencies’ desire to self-regulate on the issue of open source intelligence is almost nonexistent despite these agencies’ surprising clarity about the data on the internet and the social media that interest them. We believe that, in the discussion on desirable limits, the insights that have emerged regarding the passive monitoring of the electromagnetic spectrum and the interception of communications offer valuable lessons for better addressing the impact of online intelligence."
Topic:: Intelligence, Science and Technology, Privacy, Internet, Social Media, and Transparency
Political Geography:: Colombia and South America

302. International Managerial Skill and Big Colombian Exporting Firms’ Performance, 2006-2014

Author:: Federico Merchan
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
Abstract:: This paper uses a sample of the biggest private Colombian exporting firms to propose and estimate a two-step methodology for measuring international managerial skill and calculating its impact on firm performance. The first step quantifies the manager’s organizational capital contribution to improvements in Bloom et al.’s (2021) production efficiency (ability to assemble inputs into final goods) and/or quality capacity (skill to make high quality goods) mechanisms, through the median of export unit value regression residuals at firm-year level (multiplying by -1 the price competition products’ residuals). The second step is regression analysis of firm performance. Results indicate that: i) international managerial quality has a significant and robust positive effect on total export value via the intensive margin, ii) exported value elasticity relative to international managerial quality is around 3 times larger than exported value elasticity relative to exogenous global demand shocks, and iii) better managers in the international market do not necessarily upgrade export quality.
Topic:: Economics, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, Exports, Management, and Labor Market
Political Geography:: Colombia and South America

303. Capital markets: where we are and what can be done

Author:: Emani Torres
Publication Date:: 11-2022
Content Type:: Case Study
Institution:: Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI)
Abstract:: This text analyzes some of the recent dynamic changes in the Brazilian capital market, with an emphasis on the changes on long-term corporate credit offer, and makes suggestions on public policies. Issuance of debentures by financial institutions, that is, long-term corporate bonds, took a leading role in 2021, which was possible due to a highly favorable institutional framework, such as the existence of a broad and organized public debt market, the sustained fall in domestic interest rates observed in the same year, as well as the shrinkage of BNDES' relevance, historically the main supplier of term credit in Brazil. The text also explores some particularities of the Brazilian capital market in the light of international experiences. Finally, it presents suggestions for public policies to encourage the launch of corporate bonds to a wider audience, as well as to expand BNDES' participation in this segment.
Topic:: Economics, Markets, Political Economy, and Capital
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

304. The Force of the Police: An Analysis of Police Violence Based on Experience in the United States and the Imperative to Restore Legitimacy

Author:: Robert Cornelli
Publication Date:: 12-2022
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
Abstract:: Egon Bittner, an early scholar of policing, noted that one of the peculiarities of the institution of the police is that it swings into action in response to “something that ought not to be happening and about which someone had better do something now.” The situations in which the police are called on to act are often emergencies, and it is at junctures such as these that, paradoxically, police officers sometimes take actions that ought not to happen. This is precisely what occurred in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25, 2020, when George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, was stopped by the police and subsequently killed by an officer who knelt on his neck for over nine minutes, ignoring his frequent pleas for help. The words he spoke as he suffocated under the officer’s knee—"I can’t breathe”—became an instant rallying cry for the protest movement that started in Minneapolis and quickly reverberated throughout the United States and the world. Floyd’s death reignited existing anger over American society’s deep and festering racial wounds. The litany of historical abuses in the United States is indeed long. His death also triggered significant social uprisings that have challenged the methods of policing that have emerged over the course of several decades. These uprisings have attributed greater responsibility to the police than in the past, for their perpetuation of stereotypes and discrimination. The time for an in-depth rethinking of the legitimacy of law enforcement bodies in the United States is ripe, and not only as a result of the new political approach ushered in by President Joe Biden and the greater awareness of police brutality triggered by demands of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Topic:: Law Enforcement, Reform, Criminal Justice, Memory, Institutions, Police, Truth, Violence Prevention, and Youth Engagement
Political Geography:: Colombia, South America, North America, Peru, Guatemala, and United States of America

305. Horizontal inequalities and multi-sectarian societies: a study about the perception by Syrian refugees in Brazil of the socioeconomic situation and groups inequalities in Syria before the 2011 uprising

Author:: Danny Zahreddine
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Conjuntura Austral: Journal of the Global South
Institution:: Conjuntura Austral: Journal of the Global South
Abstract:: After the beginning of the Arab Spring and the conflict in Syria, researchers worldwide are trying to understand the reasons that led to the civil war in that country. Many hypotheses are raised, from the deterioration of socioeconomic conditions, the increasingly harsh political and police repression against the regime's opponents, to the interest of regional powers in changing the Syrian regime. In this article, we decided to explore another dimension of conflict. After applying a questionnaire to a group of Syrian refugees in Brazil, we sought to understand the perception of respondents about the existence or not of horizontal inequality between the Syrian religious groups, in the economic, social, religious, political and cultural spheres. The result sheds light on the important role of the perception of horizontal inequality between groups as an essential source of discontent and frustration, which may have contributed to the breaking of the Syrian state's social-political pact.
Topic:: Refugees, Inequality, Syrian War, and Perception
Political Geography:: Middle East, Brazil, South America, and Syria

306. An Integrated Epidemiological and Economic Model of COVID-19 NPIs in Argentina

Author:: Adolfo Rubinstein, Eduardo Levy-Yeyati, Alejandro López Osornio, Federico Filippini, and Adrian Santoro
Publication Date:: 11-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:: We added a multi-sectoral economic framework to a SVEIR epidemiological model, combining the economic rationale of the DAEDALUS model with a detailed treatment of lockdown fatigue and declining compliance with Public Health and Social Measures reported in recent empirical work, to quantify the epidemic and economic benefits and costs of alternative lockdown and PHSM policies, both in terms of intensity and length. Our calibration replicates key features of the case and death-curves and economic cost for Argentina in 2021. The model allows us to quantify the short-term policy trade-off between lives and livelihoods and show that it can be significantly improved with targeted pharmaceutical policies such as vaccine rollout to reduce mainly severe disease and the death toll from COVID-19, as has been highlighted by previous studies.
Topic:: Economics, COVID-19, and Epidemiology
Political Geography:: Argentina, South America, and Latin America

307. Questioning Paraguay’s Suspension from MERCOSUR: The First Application of the Democratic Clause of the Regional Bloc

Author:: Túlio Sérgio Henriques Ferreira and Ana Cláudia Alves Cunha Paiva
Publication Date:: 09-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Contexto Internacional
Institution:: Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:: This article analyses the first enforcement of the MERCOSUR Democratic Clause, which occurred during the XLIII Summit of Heads of State in 2012. It was decided to suspend Paraguay because the member states concluded that the impeachment process of Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo did not follow democratic principles. Since the event raised questions and controversies, the article contributes to an explanation of the decision-making process that culminated in the political suspension of Paraguay from the regional bloc. It is argued that the state parties of Mercosur, justified by Paraguay’s historic political and economic fragility and the context of President Fernando Lugo’s impeachment, have strategically used the clause in order to achieve interests beyond the defence of democracy, among them Venezuela’s adhesion to the Bloc.
Topic:: Democracy, Regional Integration, Mercosur, Regional Politics, and Ushuaia Protocol
Political Geography:: South America, Venezuela, and Paraguay

308. Brazilian Foreign Policy from Lisbon to Bandung

Author:: Marcelo Alves de Paula Lima
Publication Date:: 09-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Contexto Internacional
Institution:: Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:: Drawing from constructivist scholarship, this article dwells on the relations between Brazil and the Afro-Asian world based on the writings of diplomat Adolpho Justo Bezerra de Menezes, who advocated a larger commitment of the Brazilian foreign policy to the Global South. The author acted both as a norm entrepreneur who problematized Brazilian belonging to the West and a practical-intuitive historian who used the past to show that the ties uniting Brazil to Asia and Africa were tighter than those uniting it to Europe.
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, History, Global South, Constructivism, and Adolpho Justo Bezerra de Menezes
Political Geography:: Africa, Asia, Brazil, South America, and Portugal

309. U.S. SOUTHCOM Fights Through COVID-19

Author:: Michael T. Plehn
Publication Date:: 01-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: PRISM
Institution:: Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
Abstract:: As I boarded my flight in Bogotá, Colombia, to return to the United States on March 14, 2020, after participating in the joint Colombia-U.S. Exercise Vita in the Guajira Peninsula, the reality of how the COVID-19 pandemic was going to affect our lives over the next year began to manifest. Arriving back in Miami, where I was the Military Deputy Commander for U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), I went straight home to begin a 14-day quarantine in accordance with new policies from the Department of Defense (DOD) for travelers returning from overseas. It was the first of many adaptations that we would make in the coming months. In May of 2019, shortly after assuming command at USSOUTHCOM, Admiral Craig Faller, USN, established three primary lines of effort to guide our activities: strengthen partnerships, counter threats, and build our team.1 Less than a year later, we were tested in all three areas by the pandemic. One of the great strengths of USSOUTHCOM is the network of engaged and willing partners in the region. We work closely with them as we guide all U.S. military activity across much of Latin America and the Caribbean. We are neighbors and friends who share common values, ties, and interests. Our neighborhood is not only rich in natural resources but also beset by many longstanding challenges and several emerging issues. While there is no current armed conflict between countries in the region, it is one of the most violent areas on the globe, much of it fueled by transnational criminal organizations and longstanding structural, societal issues. According to a 2019 global study on homicide by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the rate of intentional homicide in Central and South America is four times the global average.2 Particularly virulent, transnational criminal organizations—flush with cash—constantly seek to expand their lethal trade through extortion, corruption, intimidation, and violence. These actions, in turn, erode the power and legitimacy of local, state, and federal governments, reducing their ability to fight this scourge.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, Armed Forces, COVID-19, and SOUTHCOM
Political Geography:: South America and United States of America

310. Gramsci in the Midst of Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement (MST): An Interview with MST Militante Neuri Rossetto

Author:: Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
Publication Date:: 07-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
Abstract:: Despite the persistent hegemony of capitalism and its ruling neoliberal ideology, various forms of resistance, social struggle, and proposals for an emancipated future continue to emerge. This is taking place in the face of economic, political, social, and environmental crises as well as a continuing lack of vision of how to overcome the health crisis. Our intellectuals must put their hearts and souls precisely into this orientation toward the future, one based on the possibility of change and hope for human emancipation, as we argued in Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research dossier no. 13, The New Intellectual. We must create innovative proposals on how to use our social wealth to resolve the immediate problems faced by humanity, such as hunger, poverty, disease, and climate catastrophes, and study and familiarise ourselves with the resistance and struggles that emerge in all corners of the world; such proposals, in a draft form, are available in dossier no. 48, A Plan to Save the Planet (developed with the Network of Research Institutes). We must also challenge ourselves to be creative in developing possibilities for cooperation, solidarity, and social and cultural enrichment among peoples.
Topic:: Interview, Antonio Gramsci, Labor Movement, and Landless Workers' Movement (MST)
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

311. Implementando los ODS 3.6 y ODS 11.2 en Colombia

Author:: Felipe Dussán Zuluaga, Luis Carlos Galindo Bernal, Luz Karine Ardila Vargas, and Diana Camargo Castelblanco
Publication Date:: 08-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios sobre Desarrollo (CIDER), Universidad de los Andes
Abstract:: Según cifras de las Naciones Unidas, cada año en el mundo mueren 1,3 millones de personas y 50 millones resultan heridas por accidentes de tráfico. El 90 % de esas muertes se producen en los países en desarrollo. En Colombia, una persona fallece en promedio cada 75 minutos a causa de siniestros viales. En 2019 murieron 7.000 colombianos en accidentes de tránsito y 35.000 quedaron con lesiones graves. En 2020 y 2021, incluso con las largas cuarentenas debidas a la pandemia del Covid-19, las cifras siguieron siendo alarmantes. Es la primera causa de muerte violenta de niñas y niños entre 10 y 14 años y la segunda causa de muerte violenta por lesión de causa externa superada solamente por el homicidio (INMLCF, 2019). La inmensa mayoría de estas muertes y lesiones son evitables, pero siguen siendo un importante problema de salud pública y de desarrollo con enormes consecuencias sociales y económicas. Se estima que estas muertes y lesiones cuestan hasta el 5 % del producto interno bruto anual para algunos países. Las muertes y lesiones causadas por accidentes de tráfico son también una cuestión de equidad social porque con mayor frecuencia los pobres y los vulnerables son también los usuarios que mayor peligro corren en las vías, es decir, peatones, ciclistas, usuarios de vehículos motorizados de dos y tres ruedas y pasajeros de medios de transporte público no seguros. Son ellos quienes se ven afectados y expuestos de manera desproporcionada a riesgos y accidentes de tráfico, que pueden llevar a un ciclo de pobreza agravada por la pérdida de ingresos. Para enfrentar esta problemática se han emprendido diversos esfuerzos a nivel global. Por ejemplo, en 2011 la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) declaró como una pandemia las muertes por siniestros viales en el mundo y propuso la meta de reducir en 50% estas muertes para el 2021. La meta se logró en algunos países europeos, pero no se logró en ninguno de los países latinoamericanos. Frente a este rotundo fracaso, los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) y otras agendas de las Naciones Unidas establecieron metas que permitan reducir los accidentes de tráfico y promuevan los medios de transporte seguros y sostenibles. Entre las metas globales vigentes relacionadas con estos propósitos sobresalen el ODS 3.6, que busca “reducir a la mitad el número de muertes y lesiones causadas por accidentes de tráfico en el mundo"; y el ODS 11.2, que pretende “para 2030 proporcionar acceso a sistemas de transporte seguros, asequibles, accesibles y sostenibles para todos y mejorar la seguridad vial, en particular mediante la ampliación del transporte público”. Igualmente importante, y como resultado del trabajo realizado por el Foro Mundial para la Armonización de la Reglamentación sobre Vehículos (WP.29) promovido por la Comisión Económica para Europa de las Naciones Unidas (UNECE), se ha elaborado una normatividad para la armonización internacional de la regulación vehicular, reconocido internacionalmente como uno de los principales instrumentos para garantizar un alto nivel de seguridad, de protección del medio ambiente y de eficiencia energética de los vehículos. Colombia no ha sido partícipe de los reglamentos derivados del Foro Económico WP.29, pero viene realizando diferentes esfuerzos para el cumplimiento de los ODS 3.6 y ODS 11.2, mediante la modernización del sector transporte y el fortalecimiento de la normativa colombiana que permita cumplir con los estándares internacionales y las recomendaciones técnicas que tengan como propósito disminuir los siniestros viales. Este informe publicado por el Cider y UrbanPro surge como una primera aproximación a los efectos económicos de la incorporación de los reglamentos sobre seguridad vehicular del WP.29 en la industria automotriz y la economía colombiana, al analizar los posibles efectos de la homologación técnica en el precio de los vehículos, las ventas del sector y las principales variables macroeconómicas del país, como lo son el producto interno bruto, el consumo de los hogares y la balanza comercial. El análisis presentado en este documento es una primera aproximación de los efectos económicos más probables de la incorporación de los reglamentos generados por el WP.29 en la industria automotriz en Colombia, por lo que consta de múltiples supuestos que tienen como único objetivo compensar las carencias de información existentes. Frente a otros estudios existentes que abordan la seguridad de los vehículos en el país, el presente ejercicio sobresale por incorporar en su análisis un mayor porcentaje de vehículos que ingresan al mercado anualmente, por analizar más componentes seguridad respecto a los relacionados con la normatividad colombiana, y por determinar y analizar los costos por componente y por vehículo, sin utilizar costos promedio establecidos a nivel internacional.
Topic:: Development, Sustainable Development Goals, Macroeconomics, Public Health, and Vehicle Safety
Political Geography:: Colombia and South America

312. El Enfoque Territorial en la Política Nacional para Consolidar el Sistema de Ciudades en Colombia (PNCSC): El caso de las Ciudades Amazónicas

Author:: Isabel Peñaranda Currie
Publication Date:: 02-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios sobre Desarrollo (CIDER), Universidad de los Andes
Abstract:: La Política Nacional para Consolidar el Sistema de Ciudades en Colombia” (PNCSC),plasmada en el CONPES 3819 del 2014, surgió para fortalecer las ciudades del país como motores de desarrollo local y nacional. La PNCSC busca adoptar un enfoque territorial y diferenciado para incorporar las particularidades locales y regionales del país. La PNCSC es importante para regiones como laAmazonía, donde la mayoría de la población vive encentros urbanos y donde hay grandes obstáculos a nivel local para desarrollar políticas urbanas. Sin embargo, para que la PNCSC pueda responder a estas necesidades, el enfoque territorial debe tener en cuenta las particularidades de esta región y sus ciudades. La PNCSC tiene un sesgo que privilegia a las grandes ciudades enla aplicaciónde los fundamentos teóricos, sus diagnósticos y sus recomendaciones. Este sesgo se manifiesta en los dos pilares de la definición del Sistema de Ciudades (SC), específicamente, en la interpretación de los conceptos de “economías de aglomeración” y “relaciones funcionales”. Este documento busca aportar a la mejora del enfoque territorial del PNCSC con la introducción de la escala subregional y la dimensión urbano-rural, mediante el desarrollo de una tipología basada en las categorías de ruralidad de la Misiónpara la Transformación del Campo, y la tipología de subregiones funcionales adelantado por el Departamento Nacional de Planeación (DNP) y el Centro Latinoamericano para el Desarrollo Rural (Rimisp). Se contrastan los dos pilares – de economías de aglomeración y relaciones funcionales – del Sistema de Ciudades según la interpretación por la PNCSC, y la tipología aquí propuesta que incorpora la dinámica urbano rural y la escala subregional. Se concluye que la tipología propuesta captura mejor las realidades territoriales que la primera. Con relación a las economías de aglomeración, se recomienda desarrollar una metodología para analizar economías de aglomeración urbano-rurales, además de una estrategia para promoverlas. Adicionalmente, la PNCSC debería contemplar expresiones de las economías de aglomeración, especialmente aquellas basadas en la diversidad. En cuanto a las relaciones funcionales, se requiere una definición y aplicación más sistemáticas de dichas relacionesbasadasnosoloenla conmutaciónlaboral, sinotambiénenlas relacionesde servicios comoeducacióny salud, como aquellas identificadas por el estudio de DNP-Rimisp. La PNCSC debe promover una mayor intervención estatal consistente con las características de las ciudades amazónicas que reconozca el papel que éstas juegan en la provisión de servicios vitales.
Topic:: Development, Governance, Rural, and Cities
Political Geography:: Colombia, South America, and Amazon Basin

313. El empoderamiento femenino como estrategia para la igualdad de género. Un análisis multidimensional

Author:: Suelen Emilia Castiblanco Moreno
Publication Date:: 02-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios sobre Desarrollo (CIDER), Universidad de los Andes
Abstract:: Los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio y, posteriormente, los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible han tenido como elemento en común el reconocimiento de la igualdad de género como factor clave en los procesos de desarrollo. Este documento analiza el empoderamiento femenino como estrategia para el logro de la igualdad de género a partir de una caracterización de la situación de las mujeres en Colombia y la presentación de dos índices para la medición del empoderamiento femenino.. Las reflexiones giran en torno a cómo el monitoreo de las políticas públicas de igualdad de género requiere no solo el seguimiento a indicadores universales estandarizados, sino también herramientas metodológicas que se aproximen a las interrelaciones entre recursos, agencia y resultados que están a la base de relaciones de género más equitativas.
Topic:: Development, Women, Inequality, and Empowerment
Political Geography:: Colombia and South America

314. Hechos metropolitanos y regionales de ciudades, aglomeraciones urbanas y territorios rurales en Colombia

Author:: Ángela Maribeth Martín Pérez and Andrés Hernández
Publication Date:: 05-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios sobre Desarrollo (CIDER), Universidad de los Andes
Abstract:: Sistema agroalimentario regional relacionado con la agricultura campesina, familiar y comunitaria y vínculos urbano-rurales en el territorio de Bogotá-Cundinamarca. El estudio de los hechos regionales se realiza desde una perspectiva que integra dos enfoques de análisis: el primero, que estudia los hechos regionales como fenómenos y transformaciones territoriales que dan cuenta de: a) las interdependencias entre la ciudad núcleo y los diferentes municipios o entre diferentes municipios de la escala identificada; b) los conflictos entre diferentes modelos, lógicas o estilos de desarrollo o entre marcos legales y políticas públicas en tensión; y finalmente, c) las potencialidades del territorio. De esta forma cuando se habla de hechos regionales se hace referencia a fenómenos, transformaciones, interdependencias, conflictos y potencialidades (Hernández Andrés, Molina Cristhian, Forero Rafael, Duarte Vanessa 2020; Hernández Andrés y Segura Ethel 2020).
Topic:: Agriculture, Development, Urban, Rural, and Cities
Political Geography:: Colombia and South America

315. Addressing Human Mobility in National Climate Policy: Insights from Updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in South America

Author:: Diogo Andreola Serraglio, Benjamin Schraven, and Natalia Burgos Cuevas
Publication Date:: 01-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:: Whereas South American countries are experiencing increased population movements in the context of climate change, the international climate governance agenda calls for the adoption of specialised legislation and for enhanced cooperation among different policy frameworks. The revision and update of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) provide a window of opportunity to mainstream human mobility discussions in climate policy frameworks and, thus, support the uptake of effective measures to address the topic. This briefing paper provides an overview of how the climate change–human mobility nexus has been addressed in the NDCs submitted thus far by South American countries and identifies pathways towards improved management of population movements in revised NDCs. To date, a partial integration of the human mobility perspective prevails: References to the topic indicate a slow – but progressive – acknowledgment of the impacts of a changing climate in vulnerable communities, which may include human displacement. Given the urgent need to move forward from the recognition of the topic to the establishment of effective measures to tackle forced population movements associated with the impacts of climate change, the updating of NDCs – currently under way in the region – entails an opportunity to incorporate strategies aimed at enhancing the management of human mobility. Ongoing discussions linked to the inclusion of the human mobility dimension should happen in a holistic manner, taking socio-environmental approaches into consideration. Human displacement and adaptation to climate change are akin processes that need to be aligned with mitigation and related measures. An improved adaptation component of NDCs depends on the participation of distinct actors (such as national departments and agencies, as well as non-governmental and civil society organisations focussed on climate adaptation) at the national level, and not only those dealing with mitigation strategies. Likewise, it should take the incorporation of practical and evidence-based measures into account. These include, for instance, methods to promote the consultation and effective participation of affected communities and strategies to strengthen their resilience. Furthermore, revised NDCs should call for governance and legal frameworks that include a clear definition of roles and the establishment of effective measures, rooted in the commitment to protect the human rights of affected and vulnerable populations. Revised NDCs should set up policy options to prepare for and respond to human displacement, aiming to reduce communities’ vulnerability and exposure. The recognition of human mobility in the context of climate change as a common challenge faced by South American countries entails a window of opportunity to enhance the development of effective measures to address the topic, as well as to foster the implementation of coherent long-term strategies that go beyond short-term political priorities.
Topic:: Climate Change, Migration, Governance, and Mobility
Political Geography:: South America

316. Partnerships for Policy Transfer: How Brazil and China Engage in Triangular Cooperation with the United Nations

Author:: Laura Trajber Waisbich and Sebastian Haug
Publication Date:: 01-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:: This paper offers a comparative analysis of Brazilian and Chinese partnerships with the United Nations (UN) as a mechanism and channel for policy transfer. In international policy travel flows, China and Brazil currently hold privileged places as hubs from which development-related policies travel and through which they circulate. Both countries have invested in systematising their development experience and transferring development policies within their regions and beyond – often through triangular cooperation, i.e. South–South cooperation supported by third actors such as UN entities. So far, however, this variegated engagement has remained under the radar of scholarly attention. To address this gap, we examine 35 policy transfer partnerships – 17 for Brazil and 18 for China – forged with different parts of the UN system over the last two decades. In order to offer a first systematic account of partnership trajectories, we provide an overview of partnership types (namely projects, programmes and policy centres) and transfer dimensions (including the policies themselves, transfer agents and governance arrangements). Our comparative mapping presents an evolving landscape: while Brazil was first in institutionalising robust policy transfer partnerships with numerous UN entities and then slowed down, China started more cautiously but has significantly expanded its collaboration with the UN system since 2015. The partnerships analysed cover a substantial range of sectors, with a particular focus – for both Brazil and China – on agricultural policies. While Brazilian partnerships with the UN primarily engage with linkages between agriculture and social protection, however, China–UN partnerships focus more on productivity and market linkages. As the first comprehensive mapping and comparative analysis of Brazilian and Chinese policy transfer partnerships with the UN, this paper contributes to a better understanding of (triangular) cooperation schemes between international organisations and their member states, as well as debates about how policies deemed as successful travel around the globe.
Topic:: Development, International Cooperation, United Nations, and Partnerships
Political Geography:: China, Asia, Brazil, and South America

317. Venezuela's 2024 Elections: Understanding Participation under Unfree and Unfair Conditions

Author:: Ryan C. Berg and Henry Ziemer
Publication Date:: 08-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:: For many observers, the upcoming presidential elections in Venezuela serve as a focal point on which to pin hopes for a democratic transition. However, the challenges faced by the opposition—from internal divisions to an ongoing humanitarian crisis, captured electoral institutions, and persistent human rights abuses—cannot be understated. While there is potential for elections in 2024 to generate momentum and re-galvanize resistance to the Maduro regime, the balance sheet of risks and rewards remains indecisive. This report breaks down the positive and negative aspects of elections in Venezuela and outlines three likely scenarios for policymakers to consider as Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election approaches.
Topic:: Authoritarianism, Elections, Democracy, and Leadership
Political Geography:: South America and Venezuela

318. Brazil: Five Phenomena and Three Scenarios

Author:: Lauri Tahtinen
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:: Brazil heads into the second round of its general election on Sunday, October 30. This will include runoffs for the governorships in 12 of Brazil’s 26 states, including São Paulo, the most populous and wealthy state. However, most eyes are on the presidential race in which incumbent Jair Bolsonaro is seeking his second term in office and former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is seeking his third. In the first round on Sunday, October 2, Lula received 48.4 percent of the vote and Bolsonaro received 43.2 percent. This analysis paints three scenarios for Brazil’s election. The baseline for these scenarios is Lula’s narrow win, and a narrow win for Lula remains the most plausible outcome. If the trends prevalent in September have accelerated through October, Bolsonaro could win narrowly. Conversely, if the trends of September decelerate or even reverse in October, Lula could win handsomely. Based on the first-round results, earlier runoffs, and simple election math, a major Bolsonaro victory is not a realistic outcome.
Topic:: Elections, Democracy, Leadership, Voting, and Partisanship
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

319. Colombia’s Relationship with the PRC

Author:: Evan Ellis
Publication Date:: 11-2022
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:: From October 6 to 16, the author traveled throughout Colombia to speak with businesspeople, academics, and other professionals about the country’s security panorama, its commercial and other relationships with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and prospects for evolving those relationships under the new government of Gustavo Petro. This white paper, the first of two on those interactions, addresses the country’s important and deepening relationship with the PRC and its companies. In recent years, Colombia’s political and security relationship with the PRC has been limited. This arguably reflects Bogotá’s perception that deepening political and security ties with the PRC might damage its close and important relationship with the United States. Nonetheless, despite perceptions that the PRC is more of a threat than an opportunity in the commercial arena, the presence of Chinese companies and their representatives in the country has expanded remarkably. Under the Petro government, all dimensions of Colombia’s relationship with the PRC, from political and security affairs to economic ones, are poised to expand and shift in ways that may cause unease in Washington.
Topic:: International Cooperation, Bilateral Relations, Hegemony, and Rivalry
Political Geography:: China, Asia, Colombia, and South America

320. Lending to Defaulters: The IMF Updates Its Lending into Arrears Policy

Author:: Gregory Makoff
Publication Date:: 08-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) “lending into arrears” policy outlines the criteria used by the IMF in deciding whether to loan to a country in default. This policy brief focuses on one of the conditions a country must meet when seeking debt relief from the IMF: it must engage in good faith negotiations with its creditors (known as the good faith criterion). The country must also implement significant financial reforms and provide assurances that it will be able to meet its financial obligations. This policy brief looks at the history of the lending into arrears policy, the controversy surrounding its use during Argentina’s 2005 debt restructuring and the May 2022 update to the policy.
Topic:: Economics, International Cooperation, Finance, and IMF
Political Geography:: Argentina and South America

321. Why Brazil Sought Chinese Investments to Diversify Its Manufacturing Economy

Author:: Celo Hiratuka
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:: Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, economic relations between Brazil and China have grown significantly. The main driver of this process has been China’s enormous demand for agricultural, energy, and mineral commodities. On the one hand, Brazil’s strong competitiveness in these products has helped the country consolidate its role as an important supplier to China, increasing exports and turning China into the main destination for Brazilian exports since 2009.1 On the other hand, China, by virtue of its status as the “factory of the world,” has established itself as the main supplier of manufactured products to Brazil.2 Nonetheless, Brazilian scholars, think tanks, and private manufacturing firms have raised concerns. They have done so despite the great boost in bilateral trade flows; the favorable trade balance for Brazil; and the leveraging of businesses in several Brazilian sectors such as soybeans, iron ore, and oil. These concerns are related to the excessive concentration of Brazilian exports in a few products, the environmental impacts of these exporting activities, and the effects of strong Chinese manufacturing competition on Brazil’s domestic market. These worries have become more significant when one considers the growing importance of manufacturing changes with the diffusion of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and the search for new renewable energy sources and environmental sustainability. For Brazil, this matter reflects a need to advance bilateral relations beyond existing export trade volumes and toward new drivers of more diversified economic growth that will help the country escape a specialization in commodities. The fortunes of the Chinese company BYD in Brazil are highly relevant to these trends. BYD is a company that has diversified from the production of batteries into different innovative industrial sectors, such as renewable energy and electric vehicles. BYD has also been expanding rapidly in international markets, and in that process it chose Brazil as an important market, where it has built factories to produce electric bus chassis, photovoltaic panels, and batteries for electric buses. BYD’s trajectory in Brazil certainly has not been smooth. On the contrary, the firm has had to adapt to market fluctuations and, above all, to changes in the Brazilian government’s economic policies, which have made the company’s experience in the country quite turbulent. Despite this, BYD survived its first years in Brazil and more recently has been showing signs of continuing to invest in the Brazilian market. Analysis of BYD’s experience in Brazil shows, on the one hand, that there are important possibilities for new economic relations with China that go beyond trade in commodities, with productive investments that can potentially help Brazil simultaneously incorporate more knowledge-intensive activities and drive positive environmental impacts by generating renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions. On the other hand, the story of BYD also shows that the transformation of these possibilities into effective benefits requires coordinated actions on the part of Brazilian policymakers to offer a long-term horizon for Chinese investments. In that spirit, Brazil must craft a long-term strategy for its economic relationship with China to increase the odds that bilateral engagement can advance in a new and more sustainable, mutually beneficial direction.
Topic:: Bilateral Relations, Economy, Investment, Manufacturing, and Engagement
Political Geography:: China, Asia, Brazil, and South America

322. Untangling Elite Opposition to Indigenous Rights in Chile

Author:: Kelly Bauer
Publication Date:: 12-2022
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:: Throughout Chile’s constitutional process, right-wing rhetoric has rejected Indigenous recognitions and representation in defense of the status quo.
Topic:: Human Rights, Constitution, Domestic Politics, Representation, Indigenous, Elites, and Right-Wing Politics
Political Geography:: South America, Latin America, and Chile

323. The Importance of Lula’s Presidency in an Increasingly Multipolar World

Author:: Sean T. Mitchell
Publication Date:: 01-2022
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:: The inauguration of the leftist two-time former leader as Brazil’s president is a source of hope for social and environmental movements worldwide.
Topic:: Environment, Social Movement, Leftist Politics, Political Movements, Multipolarity, and Lula da Silva
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, and Latin America

324. Saamaka Maroon Communities Face Continued Land Threats in Suriname

Author:: Giovanna Montenegro
Publication Date:: 11-2022
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:: In 2007, Saamaka advocates triumphed at the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, winning key rights and damages. Today, those rights are under attack.
Topic:: Human Rights, Land Rights, Indigenous, and Logging
Political Geography:: South America and Suriname

325. The Most Important Election in Brazil’s History

Author:: Bryan Pitts
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:: Brazil faces a stark choice in its presidential runoff Sunday. Can Lula and the Left overcome Bolsonaro’s misinformation and attempts to buy the vote?
Topic:: Elections, Domestic Politics, Leftist Politics, Misinformation, Jair Bolsonaro, and Lula da Silva
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

326. The Old is Dying and the New Cannot Be Born

Author:: Marian Schlotterbeck
Publication Date:: 12-2022
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:: A longtime analyst of Chilean social movements reflects on the country’s multiple lefts and power relations within the ongoing “process of change.”
Topic:: Social Movement, Leftist Politics, Social Change, and Power Relations
Political Geography:: South America, Latin America, and Chile

327. Political Violence During Brazil’s 2022 General Elections

Author:: Sandra Pellegrini and Maria Puolakkainen
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
Abstract:: Following the first round of voting in Brazil’s general elections on 2 October, left-wing two-time former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – leader of the Workers’ Party (PT) and the ‘Brazil of Hope’ coalition – leads the race with 48.4% of the vote. He was followed closely by far-right incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party (PL) and the ‘For the Good of Brazil’ coalition, who outperformed the polls by receiving 43.2% of the votes. Lula’s inability to exceed 50% has forced a runoff election between Lula and Bolsonaro scheduled for 30 October. The narrow margin between the two candidates came as a surprise, as many predicted a first-round victory for Lula (BBC, 3 October 2022). The close outcome underscores the deepening polarization of Brazil’s electorate, with both contenders garnering significant popular support with opposed electoral programs. Amid this polarization, antagonism between Bolsonaro’s administration and the opposition has fueled increased electoral violence, which continues to pose a threat ahead of the presidential runoff election. UN experts warned that threats, intimidation, and political violence “generate terror among the population and deter potential candidates from running for office,” urging Brazilian authorities to ensure the safety of candidates and most-at-risk communities (OHCHR, 22 September 2022).
Topic:: Political Violence, Elections, Domestic Politics, Jair Bolsonaro, and Lula da Silva
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

328. Political Violence During Brazil’s 2022 Presidential Runoff

Author:: Maria Puolakkainen and Sandra Pellegrini
Publication Date:: 12-2022
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
Abstract:: Following his victory in the presidential runoff election on 30 October, President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva described Brazil as “one country, one people, one great nation.” While this speech may indicate the incoming president’s willingness to seek unity, it comes at a time of heightened political polarization in Brazil. Inflammatory rhetoric around the elections and spikes in political violence throughout the election period have raised concerns over the potential for further outbreaks of unrest, even beyond the aftermath of the runoff. The contestation of the election results and calls for military intervention by supporters of outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro present an ongoing challenge to the “peace and unity” promoted by President-elect Lula in his victory speech (Folha de S.Paulo, 31 October 2022).
Topic:: Political Violence, Elections, Jair Bolsonaro, and Lula da Silva
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

329. Democracy and Urban Political Culture in Spanish South America, 1810-1860

Author:: Paula Alonso and Marcela Ternavasio
Publication Date:: 07-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:: “Democracy,” a word seldom used in public debate at the start of the nineteenth century and negatively associated with tumult, disorder, and direct rule, in a few decades became linked to representative government and increasingly employed with positive connotations. This paper argues that these conceptual changes should be explored in their political and social contexts, since the term “democracy” was invoked to (de)legitimate certain political practices and social sectors. Therefore, in exploring this non-linear process in Spanish America, these pages focus on the interactions between the emerging language of democracy and its varied meanings and uses in urban politics. These interactions were part of the factional disputes on how to implement the principle of popular sovereignty. Starting with an overview of selected emerging political practices during the Independence period, the paper then focuses on Lima and Buenos Aires, two regions with contrasting colonial pasts, responses to Spanish crises, and post-independence paths, showing how the concept of democracy could be put to varied uses according to different contexts and political objectives.
Topic:: Civil Society, Governance, Culture, Democracy, Citizenship, and Institutions
Political Geography:: Argentina, South America, Latin America, and Peru

330. Inclusion amid ethnic inequality: Insights from Brazil’s social protection system

Author:: Natasha Borges Sugiyama
Publication Date:: 07-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: Policy frames in Brazil have long run up against conflicting visions and understandings about the causes and consequences of group-based inequality. This paper argues that a class-based lens has dominated the social protection framework. In recent years, political leaders have framed social policy measures along ‘universal’ class lines with the aim of improving poverty and wellbeing. This framing is reflective of Brazil’s national narrative on race relations and the idea that class and employment status have been the most salient barriers to social welfare protections. Brazil’s widely well-regarded anti-poverty conditional cash transfer programme, Bolsa Família (2003–21), is emblematic of the country’s universal and ‘race-blind’ approach to social policy. But given the strong correlation in Brazil between ethnicity and income, social protection policies such as the Bolsa Família have indirectly targeted vulnerable black and brown citizens. The analysis addresses how social policy has contributed advances to wellbeing in general and for Afro-Brazilians. A comparative perspective on social welfare systems offers important lessons on how poverty relief can further human development and enhance agency. Future reformers can learn from Brazil’s pursuit of poverty reduction alongside administrative procedures that identify vulnerable groups, as a strategy to address intersectional inequalities of ethnicity and class.
Topic:: Poverty, Race, Inequality, and Welfare
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

331. International Law and Order Enforcement: Police Assistance Programs and Politics in US-Brazil Relations

Author:: Priscila Villela
Publication Date:: 09-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Police Assistance programs have been a permanent part of US foreign policy towards Latin America, with Brazil being one of the most important beneficiaries. Throughout their history, they have been oriented according to changing agendas, from anticommunism to the war on drugs. Based on documentary sources and specialized literature, we analyze the politics of US policing in Brazil, reconstituting agendas and interests that motivated police assistance programs through the lens of critical police studies in IR. In doing so, we demonstrate that police cooperation is historically a crucial part of US-Brazil bilateral relations, despite the unfrequent prominence in the literature.
Topic:: International Cooperation, International Law, Bilateral Relations, and Police
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, North America, and United States of America

332. “Brazilian Foreign Policy, Multilateral Institutions and Power Relations: an Interview with Ambassador Rubens Ricupero”

Author:: Alexandra de Mello e Silva, Flavia de Campos Mello, Leticia Pinheiro, and Monica Herz
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This interview stems from the interest of four Brazilian scholars in contributing to the study of foreign policy through dialogue with practitioners. As the study about foreign policy becomes more reflexive and critical, we turned to a Brazilian diplomat, Rubens Ricupero, who based on his vast and often difficult experience, has written about his interactions with the international world and strived to establish a dialogue with the academic world. Between May and July 2021, Ambassador Ricupero shared with us his views on the difficulties and possibilities of dialogue regarding multilateral agreements and institutions, such as the GATT and the UNCTAD
Topic:: Foreign Policy, International Cooperation, Strategic Interests, and Power
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

333. “One Single Agriculture”: Dismantling Policies and Silencing Peasant Family Farmers in Brazilian Foreign Policy (2016-2022)

Author:: Thiago Lima, Laura Trajber Waisbich, and Lizandra Serafim
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Brazil experienced the opening-up and democratization of its foreign policymaking in the last decades, but since 2016 a wave of bureaucratic reforms sought to reverse that process. This paper contributes to understanding this phenomenon by looking at the agri-food dimension of Brazilian foreign policy. Through the analysis of official documental and discursive data, we discuss successive symbolic-discursive, as well as policy-institutional governmental efforts to close-off foreign policymaking to peasant family farmers and their interests. The study reveals changing patterns in state-society interfaces, and contributes to bridging the fields of Foreign Policy Analysis, Policy Dismantling and Social Participation.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Agriculture, Farming, and Social Order
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

334. When only China wants to play: Institutional turmoil and Chinese investment in Brazil

Author:: Niels Sondergaard, Ana Flavia Barros-Platiau, and Hyeyoon Park
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The political and institutional crisis in Brazil from 2015, fueled largely by corruption probes and lawfare, had severe repercussions within the Brazilian construction and energy sectors. While many international investors withdrew from Brazil in this period, Chinese investment surged. This article accounts for the particular characteristics of Chinese investments, such as sectorial complementarities, risk assessment, market size attraction, and state-drivenness, which may explain this development.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Bilateral Relations, Hegemony, Investment, and Institutions
Political Geography:: China, Asia, Brazil, and South America

335. Marriage of convenience, love at first sight? A brief manual for teaching international relations in Brazil and beyond

Author:: Andrea Quirino Steiner, Elia Elisa Cia Alves, and Cristin a Carvalho Pacheco
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Professors may start teaching either out of love or out of convenience, with limited resources. This article provides a brief manual for planning, designing and implementing PS&IR courses. We discuss syllabi, from the basics to the inclusion of transversal topics, then present eight active learning strategies plus traditional lectures, and debate assessments. Although we consider the context of new teachers within Brazilian universities, we believe this is useful for professors from all countries and levels of experience. Thereby, we provide practical advice for teachers to live happily ever after in their pedagogical love story (even if it did not start that way).
Topic:: International Relations, Family, Marriage, and Social Order
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

336. BRICS and Global Health Diplomacy in the Covid-19 Pandemic: Situating BRICS’ diplomacy within the prevailing global health governance context

Author:: Candice Moore
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: BRICS have been cast as a bloc with the potential to make significant changes in Global Health. The management of the Covid-19 pandemic has shown divisions in the bloc and the limits of its ability to formulate policies or even act upon previously agreed positions. This paper employs an examination of BRICS Health Ministerial declarations and an analysis of power in International Relations to reflect on BRICS’ Global Health diplomacy during the Covid-19 pandemic, covering the key questions of vaccine research and development, vaccine nationalism, and travel bans. It finds that multiple dimensions of power matter in Global Health leadership.
Topic:: Health, International Cooperation, Governance, Pandemic, COVID-19, and BRICS
Political Geography:: Africa, Russia, China, Europe, India, Asia, South Africa, Brazil, and South America

337. South America at the core of Brazilian foreign policy during Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2022)

Author:: Miriam Gomes Saraiva
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The arrival of Jair Bolsonaro to the Brazilian presidency brought many changes to foreign policy. Based on new ideas in a new foreign policymaking format, several patterns of international behavior were questioned and replaced by new guidelines and actions that created friction with international partners. Brazil’s behavior towards South America was one of the areas most impacted by this shift. This paper reflects upon Bolsonaro’s foreign policy for the region, influenced by these changes and marked by disinterest on policymakers’ part, highlighting how ideational factors underpinned behaviors, actors, and actions.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Governance, Strategic Interests, and Stabilization
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

338. Going Against the Tide: Towards Binding Environmental Regulation of Mining in Chile

Author:: Johanna Jarvela and Lotta Aho
Publication Date:: 04-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for Business and Development Studies (CBDS), Copenhagen Business School
Abstract:: Mining industry is one of the only industries not subjected to any international environmental agreement. Thus, only national laws, Corporate Social Responsibility, industry standards, and other forms of self-regulation govern the mining industry. However, there are increasing concerns about the sustainability and social responsibility of this business. In Chile, neoliberal policies were implemented to a great extent during ϭϵϳϬ’s and ϴϬ’s and the legacy of these policies was an almost absent environmental regulation until 2010. This makes Chile an interesting case to investigate the workings and consequences of voluntary environmental regulation based on neoliberal paradigm. Whereas multinational corporations largely influence the current development of environmental regulation, and hence it is increasingly based on voluntary measures and industry guidelines, the socio-environmental conflicts have forced Chile to go against the current and move from soft law towards binding regulation. A situation where a country needs to move from non-regulation or fully privatized regulation back towards hard law and command and control has been less investigated than deregulation and different forms of capitalist influence on governance. We wish to address this gap in literature with this study. Based on our findings, we argue that following neoliberal theory in environmental regulation leads to increasing socio-environmental conflicts.
Topic:: Environment, Regulation, Neoliberalism, Mining, and Industry
Political Geography:: South America and Chile

339. Migration and Decent Work: Challenges for the Global South

Author:: Lucía Ramírez Bolívar and Jessica Corredor Villamil
Publication Date:: 03-2022
Content Type:: Book
Institution:: Dejusticia
Abstract:: Migration and Decent Work: Challenges for the Global South features nine chapters written by sixteen activists, academics, and members of civil society who have worked on the issue of migration from different angles and who address the challenge of migrants’ labor inclusion from an interdisciplinary and rights-based perspective. Their contributions offer an overview of migrants’ and refugees’ right to work in a range of countries in the global South—from Mexico to India to Argentina to Turkey—based on an analysis of local contexts, public policies, and the everyday realities faced by these workers.
Topic:: Migration, Labor Issues, Refugees, Trafficking, Asylum, Inclusion, Domestic Work, and Sex Work
Political Geography:: South Asia, Middle East, South America, and Global South

340. Reimagining the Future of Human Rights: Social Justice, Environmental Justice and Democracy in the Global South

Author:: Jessica Corredor Villamil
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Book
Institution:: Dejusticia
Abstract:: This book is the collective effort of participants from the 2018 Global Action-Research Workshop for Young Human Rights Advocates, which Dejusticia has been organizing annually since 2013. These workshops aim to strengthen the abilities of young activists from the global South to achieve a greater impact in their human rights work and to reach a wider audience through new forms of narration. This book is just one of the many outcomes of the 2018 workshop. The talented and committed authors of this volume—all contributors to previous editions as well—hail from countries as diverse as Brazil, Ghana, Russia, and Venezuela. They came together again in 2018 to think about the intersection between research and activism and what it holds for the future of human rights. That is why our selection process for the 2018 workshop participants sought to ensure that two people from each cohort were working from a transnational perspective. The specific goal of this particular workshop was to reflect on the future of human rights, for we sensed that we were at a crossroads. With the recent rise in populist authoritarian governments, the global increase in inequality, and the worsening climate crisis, a number of thought leaders have wondered whether we have reached “the endtimes of human rights” (Hopgood 2013). We thus wished to use this workshop as an opportunity to respond to some of the most frequent criticisms of the efficacy and legitimacy of the human rights movement by drawing on historical and empirical arguments and responding to the reflections of Kathryn Sikkink—one of the workshop’s instructors—in her book Evidence for Hope (2017). Human rights defenders and activists are working in a world that is constantly changing. It’s a more multipolar world; powerful voices have emerged from the global South, which has reshaped the way that human rights work is being done across the globe. Furthermore, the Arab Spring and other social mobilizations that have since taken place have put the spotlight on civil society’s ability to act and its convening 12 Jessica Corredor-Villamil authority. Nonetheless, despite the fairly positive outlook for civil society participation and the emergence of new voices, it is necessary to review the strategies that we have been using thus far and explore how to make them more effective. This book is extremely relevant today, three years after the workshop, as we are living in a transformative time. The COVID-19 pandemic has had unprecedented socioeconomic and political impacts, including increases in inequality, unemployment, states’ abuses of their emergency powers, and the concentration of presidential power. Moreover, social networks have played a critical role in the sociopolitical arena, not only in light of their capacity to massively mobilize but also due to their propensity to foster political polarization and the use of misinformation for political ends. Thus, although we face a different context from the one in 2018, this volume serves as a guide of sorts to help us reconsider the effectiveness of our strategies as a human rights movement as we look toward the challenges being posed by the third century of this decade. The contributors to this book question traditional methods and explore new ways and visions of advancing human rights in the troubled context in which we live. Do the struggles of small-scale miners in Ghana, the use of strategic litigation in Lebanon, and the recognition of the rights of nature in India represent evidence for hope? Or is the opposite true, and, as shown in the chapters on martial law in the Philippines, the treatment of wastewater in Argentina, and in the internal conflict in Yemen, human rights have failed to deliver on their promises?
Topic:: Human Rights, Water, Authoritarianism, Democracy, Social Justice, Surveillance, Indigenous, COVID-19, Armed Conflict, and Environmental Justice
Political Geography:: Africa, South Asia, Middle East, India, Argentina, Philippines, Yemen, South America, Hungary, Lebanon, Venezuela, Ghana, and Global South

341. Fiscal Policy in the Regulation of Adult-Use Cannabis in Colombia: Executive Summary

Author:: César Rodríguez-Garavito, Luis Felipe Cruz-Oliveira, and Isabel Pereira-Arana
Publication Date:: 07-2022
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Dejusticia
Abstract:: In Colombia today, discussing a legal framework for marijuana is not a hypothetical matter – it’s a real political possibility. In fact, in the 2018-2022 legislative period, three bills were introduced that proposed regulating cannabis for adult use as well as coca-leaf derivatives. This regulatory boom is not exclusive to Colombia; to date, 19 states in the United States and two countries – Uruguay and Canada – have approved a legal framework for adult-use marijuana. This marks a significant change from the hardhanded laws that have shaped the war on drugs from the time of former U.S. President Richard Nixon to the present. In Colombia, cannabis is the most widely used substance that has been declared illicit. According to the National Survey of Psychoactive Substance Use (Encuesta Nacional de Consumo de Sustancias Psicoactivas), published in 2019 by the country’s Ministry of Justice and the National Administrative Department of Statistics (Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística, DANE), more than 637,000 people used marijuana within the last year (2019, p. 66), which corresponds to 2.7% of the population between 12 and 65 years of age2 . Seventy-two percent (72%) of these people were between 18 and 34 years of age and lived in Bogotá, Cali, the coffee belt or Medellín (Ministerio de Justicia & DANE, 2019, p. 68). According to the National Planning Department (Departamento Nacional de Planeación, DNP), the geographical distribution of marijuana use tends to be concentrated in urban areas that are attractive for selling the cannabis produced in the Northern Cauca subregion (DNP, 2017, p. 105). Although that is not the only region with marijuana crops, the country is currently experiencing a boom in so-called “creepy” marijuana3 (as a result of the extent of this substance and dependence on the income from it), which is produced in the Northern Cauca municipalities of Caloto, Corinto, Miranda, Toribío and Santander de Quilichao. In this context, two sensitive factors arise in debating cannabis regulation in Colombia. One is that the areas that supply the illegal market have significant gaps in terms of socioeconomic well-being and continue to experience conflict dynamics partly associated with the substance’s prohibition. The other is that the regulation of marijuana, as the most widely consumed illicit substance in the country, must address the protection of public health and the health of those who use it. The majority of regulation proposals put little emphasis on the potential revenue coming from the market, or the allocation of those resources. If we agree that marijuana has played a central role in the origins of drug trafficking in Colombia, and that the regions where it is grown today lag significantly in socioeconomic terms, the transition to a legal market would be an opportunity to improve the peasant farmer and indigenous population’s living conditions, while also protecting public health by controlling the quality and potency of the cannabis that is bought and sold. All of these public policy actions require resources. While those who promote business interests in marijuana regulation insist on stressing the economic benefits for the overall economy, along with the amount of resources it would contribute to state coffers, they fail to mention specific measures that the State should delineate so the market can be based on rules that would finance the actions needed to address the regional problems that predate the regulations, or actually gave rise to the illegal trade. With the goal of illuminating this discussion, based on comparative experiences and on the Principles and Guidelines for Human Rights in Fiscal Policy, this document addresses three dimensions of the problem: (i) explaining, based on available evidence and conceptual debates, why regulation is necessary and what role the fiscal framework plays in this policy; and (ii) providing, based on comparative experiences, elements for designing the regulations’ fiscal frameworks. Finally, contemplating these two aspects, we present a proposal for cannabis fiscal principles.
Topic:: Regulation, Fiscal Policy, and Cannabis
Political Geography:: Canada, Colombia, South America, Uruguay, and United States of America

342. Fiscal Policy in the Regulation of Adult-Use Cannabis in Colombia

Author:: Anníbal Ramírez Rodrígues, Luis Felipe Cruz-Oliveira, and Isabel Pereira-Arana
Publication Date:: 08-2022
Content Type:: Book
Institution:: Dejusticia
Abstract:: The document is divided into five sections. The first is an introduction, where we describe the background of the regulatory debate and the goals we propose for marijuana regulation in Colombia. In the second section, we present the theoretical framework for explaining why it is necessary to create a legal space for marijuana and what fiscal policy and human rights principles would be applicable to that process. In the third section, we explore comparative experiences, focusing on measures to raise revenue and resource allocation, and analyze lessons learned for the Colombian case. After that, in the fourth section, we home in on the Colombian context, considering how marijuana production and use has evolved in the country, and describing the places where production takes place and their needs. Finally, in the fifth section, we unveil our proposal: the cannabis fiscal principles.
Topic:: Markets, Regulation, Fiscal Policy, Drugs, and Cannabis
Political Geography:: Colombia and South America

343. Inventory of data on economic activity and deforestation in the Amazon Basin

Author:: Igarapé Institute
Publication Date:: 11-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Igarapé Institute
Abstract:: Multiple factors shape land change and land use patterns in the Amazon Basin.This note aims to identify data sources for two specific phenomena: changes in land cover and GHG emissions. It also considers key economic sectors that accelerate deforestation including livestock and agricultural development. To this end, the focus is on available data sources across three countries with an analysis of their geographic scope, depth of detail, and the frequency and periodicity with which they are reported.
Topic:: Security, Climate Change, Environment, Economy, Carbon Emissions, and Deforestation
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, and Amazon Basin

344. Connecting the Dots: Territories and Trajectories of Environmental Crime in the Brazilian Amazon and Beyond

Author:: Laura Trajber Waisbich and Terine Husek
Publication Date:: 07-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Igarapé Institute
Abstract:: A new study by the Igarapé institute analyzing more than 300 Federal Police operations between 2016 and 2021 found that environmental crime in the Amazon region is not only organized but far more than a local problem. Indeed, this vertibable criminal ecosystem behind Amazon plunder has expanded nationwide, reaching 24 of Brazil’s 27 states as well as neighboring nations. According to the study “Connecting the Dots: Territories and Trajectories of Environmental Crime in the Brazilian Amazon and Beyond”, published Wednesday July 20, the federal operations flagged criminal networks in 846 venues across Brazil and the region. This article is the latest in our series “Mapping Environmental Crime in the Amazon Basin.” The police ops focused largely on the nine states comprising Brazil’s Legal Amazon region, where spreading criminal activities took investigators to 197 municipalities, representing 75% of total interventions. Police also targeted environmental crimes in 57 Brazilian municipalities outside the Amazon region, and another eight cities in neighboring countries. The Federal Police interventions were triggered by unchecked deforestation associated with a variety of unlawful economic activities, from outright crimes to nominally licit market activity tainted by crime. These include illegal timber extraction, illicit mining (especially gold), land grabbing and predatory farming and ranching. This criminal network was first explored in Igarapé’s strategic paper, published earlier this year, “The Ecosystem of Environmental Crime in Amazonia: An Analysis of Illicit Economies in the Forest.” The current study takes a deeper dive into the widening criminal nexus that undergirds environmental crimes and related offenses, including illegal money flows, tax evasion, corruption, fraud and criminal violence.
Topic:: Crime, Environment, Law Enforcement, Deforestation, and Illicit Financial Flows
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, and Amazon Basin

345. The Short-Term Labor Market Impact of Venezuelan Immigration in Peru

Author:: Celia P. Vera and Juan Pablo Jiménez
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
Abstract:: Peru is the second-largest recipient of Venezuelans worldwide. We combine newly available data on Venezuelans living in Peru and the Peruvian Household Survey to assess the impact of Venezuelan migration on natives’ wages and employment. The initial regression analysis exploits the variation in supply shifts across education-experience groups over time. It indicates that immigration in Peru had no adverse impact on native wages. However, the paper highlights that in Peru immigrants and natives with similar education and experience are likely to work in different occupations. The subsequent analysis based on occupational clustering confirms the null effect on wages and indicates that a 20% increase in immigrants decreases formal employment by 6%. We do not find evidence for changes in employment composition toward informality so that migration operates through the extensive margin of employment. We report evidence in favor of immigrants being a close substitute to the least productive natives, suggesting that firms substitute native formal labor for low-cost immigrant informal labor.
Topic:: Education, Immigration, Labor Market, and Informal Economy
Political Geography:: South America, Venezuela, and Peru

346. Does the Minimum Wage Affect Wage Inequality? A Study for the Six Largest Latin American Economies

Author:: Carlo Lombardo, Lucía Ramírez-Leira, and Leonardo Gasparini
Publication Date:: 09-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
Abstract:: Minimum wage (MW) policies are widespread in the developing world and yet their effects are still unclear. In this paper we explore the effect of national MW policies in Latin America’s six largest economies by exploiting the heterogeneity in the bite of the national minimum wage across local labor markets and over time. We find evidence that the MW has a compression effect on the wage distribution of formal workers. The effect was particularly large during the 2000s, a decade of sustained growth and strong labor markets. In contrast, the effect seems to vanish in the 2010s, a decade of much weaker labor markets. We also find suggestive evidence of a lighthouse effect: the MW seems to have an equalizing effect also on the wage distribution of informal workers.
Topic:: Income Inequality, Economy, Labor Market, Minimum Wage, and Informal Economy
Political Geography:: South America and Latin America

347. Going Green: Estimating the Potential of Green Jobs in Argentina

Author:: Natalia Porto, Pablo de la Vega, and Manuela Cerimelo
Publication Date:: 08-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
Abstract:: This paper aims to identify and characterize the potential of green jobs in Argentina, i.e., those that would benefit from a transition to a green economy, using occupational green potential scores calculated in US O*NET data. We apply the greenness scores to Argentine household survey data and estimate that 25% of workers are in green jobs, i.e., have a high green potential. However, when taking into account the informality dimension, we find that 15% of workers and 12% of wage earners are in formal green jobs. We then analyze the relationship between the greenness scores (with emphasis on the nexus with decent work) and various labor and demographic variables at the individual level. We find that for the full sample of workers the green potential is relatively greater for men, the elderly, those with very high qualifications, those in formal positions, and those in specific sectors such as construction, transportation, mining, and industry. These are the groups that are likely to be the most benefited by the greening of the Argentine economy. When we restrict the sample to wage earners, the green potential score is positively associated with informality.
Topic:: Labor Market, Green Jobs, and Green Economy
Political Geography:: Argentina and South America

348. Experimental Field Evidence of Common Pool Resources: The Water Judge in Bolivia

Author:: Gabriela Agafitei
Publication Date:: 05-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:: In 2019, the Bolivian government began implementation of the Universal Health Insurance (SUS) scheme, with critics claiming the unpreparedness of the healthcare system to provide universal and free services. To date, there is no research that assesses the effects of the reform and to what extent it is providing universal, free services. The objective of this study is to fill this research gap by providing a diagnosis on access to public healthcare services after the SUS’s adoption. In this study, access is operationalized according to a theoretical framework developed by the World Health Organization (2010). The study has been conducted according to a combined method that compares data from before and after the SUS approval. First, data from the National Household Survey has been analyzed to provide an overview of dimensions related to access at the macro level. Secondly, the macro perspective is integrated with data collected through semi-structured interviews that provide a detailed analysis of the qualitative dimensions of accessing healthcare at the micro level, which are often not reflected by quantitative indicators. The results showed that on the one hand access to public healthcare services has increased in the first year of the SUS’s implementation compared to previous years. However, despite the supply of additional human resources and physical infrastructure, the sufficiency in availability of human resources remains questionable, as the values disaggregated per 1,000 inhabitants remained roughly the same. Similarly, spending at the macroeconomic level did not reach recommended levels for universal coverage. Data from the case study deepens the understanding of the findings at the macro level. In fact, access appears as characterized by considerable challenges, such as long waiting times, lack of medicines and of beds, and low-quality services that overall restrain access to the public services. The study has concluded that despite the fact that access has increased, insufficiency of resources and the structural characteristics of the Bolivian healthcare system represent severe limitations for the universal outreach of SUS.
Topic:: Services, Insurance, Healthcare System, and Universal Healthcare
Political Geography:: South America and Bolivia

349. Sanctions, Economic Statecraft, and Venezuela’s Crisis

Author:: César Rodríguez
Publication Date:: 01-2022
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Fourth Freedom Forum
Abstract:: This case study summarizes the evidence on the effect on Venezuela’s economic and social conditions of economic sanctions and other actions of economic statecraft taken by the United States and its allies in response to the country’s political crisis. The preponderance of evidence indicates that sanctions and other statecraft measures—including the formal recognition of a government with no de facto control over the territory—have had a strong and significant negative effect on the Venezuelan economy. These actions have made a sizable contribution to declining oil production, exacerbating the country’s fiscal crisis, and contributing to one of the largest documented peacetime economic contractions in modern history. Many arguments commonly voiced to dispute the effects of sanctions, such as those that appeal to temporal precedence of other causes of the country’s crisis, are either factually incorrect or premised on fallacious logic. Reforming the sanctions regime will be a complex task, given the interaction with other statecraft measures and a broader toxification of the country’s economic relations. Reform attempts should include the introduction of an oil-for-essentials program, support for political humanitarian agreements, issuance of clearer compliance guidelines, introducing an explicit differentiation between strategic and nonstrategic sanctions, and seeking multilateral alignment with international actors on key strategic issues including that of government recognition.
Topic:: Security, Diplomacy, Economics, Sanctions, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:: South America, Venezuela, and United States of America

350. Historical relations between Brazil and Paraguay: negotiations and quarrels behind Itaipu Dam

Author:: Camilo Pereira Carneiro Filho and Tomaz Espósito Neto
Publication Date:: 04-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Conjuntura Austral: Journal of the Global South
Institution:: Conjuntura Austral: Journal of the Global South
Abstract:: In the context of Brazil-Paraguay historical relations, the construction of the Itaipu hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River – on the border between the two countries – was one of the most important initiatives (in political, economic and energy terms). The events between Brazil and Paraguay involving the Itaipu project are part of South America's geopolitics. In this sense, the present article will focus on the negotiations that preceded and continued throughout the construction of the plant and the treaties and main events and agreements that established the criteria for the operation of the hydroelectric power plant. The Itaipu Treaty, signed in 1973, provides for the revision of financial clauses by 2023. Thus, the present work aims to examine the relations between Brazil and Paraguay throughout history and analyze the impacts of the Itaipu Dam on this relationship. This article is qualitative research, from the perspective of International Relations and Political Geography, enriched with cartography created by the authors with Arc GIS software.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Bilateral Relations, Negotiation, and Dams
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, and Paraguay

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS