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202. El Salvador’s Slide Toward Authoritarianism
- Author:
- Jonathan Ng
- Publication Date:
- 11-2022
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
- Abstract:
- Three decades of U.S. intervention and opposition policies have helped Nayib Bukele monopolize power.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Authoritarianism, and Intervention
- Political Geography:
- Latin America, Central America, El Salvador, and United States of America
203. Cuba’s New Family Code is a Window into the Political Ecosystem
- Author:
- Ailynn Torres Santana and Julio César Guanche Zaldívar
- Publication Date:
- 11-2022
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
- Abstract:
- After intense public debate the new Code was approved in a September referendum, placing sexual and gender politics at the center of the social and political fabric.
- Topic:
- Domestic Politics, LGBT+, Legislation, Family, Sexuality, Marriage, Society, and Gender
- Political Geography:
- Cuba, Latin America, and Caribbean
204. In the Dominican Republic, Language Barriers Complicate Life for Haitian Migrants
- Author:
- Kendall Medford
- Publication Date:
- 11-2022
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
- Abstract:
- For the hundreds of thousands of Kreyòl speakers living in the Dominican Republic, the lack of language resources limits access to basic services.
- Topic:
- Migration, Language, Services, and Migrants
- Political Geography:
- Latin America, Caribbean, Haiti, and Dominican Republic
205. 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
206. Protesting Against Crime and Insecurity: High-Risk Activism in Mexico's Drug War
- Author:
- Sandra J. Ley Gutiérrez
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Kellogg Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- When do protests against crime and insecurity take place, regardless of the risks that such mobilization may entail? This paper argues that while violence provides an initial motivation for participating in protests, social networks play a fundamental role in incentivizing citizen mobilization against insecurity. Socialization within networks helps generate solidarity and empathy among participants, while at the same time transforming emotions associated with living in a violent context into potential for action. Also, through networks, individuals share information about opportunities for collective action and change their perceptions about the effectiveness and risks of such activism. These distinct mechanisms are valuable for the activation of protest against crime across levels of violence. Supporting evidence is derived from an original dataset on protest events in reaction to violence in Mexico between 2006 and 2012. Additionally, I rely on qualitative in-depth interviews and participant observation to illustrate the role of networks in protest against crime across several Mexican states. This paper contributes to the growing literature on criminal violence and political participation.
- Topic:
- Security, Civil Society, Crime, Social Movement, Protests, Violence, Social Networks, and Activism
- Political Geography:
- Latin America, North America, and Mexico
207. 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
208. The future of immunization financing in Latin America and the Caribbean
- Author:
- Miguel Betancourt-Cravioto and Pepe Zhang
- Publication Date:
- 11-2022
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- Latin America and Caribbean countries have a long history of effective implementation of national immunization programs (NIPs), which has led to the successful control of infectious diseases such as smallpox, measles, and poliomyelitis, among many others. Yet challenges such as inequity, rising costs, growing population needs, and the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic have negatively impacted the operation of NIPs in the region. This has led to a significant reduction in vaccine coverage rates (VCRs), putting the population at risk of severe, preventable diseases. Addressing these and other challenges facing NIPs requires sustained sources of funding that are capable of expansion according to national needs. So far, the region has coped with domestic public resources and the important support of international mechanisms including the Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) Revolving Fund (RF). Innovative financing is particularly useful in today’s context of fiscal constraints, as it helps public institutions maintain and enhance immunization programs by supplementing available resources with new sources of funding and/ or expanding the impact of existing financing structures. Considering that immunization is a multidimensional endeavor requiring efficient management of demand, supply, delivery, and many other issues, a holistic, health-system approach to immunization is essential to stimulating innovative financing and maximizing its benefits. This issue brief built upon findings from a private, nonpartisan strategy session as part of the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center’s #FutureofHealth Series, which aims to provide a practical, forward-looking approach to target key policy issues at the intersection of health and the economy in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Topic:
- Vaccine, Resilience, COVID-19, Society, and Immunization
- Political Geography:
- Latin America and Caribbean
209. Improving tax policy in Latin America and the Caribbean: A balancing act
- Author:
- Felipe Larraín B. and Pepe Zhang
- Publication Date:
- 12-2022
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- Latin America and the Caribbean is in the midst of a delicate economic transition, with five of the LAC6 countries attempting a tax reform before their GDPs recovered to pre-pandemic levels.1 As the region confronts rising inflation, the economic spillovers of the war in Ukraine, and budgetary pressures left behind by the pandemic, governments should improve their taxation systems to rebuild fiscal stability, stimulate growth, and enhance equity – a delicate balancing act among overlapping policy priorities. Regional taxes are a heavy administrative burden, requiring nearly twice the time to complete in LAC as in the OECD.2 At the same time, the region struggles with average tax evasion of 5.6 percent of GDP3 and a continued overreliance on corporate income taxes.4 With still-high public debts and fiscal deficits, governments must respond by implementing policies to streamline and modernize revenue collection and management. What are the pros and cons and trade-offs involved in increasing or decreasing the region’s three main taxes (VAT, PIT, and CIT)? How can governments optimize enforcement and collection without resorting to rate changes? What policies outside the tax authority are needed to support tax reforms? How can policymakers better navigate the thorny politics of tax reforms? The following pages provide new analysis and concrete recommendations to address these questions. Drawing on the powerful expertise of its authors in addition to valuable commentary and insight from private, nonpartisan strategy sessions, legal experts, and regional governments, this report is a strong addition to the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center’s #ProactiveLAC Series, which aims to provide insight and foresight to LAC countries on how to advance economic reactivation and long-term prosperity.
- Topic:
- Markets, Reform, Economic Growth, Tax Systems, Macroeconomics, Fiscal Policy, Financial Institutions, and Inclusion
- Political Geography:
- Latin America and Caribbean
210. Latin America and the New Non-Aligned Movement
- Author:
- Bryan Pitts
- Publication Date:
- 04-2022
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
- Abstract:
- While the Global North has responded as a unified front to the war in Ukraine, in Latin America, countries are choosing their own paths.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, War, Geopolitics, and Narrative
- Political Geography:
- Ukraine and Latin America