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331. Protest U.

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

332. Student Debt in the Americas

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

333. Higher Ed: Private Investors Get Into the Game

Author:
Gabriel Sanchez Zinny
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Americas Quarterly
Institution:
Council of the Americas
Abstract:
The combination of sustained economic growth in Latin America, a region-wide expansion of the middle class, and a newly competitive business environment has boosted demand for quality education, and stoked desires for alternatives.
Political Geography:
Latin America

334. MOOCs in Development: Fad or Future?

Author:
Juan Cristobal Bonnefoy
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Americas Quarterly
Institution:
Council of the Americas
Abstract:
Those following tech and continuing education news have been surprised by the rising popularity of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The basic promise for professionals in Latin America and the Caribbean is quite alluring: free online access to a world-class knowledge base. But questions remain. Will this new learning methodology last, or fade quickly once the novelty is gone?
Political Geography:
Latin America

335. Behind the Numbers: Women's Rights

Author:
Joan Caivano and Jane Marcus-Delgado
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Americas Quarterly
Institution:
Council of the Americas
Abstract:
The gender-based data on social inclusion clearly indicate the opportunities and obstacles facing women in Latin America-as well as numerous contradictions and complexities. An examination of new trends, laws and policies brings to mind the Spanish expression, "Del dicho al hecho, hay mucho trecho. " In other words, even in many areas where there appears to have been significant progress, intervening barriers frequently preclude its consistent application.
Political Geography:
Latin America

336. Contestations over Indigenous Participation in Bolivia's Extractive Industry: Ideology, Practices, and Legal Norms

Author:
Almut Schilling-Vacaflor
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
The participatory rights of indigenous peoples have been at the center of conflicts over resource extraction, which have recently increased in number and intensity across Latin America. Using comprehensive empirical data about the Guaraníes' participation in Bolivia's gas sector, this study finds that competing claims regarding territory, property, participation, and decision making provide important explanations for contestations over consultation practices and legal norms in the country. It argues that the main conflicts can be explained by (1) the Bolivian state's focus on directly affected communities and those with formally recognized land titles, something that clashes with the Guaraníes' principle of "territorial integrity"; (2) the state's conviction that it holds a monopoly over subsoil resources, and the limited rights to participation that it is willing to grant as a consequence, which the Guaraníes reject; and (3) the dissonance between state customs and regulations and Guaraní uses and customs.
Topic:
Energy Policy and Industrial Policy
Political Geography:
Latin America and Bolivia

337. Designing Cabinets: Presidential Politics and Ministerial Instability

Author:
Cecilia Martínez-Gallardo
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
This article proposes a set of arguments about the strategic use of cabinet appointments by executives in presidential systems. Although recent work has greatly improved our understanding of government formation in presidential countries, most changes to presidential cabinets happen throughout the lifetime of a government and remain poorly understood. I argue that presidents use cabinet changes in response to unexpected shocks and to adjust their governments to changing political and policy circumstances. Weak presidents are more likely to use this strategic resource, which means that ministerial turnover should be higher when a president's formal authority is weak and he or she has low political support and popularity. To test these claims, I have assembled an original dataset that records individual cabinet changes in 12 Latin American countries between 1982 and 2012. The data provides strong support for the theory.
Political Geography:
Latin America

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

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

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

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

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

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