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401. The Summit of the Americas: Rescuing the Reform Agenda

Author:
Roger F. Noriega
Publication Date:
10-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
The fourth regional Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata, Argentina, on November 4–5, will be a test of courage for the region's leaders. Pressured by genuine popular dissatisfaction, they will either commit unequivocally to finish the hard work of creating economic opportunity for the region's 128 million poor, or they will let warmed-over populism undermine the consensus behind free-market reforms and democracy itself. The stakes are high, and the leaders must use the summit process to advance the reform agenda for their peoples' sake. At the summit, President George W. Bush will, no doubt, press his colleagues to reemphasize their commitments to defend democracy and the rule of law, deepen economic reforms, and expand trade as a recipe for sustained, equitable growth. But there is a significant number of Latin leaders who may try to scuttle this work plan and serve up sympathetic rhetoric to cynically court the poor.
Topic:
International Relations, Democratization, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
America, Argentina, and South America

402. Chilean Foreign Policy: Exceptionality or Continuity? A review of "profound forces" and tendencies

Author:
María Elena Lorenzini and Myriam Colacrai
Publication Date:
12-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:
The purpose of this article is to explore how identity and profound forces shape the foreign policy of states. The author discusses how traditional Chilean foreign policy actions reveal its identity while also taking into account new external policy trends that seemingly operate within the construction of a new identity. With respect to profound forces, the article examines the following: institutional stability and democratic processes ( Pinochet's dictatorship is an exception here), presidentialism, territorial factors and regional balance, and the civic-pragmatic style of its diplomacy.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Development, and Government
Political Geography:
South America

403. Latin American Religious Responses to Socio-cultural changes of Globalization

Author:
Alice Hamui Sutton
Publication Date:
12-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:
At the beginning of this third millennium, we are witnessing the end of an era marked by the hegemony of European Christianity and the globalization of a deterritorialized and decentered Christianity. Evangelical Pentecostalism and the Catholic Charismatic Renovation Movement are examples of this type of individual salvation spiritualism in Latin America. This article illustrates how these movements base their success on their ritual pragmatism with regard to personal crisis situations and the image of a near and accessible God. Moreover, the success of these movements is because of the adjustment to new conditions of the global market, the adaptation to the new processes of citizenship typical of modern democracies, and the satisfaction of spiritual and affective needs in a context of intense shifts trying to create new identities to reestablish the social framework of society.
Topic:
Civil Society, Government, and Religion
Political Geography:
Europe, South America, and Latin America

404. Institutional Traditions and Democratic Consolidation in Uruguay

Author:
Jos Ruiz Valerio
Publication Date:
06-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:
This paper analyzes the role played by institutional traditions in Uruguayan democracy by focusing attention on two main issues. First, I describe the context in which the current Uruguayan political parties arose and the relationships established among them. Second, although it is true that parties naturally express alternative visions about politics, I contend that the building of a democratic system requires a basic consensus on which to base a set of rules that govern and contain dissidence. I discuss these two themes beginning with the emergence of Uruguay as an independent state until the term of Julio María Sanguinetti's second presidency in 2000.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, and Government
Political Geography:
South America and Uruguay

405. The Role of Perceived Opportunity in Fertility Choice: Evidence from Latin America

Author:
Louise C. Keely and Margaret MacLeod
Publication Date:
06-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
We hypothesize that the perceived returns to human capital and to income uncertainty are important determinants of recent cross-sectional variation in Latin American fertility. An empirical study of cross-country individual level data supports the hypothesis. In particular, we find that a higher perceived return to human capital and higher income uncertainty both lead to higher fertility, all else equal. We interpret the evidence to suggest that increasing economic opportunity in Latin America should be accompanied by institutions that provide social protection in order to promote further decreases in fertility toward the replacement rate.
Topic:
Economics, Gender Issues, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, Central America, and Caribbean

406. U.S.–Latin American Relations: The Prospect

Author:
Mark Falcoff
Publication Date:
07-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
This series began more than a dozen years ago with an essay titled “U.S.-Latin American Relations: Where Are We Now?” Since this is the last issue of Latin American Outlook, it seems worthwhile to pose the question again.
Topic:
Foreign Policy and Politics
Political Geography:
United States, South America, Latin America, Central America, and North America

407. Andes 2020: A New Strategy for the Challenges of Colombia and the Region

Author:
Daniel W. Christman, John G. Heimann, and Julia E. Sweig
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
The democracies of the Andean region—Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia—are at risk. The problems that characterize other developing regions—including political instability, economic stagnancy, widening inequality, and social divisions along class, color, ethnic, ideological, and urban-rural fault lines—are all present in the Andes. Most important is the region's physical insecurity, due in some countries to ongoing or resurgent violent conflict, and in every country to the lack of state control over significant territory and to porous borders that enable the easy movement of drugs, arms, and conflict. Equally sobering, expectations for strong democracy and economic prosperity in the Andes remain unrealized. Recognizing its interests in the Andes, the United States over the past two decades has spent billions of dollars and significant manpower to stem the flow of illegal drugs from the region northward; to assist local security forces in the fight against drugs, terror, and insurgency; and to promote free markets, human rights, and democratic consolidation. Yet the region remains on the brink of collapse, an outcome that would pose a serious threat to the U.S. goal of achieving democracy, prosperity, and security in the hemisphere.
Topic:
Democratization, Development, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States, Colombia, South America, Latin America, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia

408. Perspectives on Urban Poverty in Latin America

Author:
Craig Fagan
Publication Date:
02-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
Urban issues and poverty in Latin America are an integral part of any policy debate on the region. With nearly 90% of its diverse population and 50% of its poor residing in cities, effective and efficient solutions to the problems of poverty are imperative to respond to the increasing demographic and economic pressures placed on Latin America's limited social resources.
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, and Poverty
Political Geography:
South America and Latin America

409. China Brief, A Warming Friendship: Part II of a Two Part Series on China, Taiwan, and Latin America

Author:
Willy Lam, Drew Thompson, Cynthia Watson, and James P. Jr. Muldoon
Publication Date:
06-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Jamestown Foundation
Abstract:
The recent spate of articles on China's growing energy and natural resource consumption is a key explanation for Beijing's growing interest in South America. While the continent remains at least fourth on China's list of priorities, the vast array of resources available, coupled with a growing population eager to increase its consumption of goods, makes this part of the world ever more enticing. The People's Republic of China (PRC) seeks to put a modest investment in diplomatic, military, cultural, and trade relations for a possible long-term gain of significant proportion.
Topic:
International Relations, Government, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
China, Israel, Beijing, and South America

410. Unemployment, Macroeconomic Policy and Labor Market Flexibility: Argentina and Mexico in the 1990s

Author:
Roberto Frenkel and Jaime Ros
Publication Date:
02-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
This paper compares the divergent unemployment experiences in Argentina and Mexico in the 1990s, examining in detail the remarkable contrasts in the adjustment of the labor market in these two countries that occur despite equally striking similarities in the evolution of a number of macroeconomic variables and external economic shocks. The paper focuses on the role of macroeconomic policies and the type of industrial restructuring in these developments and considers to what extent the divergent unemployment experiences can be explained by differences in the institutional characteristics of the labor market.
Topic:
Economics and Industrial Policy
Political Geography:
Argentina, South America, North America, and Mexico