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241. Income and Consumption Inequality in Latin American Countries

Author:
Sungwoo Hong
Publication Date:
07-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Abstract:
The recent large-scale protests across Latin America show the seriousness of this inequality in the region. Accumulated complaints about poverty, inequality, and the gap between the rich and the poor are the root causes of the massive protests in Chile that broke out in October 2019 and the demonstrations in Colombia that started in April 2021. This brief looks into the following questions: 1) how profound is inequality in Latin America, and has there been no notable change in its pattern over time? 2) Are the current conditions of poverty and inequality and patterns of inequality the same across Latin American countries?
Topic:
Poverty, Income Inequality, Consumption, and Income
Political Geography:
South Asia and Latin America

242. The Importance of Democracy Promotion to Great Power Competition in Latin America and the Caribbean

Author:
Rebecca Aaberg
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:
There are many reasons to believe democracy and democracy promotion are imperative in the great power competition with China, which is occurring with ever-greater intensity in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). LAC has played host to great power competition in previous eras, but in grand strategic terms, competition with China in the twenty-first century is fundamentally different than the rivalry of the Cold War against Soviet Russia. Whereas during the Cold War the United States supported friendly, anti-communist military regimes in LAC, success against China in the twenty-first century will necessitate robust support for democracy, liberal institutions, and democracy promotion. The Kirkpatrick Doctrine—which advocated for supporting “friendly authoritarian” regimes that went along with Washington’s aims—applied so deliberately to LAC during the Cold War, is outmoded and likely to be highly counterproductive today. On the contrary, there are many reasons to believe that successfully countering China in great power competition will be intimately linked to the democratic health of LAC as a region. This is the democracy imperative. This paper begins with background on U.S. policy toward LAC during the Cold War. Then, it places the question of a Kirkpatrick Doctrine for the twenty-first century within the context of great power competition with China and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has prompted the Biden administration to consider re-engaging pariah regimes such as the Maduro dictatorship in Venezuela. The paper will then adumbrate reasons why great power competition with China is fundamentally different than previous iterations of competition against Soviet Russia, which saw U.S. support for anti-communist military regimes.
Topic:
Security, Hegemony, Democracy, and Competition
Political Geography:
Latin America, Caribbean, North America, and United States of America

243. Establishing research priorities on violence against women and girls in the Latin American and Caribbean region

Author:
Carmen Porras Gomez, Ana Landa Ugarte, Ivonne Argueta Vasquez, and Beiby Vaca Parada
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI)
Abstract:
While it is recognized that violence against women and children is a multidimensional problem, it becomes necessary to establish research priorities to achieve better use of available resources and to advance more systematically in response to violence against them. In this way, SVRI promoted with its partner organizations to identify global research priorities on violence against women under an open, collaborative approach so that diverse voices and perspectives were included. Within this framework, a collective set of priorities for the Latin American and Caribbean region was developed based on the findings of the Global Shared Research Agenda, including violence against girls. This research considers different sources of information, both quantitative and qualitative. However, it aims to give visibility, presence, and reason to the voices of the experts consulted, with special attention to non-academic voices. Therefore, the Regional Agenda of research priorities of violence against women and girls considers the needs of civil society organizations working in this field. This, in opposition to traditional methodologies built from the priorities of funders or academia, surpassing the ‘expert’ judgment of a limited group of people. The process itself is as valuable as the results when it comes to a new approach. The following report is structured in three parts. The first section presents the objectives and background, the methodology, the scope and limitations encountered. The second part includes the results of the process of collective construction of the Regional Agenda. Finally, the third part displays the conclusions and recommendations.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Women, Gender Based Violence, and Sexual Violence
Political Geography:
Latin America, Caribbean, and North America

244. Artists killed in Latin America for exercising their freedom of artistic expression

Author:
Cecilia Noce and Diana Arévalo
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
Abstract:
This is an executive summary of the original report produced in Spanish that focuses only on violence against artists, like targeted killings related to the exercise of their right to freedom of expression and artistic creativity in Latin America. In 2021, CADAL recorded 378 attacks on freedom of artistic expression, of which 23 were murders. Artists and cultural workers who participated in protests in Colombia and Cuba were harassed, detained, and repressed. Musicians and cultural leaders were also involved in the violence between organized crime groups in countries such as Mexico and Brazil.
Topic:
Arts, Culture, Freedom of Expression, Protests, Targeted Killing, and Organized Crime
Political Geography:
Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Latin America, and Mexico

245. 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

246. 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

247. The Institutionalization of Anti-Haitianism in Dominican History and Education

Author:
Ayendy Bonifacio
Publication Date:
01-2022
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:
Recent acts of anti-Haitian violence and discrimination are not isolated events, but part of a long history of anti-Blackness in the Dominican Republic.
Topic:
History, Discrimination, Violence, and Racism
Political Geography:
Latin America, Caribbean, Haiti, and Dominican Republic

248. Hurricane Ian Highlights the Devastating Effects of the U.S. Blockade on Cuba

Author:
Mikael Wolfe
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:
As Cuba reels from the ongoing effects of Hurricane Ian, a Havana-based Cuban scholar explains how the U.S. blockade has hampered Cuba’s recovery from Hurricane Ian and fuels ongoing mass emigration.
Topic:
Migration, Natural Disasters, Bilateral Relations, Sanctions, Hurricane, and Blockade
Political Geography:
Cuba, Latin America, Caribbean, and United States of America

249. How to Destroy an Investigation from the Inside: Ayotzinapa and the Legacies of Impunity

Author:
John Gibler
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:
Is the Mexican government's dubious new evidence part of another “historical truth?”
Topic:
Corruption, Government, History, Impunity, Memory, and Extrajudicial Killings
Political Geography:
Latin America, North America, and Mexico

250. 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

251. 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

252. 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

253. 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

254. 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

255. 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

256. 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

257. 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

258. The European Community's Contradictory External Behaviour: The Promotion of Integration in Latin America in the Late 1980s

Publication Date:
08-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:
Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:
The European Union (EU) and its predecessor, the European Community (EC), is not only well known as the most important regional organization; it is a model for regional integration, which promotes regionalism (Börzel and Risse, 2013) as a distinct European idea (Bicchi 2006). Moreover, the literature has stressed European support for regional integration, which became an objective of its external policy, as shown in the publications of the Directorate Generals (Farrell 2009). Furthermore, some authors underline that Europe has had an influence on regionalism in other parts of the world. For example, Lenz argues that Europe has an ideational influence on regionalism, which consists of an indirect process through socialization and emulation (Lenz 2013). With that in mind, the EU has facilitated regional efforts by supplying aid and by acknowledging other regional groups. Nevertheless, it is essential to ask: Does the EU always act accordingly? As noted above, most of the literature about European influence focuses on how the EU supports regional integration, understanding it in a broader manner “as a multidimensional process which may take the form of coordination, cooperation, convergence and deep integration initiatives and whose scope extends not only to economic and trade issues but to political, social, cultural and environmental ones as well.” (Rosales, Herreros, and Durán 2014, 9) and especially regionalism, defined by Hurrell as constituted by societal integration, regional awareness interstate cooperation, regional integration, and cohesion (Hurrell 1995, 41-44). Nevertheless, it is necessary to consider that external actors, like the EU/EC, can also undermine regional integration, specifically interstate cooperation, a fundamental element of regionalism. For example, by offering extra-regional options which offer benefits for bilateral cooperation, like in Southern Africa (Muntschick 2013, 4). Other examples can be found in EU bilateral agreements signed because of failed interregional negotiations (Dongo 2011). Although there is some literature about the European influence on regional integration, whether positive or negative, there is still a knowledge void about the European influence on this matter. Is it possible that the EU/EC can support and, at the same time, undermine integration efforts?
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, European Union, Regional Integration, and Regionalism
Political Geography:
Europe and Latin America

259. Discrimination Against Gay and Transgender People in Latin America: A Correspondence Study in the Rental Housing Market

Author:
Nicolás Abbate, Inés Berniell, Joaquín Coleff, Luis Laguinge, Margarita Machelett, Mariana Marchionni, Julian Pedrazzi, and Maria Florencia Pinto
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
Abstract:
We assess the extent of discrimination against gay and transgender individuals in the rental housing markets of four Latin American countries. We conducted a large-scale field experiment building on the correspondence study methodology to examine interactions between property managers and fictitious couples engaged in searches in a major online rental housing platform. We find evidence of discriminatory behavior against heterosexual couples where the female partner is a transgender women (trans couples): they receive 19% fewer responses, 27% fewer positive responses, and 23% fewer invitations to showings than heterosexual couples. However, we find no evidence of discrimination against gay male couples. We also assess whether the evidence is consistent with taste-based discrimination or statistical discrimination models by comparing response rates when couples signal a high socioeconomic status (high SES). While we find no significant effect of the signal on call-back rates or the type of response for high-SES heterosexual or gay male couples, trans couples benefit when they signal a high SES. Their call-back, positive-response, and invitation rates increase by 25%, 36% and 29%, respectively. These results suggest the presence of discrimination against trans couples in the Latin American online rental housing market, which seems consistent with statistical discrimination. Moreover, we find no evidence of heterosexual couples being favoured over gay male couples, nor evidence of statistical discrimination for gay male or heterosexual couples.
Topic:
Discrimination, LGBT+, Housing, Rent, and Transgender
Political Geography:
Latin America

260. Intergenerational Mobility of Economic Well-being in Latin America

Author:
Guido Neidhöfer, Matias Ciaschi, and Leonardo Gasparini
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
Abstract:
We estimate, for the first time, long-run trends in intergenerational economic mobility for a multitude of countries in Latin America going beyond parent-child correlations in educational attainment. We use several indicators of well-being, such as the socio-economic situation of individuals, job stability, homeownership and assets. Unlike estimates based on education, which mostly show increasing social mobility trends, we find that opportunities to achieve a certain level of economic well-being and climb up the social ladder are rather unequally distributed and have not changed much over time in Latin America.
Topic:
Inequality, Economy, Economic Mobility, and Well-Being
Political Geography:
Latin America