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1. An Ecofeminist Contribution to the Debates on the Neoextractivist Development Model in Latin America

Author:
Esra Akgemci
Publication Date:
06-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:
This article presents a materialist ecofeminist critique of neoextractivism by highlighting its historical origins and elaborating its economic policy implications in Latin America. Three questions addressed are as follows: 1) How can materialist ecofeminism contribute to understanding the current dynamics of capitalist development in the Global South, 2) why (neo)extractivism hits women hardest, and 3) to what extent and how ecofeminist movements can shape a post-extractivist transition to a just and sustainable future. The article’s main argument is that exploitation and oppression in Latin America can be understood in terms of gender, race, and class and, therefore, require an intersectional analysis framework. Within this framework, post-extractivist alternatives in this region must incorporate an ecofeminist analysis to understand better how social expression systems (including sexism, white supremacy, and ecological crises) intersect and reinforce each other. In this framework, this study is intended to contribute to the growing literature and debate on the development and resistance dynamics of neoextractivism in Latin America, where long-standing racial and gender inequalities intersect with class inequalities.
Topic:
Development, Capitalism, Patriarchy, Materialism, Social Reproduction, Ecofeminism, and Neo-Developmentalism
Political Geography:
Latin America

2. How Latin America Can Delink from Imperialism

Author:
Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
Publication Date:
07-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
Abstract:
This dossier explores the possibilities that the current crisis of global capitalism creates for sovereign regional development projects in Latin America and the Caribbean and the importance of South-South alliances in this struggle.
Topic:
Development, Imperialism, Capitalism, Alliance, and Regional Politics
Political Geography:
Latin America and Caribbean

3. Smart Metropolis? Mexico City’s Ongoing Transformation

Author:
María José Salcedo
Publication Date:
09-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Throughout history and the globe, cities have been the driving force of development, from commerce to culture. Currently, over 50 percent of the world’s population lives in urban areas. At this rate, experts expect that the urban population will more than double by 2050, and nearly seven out of 10 people will live in cities.1 Therefore, because cities generate 80 percent of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), urbanization is a means for economic growth in developing countries.2 Once viewed as shrinking, shattered, or overcrowded, cities can now be seen as crucial spaces of economic betterment for most of the world’s poor as well as places where the environmental and social crises of our times are addressed.3 Smart cities are crucial for sustainable development. In 2015, all member countries of the UN adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development comprising 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It recognized that end- ing poverty requires the reduction of inequalities and economic growth, all while tackling climate change. The SDGs are a collective and urgent call for action by all developed and developing countries. Together with the 2030 UN Agenda, the Paris Climate Agreement was also adopted in 2015, marking a landmark for multilateralism and international policy.4 The Paris Agreement is the first binding commitment to keep global temperature rise below two degrees Celsius, highlighting the need for achieving more sustainable mobility systems within cities.5 Many countries have committed to reducing their emissions within the agreement, but cities are the main actors that can contribute by becom- ing environmentally resilient, which in practice, translates into strategies that mitigate natural phenomena while greening urban areas. Green infrastructure, street arborization, and flood-friendly parks exemplify how public spaces can contribute to decreasing pollution and emissions while fostering a car-less city.
Topic:
Development, Economy, Smart Cities, and Sustainable Development
Political Geography:
Latin America and Mexico City

4. Latin America and China's Belt and Road Initiative: Challenges and Proposals from a Latin American Perspective

Author:
Victor Ramiro Fernandez, Juliana González Jáuregui, and Gabriel Esteban Merino
Publication Date:
06-2023
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:
Despite the divergent perspectives that address the presence of China in the Global South through the Belt and Road Initiative, scarce approaches identify how Latin America could face that challenge to reverse its historical dependency and promote economic development. We address this question by recovering and updating structuralist, dependentist, and autonomist contributions developed in Latin America combined with an arrighiean version of the world system. We compare the Latin American and Chinese trajectories regarding regional integration, productive and technological constitutions, spatial asymmetries, and state capacities. Finally, we propose how to forge a relationship with China that enhances Latin American autonomy.
Topic:
Development, Infrastructure, Regional Integration, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Economic Development, and Autonomy
Political Geography:
China and Latin America

5. Good Practices in the Provision of Global Public Goods: How multilateral development banks build on global public goods in their operations

Author:
Johanna Neuhoff and Hannah Zick
Publication Date:
07-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Oxford Economics
Abstract:
In our flagship report, ‘Multilateral Development Banks for Global Public Goods’, commissioned by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Oxford Economics highlighted the positive role that the use of GPGs can play in preventing and addressing crises that cross national boundaries. As part of that work, we wanted to identify and share promising practices and good examples of how the provision of GPGs can be supported through international funding—and in particular through MDBs. We gathered a longlist of 99 examples of MDBs supporting GPG provision based on comprehensive desk research and interviews with over 30 key actors in the realm of project development. From this, we selected 20 case studies to carry out “deep dive” research to showcase good practices of provision of GPGs by MDBs based on whether the intervention: benefitted not only people inside the country of implementation but also beyond the country’s borders; supported the implementation of framework conditions that change the incentive structure for the provision of GPGs; could be replicated in other countries; and rated a good practice in reports or named a good practice by interview partners from MDBs. As a result, we gathered examples of GPG projects supported by MDBs and multilateral institutions at the country level that might not have been intended to only support GPG provision—such as those GPG projects mostly financed via Trust Funds and FIFs—but which also produced high GPG effects by maximising the synergies between national and global benefits. The case studies are designed to inform stakeholders from MDBs and receiving countries involved in the programming and project designing of development cooperation alike. The case studies showcase promising and highly replicable ways of supporting the provision of GPGs in the MDBs’ country engagement—considering both national and cross-country benefits of an intervention. Furthermore, valuable lessons can be learned on the institutional set-up, financing, quantification etc. concerning the support of GPGs by MDBs. They include examples of projects in sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia & Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and South Asia, and which covered issues such as climate and the environment, global public health, peace and security, financial resilience, and a fair international trading system. In a synthesis report, we set out 12 recommendations to organisations implementing GPGs to ensure they maximise the benefits on the ground, based on our findings from the analysis of the case studies. These range from using cost-benefit analysis and focusing on projects with high cross-country benefits to helping coordination of in-country provision and encouraging regional learning.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Environment, International Trade and Finance, Institutions, Public Health, and Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs)
Political Geography:
South Asia, East Asia, Germany, Latin America, Caribbean, Asia-Pacific, Global Focus, and Sub-Saharan Africa

6. The Last Hurdle? Unyielding Motherhood Effects in the Context of Declining Gender Inequality in Latin America

Author:
Mariana Marchionni and Julian Pedrazzi
Publication Date:
11-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
Abstract:
We assess whether motherhood could be the last hurdle to achieving gender equality in developing countries by exploring the link between motherhood and the overall gender gap in the labor market for 14 Latin American countries over the last two decades. Using pseudo- panels built from harmonized household surveys and an event study approach around the birth of the first child, we find that the arrival of the first child leads to a sharp and persistent 35% decline in mothers’ earnings. This result is explained by a reduction in employment and a prompting shift towards occupations that favor more flexible work arrangements, including part-time and informal jobs. These effects are pervasive across countries and population groups. Furthermore, using an extended version of the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition, we identify motherhood as the primary source of income inequality between men and women. Motherhood explains 42% of the remaining gender gap and has progressively gained relative importance over the last two decades while other contributing factors, such as education and its associated returns, have shown a waning impact. Moreover, we find no clear cross- country association between the motherhood-related gap and per capita GDP or gender norms, while the contribution of other factors to the gender gap in earnings diminishes with higher per capita GDP and more gender-egalitarian social norms. This suggests that gender gaps stemming from the motherhood effect exhibit greater rigidity than other drivers of gender inequality.
Topic:
Development, Inequality, Gender, Decomposition, Motherhood, and Child Penalty
Political Geography:
Latin America

7. Chinese Firms and Adherence to Global Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Standards in Developing Countries: Is there Potential to Create Common Ground?

Author:
Mike Morris
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:
This paper focuses on analysing how Chinese firms operate in Latin America, Asia and Africa in regard to ESG (environmental, social and governance) standards and sustainability issues. How do they respond to the increasing global value chain requirement to incorporate and maintain ESG standards? Is their space for an alignment between Western development cooperation ESG policies, frameworks, strategies and practices and Chinese political and economic stakeholders in the developing world? The paper uses a variety of case studies covering Chinese firms (disaggregated into SOEs (state-owned enterprises) and large, medium and small private sector firms) operating in various sectors in countries across the developing world. It uses a three dimensional framework to analyse different types of Chinese firms in terms of value chain operations covering many of the ESG standards they are required to meet: 1. Supply chain relations (i.e. approach to supporting upgrading of local suppliers); 2. Internal firm processes (i.e. approach to local labour, training and upskilling); 3. Social licence to operate (i.e. approach to meaningfully engaging with local communities taking account of their social and economic needs).
Topic:
Development, Environment, Governance, Business, and Supply Chains
Political Geography:
Africa, China, Asia, and Latin America

8. A Winding Path to Integration: Venezuelan Migrants’ Regularization and Labor Market Prospects

Author:
Diego Chaves-González and Natalia Delgado
Publication Date:
10-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
The movement of more than 6 million Venezuelans to other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean has challenged the region’s governments to rethink how they manage mobility across their borders and the integration of immigrants within them. Many have launched programs to regularize Venezuelan newcomers. However, the status offered by regularization measures has varied enormously, including in terms of duration and the rights granted. These differences have had implications for Venezuelans’ ability to find work, access services, and plan for the future. This report examines how regularization efforts have affected Venezuelans’ labor market integration. It looks closely at the case of Colombia, which has received the most displaced Venezuelans and operated the region’s largest regularization program, as well as at other countries that make up the Quito Process, which has made Venezuelans’ socioeconomic integration a top priority. Among other sources, the study draws on interviews and focus groups with policy and regional experts, migrants, integration-focused organizations, and private-sector stakeholders. Topics explored include the impacts of granting short- versus long-term regular status, varying rates of labor market informality and labor enforcement, and the significant human capital Venezuelans have brought to many countries. The report also offers recommendations for countries as they continue to refine their strategies for granting Venezuelans regular status and fostering their integration.
Topic:
Development, Migration, Employment, Integration, Labor Market, and Skills
Political Geography:
Latin America and Venezuela

9. Models of Measuring Cooperation: Brazil and Mexico

Author:
José Alejandro Sebastian Barrios Díaz
Publication Date:
05-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Contexto Internacional
Institution:
Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:
Over the past few decades, South-South cooperation has grown in terms of actors, volume, geographic reach, instruments, and modalities, but, statistics on this type of cooperation have been incomplete and fragmented. The technical, political, and institutional challenges in measuring South-South cooperation are emphasised by countries like Brazil and Mexico, chosen as cases to be analysed in the text. The article explores the experiences in measuring international cooperation provided by Brazil and Mexico, starting with the characterization of the two national trajectories in the quantification and the modalities that determine the process, and analyses the main similarities and differences presented between the cases. The analysis of the countries studied in this article evidence the different institutional designs of international cooperation and the establishment of measurement models elaborated by governments based on their own realities of international cooperation, indicating, therefore, that the process of measuring international cooperation is not only a statistical issue, but above all, a political one. Seen in these terms, South-South cooperation measurement exercises have provided more knowledge about how cooperation activities are organized and their relation to global development agendas, and have also consolidated the transparency of public expenditure.cooperation and development; South-South cooperation; public expenditure; Brazil; Mexico; measurement.
Topic:
Development, International Cooperation, Global South, Public Spending, and Measurement
Political Geography:
Brazil, South America, Latin America, and Mexico

10. Mapping the “Women, Peace and Security” agenda in Latin America: a comparison of the UN’s National Action Plans

Author:
Paula Drumond, Tamya Rebelo, Isa Mendes, and Ana Velasco
Publication Date:
05-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
BRICS Policy Center
Abstract:
Adopted on October 31, 2000 by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Resolution 1325 has since then been one of the main references for the development, strengthening, and expansion of policies aimed at promoting gender equality, giving rise to the so-called Women Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. This Policy Brief aims to map and systematize the diffusion of the WPS agenda in Latin America. This analysis aims to reflect on the contours of the agenda in the region and deepen the understanding of how Latin American countries engage with this global normative framework. Based on an analysis of the National Action Plans (NAPs) adopted so far by countries in the region (Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico), the work reveals how the agenda is being adopted in these different contexts, seeking to identify existing convergences and particularities. The mapping and analysis of the NAPs are organized around three main aspects: (i) their elaboration process and the actors involved; (ii) the content, objectives, and measures adopted; and (iii) implementation and monitoring strategies. The goal is to offer a general diagnosis of the national engagements with the agenda, summarizing the main advances, limitations, and recommendations to promote its implementation in the region.
Topic:
Security, Development, United Nations, Women, Peace, and Equality
Political Geography:
Latin America