Urbanization as an Agent in Latin American Political Instability: The Case of Mexico

1969 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 833-857 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne A. Cornelius
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Political Instability ◽  
Urban Migration ◽  
Science Literature ◽  
Demographic Shift ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Urban Concentration

A large descriptive and conjectural literature has evolved during the past decade suggesting that rapid urbanization—conceived primarily as a massive demographic shift from country to city—constitutes an important agent of political instability in much of Latin America, favoring the growth of alienation and radicalism. This effect is frequently attributed to the frustration of migrant expectations for economic improvement and social mobility in the large cities, or to the processes of personal and social disorganization allegedly inherent in the migration experience. Although field researchers have long suspected the inadequacy of such theory, derived largely from the urbanization experiences of advanced Western nations, for explaining political instability in Latin America, there have been few systematic attempts at testing the various propositions and unconfirmed generalizations advanced by the “urban instability-crisis-and-chaos” theorists. This paper attempts to explore, if not to test, some of the empirical implications of the general theoretical conceptions of the urbanizing process and its socio-political consequences as developed in recent social science literature on Latin America. Mexico is selected for analysis both by virtue of its extremely rapid rate of rural-urban migration in recent years and because of the opportunities afforded by the availability for Mexico of detailed survey data from a number of independent sources to examine systematically a wide range of theoretically relevant variables and relationships posited in the urbanization literature. While in certain areas (as indicated below) the particular nature of the Mexican political system and developmental pattern may render these findings imperfect as predictors for other parts of Latin America, the analysis presented here should serve to identify the major inadequacies of existing theory and illustrate the need for new conceptual models which can encompass both stabilizing and destabilizing concomitants of rapid urban concentration in a developing nation.

scholarly journals Taming the Tiger: Voting Rights and Political Instability in Latin America

2004 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josep M. Colomer
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Formal Model ◽  
Political Instability ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
Historical Survey ◽  
Electoral Rules ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Different Levels

AbstractThis article discusses the relationship between certain institutional regulations of voting rights and elections, different levels of electoral participation, and the degree of political instability in several Latin American political experiences. A formal model specifies the hypotheses that sudden enlargements of the electorate may provoke high levels of political instability, especially under plurality and other restrictive electoral rules, while gradual enlargements of the electorate may prevent much electoral and political innovation and help stability. Empirical data illustrate these hypotheses. A historical survey identifies different patterns of political instability and stability in different countries and periods, which can be compared with the adoption of different voting rights regulations and electoral rules either encouraging or depressing turnout.

scholarly journals The theory of peripheral capitalism: on the applicability of the Latin American model to the Baltic States. An attempt at an inter-disciplinary analysis

Baltic Region ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-117
Author(s):  
I. A. Maksimtsev ◽  
N. M. Mezhevich ◽  
N. P. Sirota
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Geographical Differences ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Systemic Analysis ◽  
American Model ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
The Baltic

The relevance of this study of post-Soviet transition lies in the focus on the technically theoretical problems that are nevertheless the key to understanding regional development processes in the East of the Baltic Sea. The research aims to verify the theory of peripheral capitalism as applied to the Baltic States. The first theoretical objective is to draw a distinction between the ideas of modernisation and transformation in a regional context. The second objective is to adjust the theory of peripheral capitalism to smaller states. To study the features of the transformation of economic and political systems in the Baltics, this article conducts comparative analysis. Systemic analysis and the principles of theoretical and empirical analysis are used as well. Building on this work, the study identifies the deficiencies of the theoretical and methodological potential of transition studies. These include claims that the theoretical and methodological potential of transition as applied to post-Socialist and post-Soviet Europe has been completely fulfilled. Geographical differences between Latin America and the Baltic States are so obvious that they eclipse economic similarities between the processes and development models characteristic of the two regions of the world. An analysis of current developments in Latin America makes it possible to forecast the economic and, to a degree, political consequences of the trends that are just emerging in the Baltics. This article seeks to prove the above thesis.

Latin American Connections: Recent Work on German Interactions with Latin America

2013 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 362-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Glenn Penny
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
South America ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
Almost Everywhere ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
German Speaking

German interactions with Latin America have a long history. Indeed, early modern historians have demonstrated that people from German-speaking central Europe took part in all aspects of the European conquest of Central and South America. They have shown that these people were critical to mining operations and publishing in sixteenth-century Mexico; they have found them among Portuguese and Spanish sailors and soldiers almost everywhere; and they have located them playing important roles in a wide range of professions from Mexico to the south of Chile.

The Shortage of Priests in Latin America: A Historical Evaluation of Werner Promper’s Priesternot in Lateinamerika

1966 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonine Tibesar
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Secretary General ◽  
Major Study ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Church ◽  
Extensive Bibliography

This book is a major study of one of the most serious problems of the Church in Latin America today, the shortage of priests, by the Secretary General of the Latin-American College of Louvain University. Ten years have been devoted to research, and this effort is reflected in the extensive bibliography, numerous statistical tables, and the wide range of facts contained in the text. In a word, this study is a notable effort to understand and explain the lack of priests in an area which is traditionally looked upon as Catholic.

scholarly journals Latin America: The Road to Coronacrisis

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 73-93
Author(s):  
N. M. Yakovleva ◽  
P. P. Yakovlev
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Economic Security ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact

Among all the regions of the world, Latin America has been the most vulnerable to the spread of the coronavirus epidemic. The COVID-19 pandemic not only exposed the weaknesses of national health systems, but also served as a catalyst for the crisis socio-economic phenomena that have developed in the region over the past decade. The impact of the pandemic should serve Latin America as a clear lesson and motivate the local political and business establishment to make a significant adjustment to the content of the regional development strategy. It is logical, in our opinion, to raise the question of rethinking the role of the state in public life, the development of a modern, meeting the requirements of the moment, the Latin American concept of epidemiological and socio-economic security. In the post-covid period, at the center of public attention and targeted government efforts ought to be the challenges of radically improving health care through the priority development of those sectors of the economy that can provide diversification and, as a result, increase the level of crisis-sustainability of Latin American states. First of all, they should focus on the manufacturing industry, including the production of a wide range of medicines and equipment, as well as the sectors that ensure the development and modernization of socio-economic infrastructure: utilities, transport, alternative energy, telecommunications. In the field of international relations, the importance of cooperation with those States that have pioneered the development of COVID-19 coronavirus vaccines has increased significantly. In this context, it must be mentioned the interest that the registration in the Russian Federation of the first domestic vaccine Sputnik V provoked in Latin America.

scholarly journals Postcolonial theory and its Impact upon modern historical-anthropological research of Latin America

2021 ◽  
pp. 61-69
Author(s):  
Irina Veselova
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Postcolonial Theory ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Comparative Method ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Anthropological Research ◽  
Special Challenge ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Latin Americanism

The object of this research is the postcolonial theory, while the subject is its impact upon the historical, and namely, historical-anthropological research of Latin America. The author examines such peculiarities of post-colonialism as the problem of identification, the “oppressed”, the importance of linguistic component of scientific description, as well as the political bias of this direction. Attention is turned to the process of adaptation of postcolonial theory to Latin American scientific foundation; emphasis is placed on the fact that the region has its own tradition of interpretation of the colonial past that results in occurrence of the so-called phenomenon of decolonial turn within the Latin American humanities. Based on the comparative method and qualitative content analysis of the works dedicated to postcolonial theory, the author demonstrates the presence of a wide range of opinions of Latin American researchers on such concepts as “colonialism: and “Latin Americanism”. The conclusion is made that the intense discussion on the theoretical aspects of colonial and decolonial theory may underlie the new vector in the historical studies of Latin America.  At the same time, decolonial turn alongside postcolonial theory, raise a number of questions, the solution of which is vital for the development of accurate methodology for further scientific research. For the Russian Latin American scholars, the new trends turn into a special challenge that should be considered in carrying out historical and anthropological research.

Forty Years in Crises: Understanding the Underlying Causes of Financial Crises in Latin America and How Coronavirus Positions the Region Today

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Murphy ◽  
Ahmad Etebari
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Interest Rates ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Financial Crises ◽  
Political Instability ◽  
Commodity Prices ◽  
Precipitating Factors ◽  
The Past ◽  
Economic Decisions ◽  
Underlying Causes

This paper is an attempt at identifying the causes and commonalities of financial crises in Latin America over the past forty years. This identification is carried out through an extensive review and analysis of the literature on the precipitating factors of 12 major financial crises in six major nations in Latin America. Through the literature review, we find three major commonalities among the Latin American financial crises: over-dependence on commodities, ineffective macro and currency policies, and overall political instability. Political instability is often the impetus for self-serving, politically motivated economic decisions, accentuating an existing crisis or contributing to a new one, such as the region’s current struggles with the Covid-19 pandemic. Our analysis show that these crises are associated with significant shifts in the commodity prices, exchange rates and interest rates.

Fascism and Dependency in Latin America in the Thinking of Theotônio dos Santos

2021 ◽  
pp. 0094582X2110591
Author(s):  
Maíra Machado Bichir
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Marxist Theory ◽  
Political Regime ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
America Latina

The analysis of Theotônio dos Santos, a central reference of the Marxist theory of dependency, of the counterrevolutionary political processes in Latin America in the 1960s and 1970s, reflecting what he observes as an advance of fascistization, proposes the concept of a dependent fascism to characterize some of the military governments that materialized in the region. His writings on the subject are part of a wide range of debates that took place in Latin America during the 1970s, which focused on the context of political radicalization between revolution and counterrevolution, a tug-of-war that led to a consolidation of military coups. These writings express his position on both the political crisis that took place in Latin American countries at that time and the transformations of the political regime and the state itself. Efforts to renew these debates are anchored in the expectation that they may shed light on recent Latin American history. A análise de Theotônio dos Santos, referência central da teoria Marxista da dependência, sobre os processos políticos contrarrevolucionários na América Latina nas décadas de 1960 e 1970, ao observar um avanço da fascistização, propõe o conceito de fascismo dependente para caracterizar alguns dos governos militares que se concretizaram na região. Seus escritos sobre o tema se inscrevem em um amplo campo de debates que tiveram lugar na América Latina durante a década de 1970, os quais se debruçavam sobre o contexto de radicalização política entre revolução e contrarrevolução, no qual a consolidação de golpes militares estava imersa, e expressam o posicionamento do autor em relação tanto à crise política que teve lugar nos países latino-americanos naquele então, quanto às transformações do próprio regime político e do Estado. O esforço de recuperar tal debate está ancorado na expectativa de que tais reflexões possam lançar luz sobre a história recente latino-americana.

Data and Methodology

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillermo Cruces ◽  
Gary S. Fields ◽  
David Jaume ◽  
Mariana Viollaz
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Household Surveys ◽  
Social Expenditure ◽  
United Nations Economic Commission ◽  
Development Indicators ◽  
Economic Commission ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Macroeconomic Indicators ◽  
Latin American Countries

This study is based on microeconomic data from more than 150 household surveys, five million households, and eighteen million persons contained in the SEDLAC—Socio-Economic Database for Latin America and the Caribbean. These data cover the following sixteen Latin American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Based on these household surveys and the SEDLAC harmonization methodology, the study constructs comparable time series for a wide range of labour market, poverty, and income inequality indicators. It also employs aggregate macroeconomic indicators from two sources: the World Bank’s World Development Indicators and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean’s database on social expenditure.

scholarly journals Outsiders and Executive-Legislative Conflict in Latin America

2014 ◽  
Vol 56 (03) ◽  
pp. 70-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Carreras
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
The Political ◽  
Third Wave ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Political Skills ◽  
The Third ◽  
Logistic Regressions

AbstractOne of the most significant developments in Latin American democracies since the beginning of the Third Wave of democratization is the rise to power of political outsiders. However, the study of the political consequences of this phenomenon has been neglected. This article begins to fill that gap by examining whether the rise of outsiders in the region increases the level of executive-legislative confrontation. Using an original database of political outsiders in Latin America, it reports a series of logistic regressions showing that the risk of executive-legislative conflict significantly increases when the president is an outsider. The likelihood of institutional paralysis increases when an independent gets elected, due to the legislative body's lack of support for the president and the outsider's lack of political skills. The risk of an executive's attempted dissolution of Congress is also much higher when the president is an outsider.

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