Enforcing the Rule of Law: Social Accountability in the New Latin American Democracies. Edited by Enrique Peruzzotti and Catalina Smulovitz. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2006. 376p. $29.95.

Hoping to improve labor justice, some Latin American countries have reformed their labor courts without necessarily buttressing working-class power. Class power theories make us skeptical of these state-centric strategies for labor rights. Will the “rule-of-law” reforms work? This article reports ethnographic evidence collected by the author in the Chilean labor courts during 2009–2010, and secondary sources. It compares contemporary labor courts, reformed but in an otherwise “neoliberal” context, with the unreformed labor courts of the “socialist” years (1970–1972) to gauge the efficacy of rule-of-law reforms. Results show that despite the neoliberal context, the labor courts were more responsive to workers' claims than under socialism. Rule of law and procedural rules matter for effective labor rights.

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Crime and Public Support for the Rule of Law in Latin America and Africa

African Journal of Legal Studies ◽

10.1163/17087384-12342034 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 6 (2-3) ◽

pp. 153-169 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Shannon I. Smithey ◽

Mary Fran T. Malone

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Public Opinion ◽

Latin American ◽

Rule Of Law ◽

Fear Of Crime ◽

Public Support ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

New Democracies ◽

The Rule Of Law ◽

Sub Saharan

Abstract Crime poses a formidable obstacle to democratization in many parts of the developing world. New democracies in Central America and sub-Saharan Africa face some of the highest homicide rates in the world. Politicians, citizens, and policy-makers have raised the alarm about the growing tide of criminality. Public insecurity, coupled with inefficient and often corrupt justice systems, makes democratization uncertain. Even if new democracies do not revert to dictatorship, the quality of democracy may suffer if crime continues to rise. One particularly vulnerable component of democracy is the rule of law, as public insecurity may fuel support for extra-legal justice, and a willingness to disregard the law while aggressively pursuing suspected criminals. To test these relationships, we assess the ways in which criminal victimization, as well as fear of crime, affect citizen support for the rule of law. We utilize public opinion data collected in select countries in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa through two widely used sources – the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) and the Afrobarometer surveys.

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Latin American lockdowns speed Mercado Libre's growth

Emerald Expert Briefings ◽

10.1108/oxan-db256846 ◽

2020 ◽

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Business Model ◽

Latin American ◽

Rule Of Law ◽

Business Environment ◽

Home Market ◽

Financial Systems ◽

Online Retail ◽

Content Type ◽

The Rule Of Law

Significance Latin America’s leading e-commerce platform has emerged as one of the winners in the current regional business environment, marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. While retailers across the region have struggled to cope with lockdowns, Mercado Libre saw its user numbers increase by 45.2% year-on-year in the second quarter, to 51.5 million. Mercado Libre has been able to adapt its business model to Latin America’s unique market features, which include excessive regulation, chronic infrastructure problems and poor enforcement of the rule of law. Impacts Mercado Libre’s expansion prospects in Latin America may prove strongest outside its home market, Argentina. The shift towards online retail in the region will continue as fintech expands among people not included in traditional financial systems. Regulatory difficulties and trade union pushback will continue to raise challenges in some markets.

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