Bolivia and Its Transformations in the Light of “Seven Erroneous Theses about Latin America”

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-153
Author(s):  
Gabriela Canedo Vásquez
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Transformation Process ◽  
The State ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Internal Colonialism ◽  
Middle Classes ◽  
Living Well ◽  
The Government ◽  
Western Perspective

Bolivia has become a plurinational state, and as such it seeks to dismantle the deeply ingrained internal colonialism that runs through the state and the society. Thus it recognizes self-determination by indigenous people, autonomous territories, plural economy and justice, communal democracy, and suma qamaña (living well) and identifies the indigenous as the main actors in the transformation process, sidelining both the working and the middle classes. Some of the contradictions at its core include views of development that range from extractivism to environmentalism and living well. The government claims to be oriented toward communitarian socialism, but developmentalism will entail the destruction of indigenous modes of survival that are considered culturally rich but backward from a Western perspective. The central indigenous actor of current government discourse has been pushed aside. The Bolivian process presents a way of building a more equal state and a society that offers greater opportunities provided that these structural contradictions are resolved. Bolivia se funda como Estado Plurinacional, y como tal pretende desmontar el colonia-lismo interno que atraviesa el Estado y la sociedad. De esta manera reconoce la autodeterminación de los pueblos indígenas, las autonomías, la economía y justicia plural, la democracia comunitaria, y el suma qamaña (vivir bien). Por tanto plantea que el actor central de las transformaciones son los indígenas, y con esto constatamos que ni el sujeto obrero ni la clase media son actores centrales. Algunas de las contradicciones que se encuentran en su seno incluyen visiones de desarrollo que oscila entre el extractivismo y la conservación de la Madre Tierra y el vivir bien. El gobierno dice orientarse hacia el socialismo comunitario, pero el desarrollismo implicará la destrucción de los modos de sobrevivencia de la población nativa, indígena, consideradas ricas en cultura pero “arcaicas” desde la perspectiva occidental-industrialista. El actor central indígena que le da carne al discurso del gobierno ha sido arremetido. El proceso boliviano presenta la posibilidad de construir un Estado y una sociedad con mayores oportunidades e igualdad de condiciones, siempre y cuando resuelva estas contradicciones estructurales.

Palestinian Diaspora Communities in Latin America and Palestinian Statehood

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-120
Author(s):  
Yousef M. Aljamal ◽  
Philipp O. Amour
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
South America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
The Political ◽  
Middle Classes ◽  
Latin Americans ◽  
Political Views ◽  
The Right

There are some 700,000 Latin Americans of Palestinian origin, living in fourteen countries of South America. In particular, Palestinian diaspora communities have a considerable presence in Chile, Honduras, and El Salvador. Many members of these communities belong to the professional middle classes, a situation which enables them to play a prominent role in the political and economic life of their countries. The article explores the evolving attitudes of Latin American Palestinians towards the issue of Palestinian statehood. It shows the growing involvement of these communities in Palestinian affairs and their contribution in recent years towards the wide recognition of Palestinian rights — including the right to self-determination and statehood — in Latin America. But the political views of members of these communities also differ considerably about the form and substance of a Palestinian statehood and on the issue of a two-states versus one-state solution.

Private Sources of U.S. Foreign Policy: William Pawley and the 1954 Coup d'État in Guatemala

2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 36-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Holland
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Cold War ◽  
The State ◽  
Coup D'etat ◽  
Abstract Level ◽  
The Government ◽  
Private Network ◽  
The Cold War

As a wealthy American businessman and former ambassador, William Pawley was a key actor in PBSUCCESS, the covert operation that brought down the government of Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán in Guatemala in 1954.The anti-Arbenz rebels, led by Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas, could not have defeated the Guatemalan army on their own. The key to a successful coup was getting the army to act on their behalf, and in this regard, control of the air was vital. Pawley, owing to his knowledge of Latin America and experience in aviation, played a central role in ensuring that the rebels enjoyed air superiority during their move against the president. At a more abstract level, Pawley exempli fied the role non-governmental actors played in the formulation and implementation of U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War. The “state-private network,” as it has been dubbed, remains a rich vein for scholarly investigation.

scholarly journals CULTURA A UNIR OS POVOS

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 46-53
Author(s):  
Celio Turino
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
The State ◽  
Public Facilities ◽  
The Government ◽  
America Latina ◽  
Cultural Role

Este artigo relata a experiência de alguns países da América Latina com a implantação de Pontos de Cultura. Exemplos de ampliação e articulação de uma rede de autonomia e protagonismo sociocultural, em que se realiza na diversidade. A partir de estímulo a diálogos com o governo em defesa da cultura, conclui-se que é necessário que o Estado faça para a Sociedade, mantenha bons equipamentos públicos e serviços de qualidade, mas é necessário também que o Estado faça com a sociedade. Com mais redes o Ponto de Cultura se articula, mais empoderado estará, tanto do ponto de vista social, econômico e político, como nos aspectos criativos e artísticos. CULTURE TO UNITE THE PEOPLEAbstractThis article reports the experience of some countries in Latin America with the implementation of Points of Culture. Examples of expansion and coordination of a network of autonomy and socio-cultural role, which takes place on diversity. From stimulus to dialogue with the government in defense of culture, concluded that it is necessary for the state maintain good public facilities and services with quality, but it also requires the state to do with society. With more networks Points of Culture is articulated it will be more empowered, both socially, economically and politically, as the creative and artistic aspects.

scholarly journals Modern and contemporary, the bull insists on keeping itself as Art’s main character in Mato Grosso do Sul

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (34) ◽  
pp. 154
Author(s):  
Marcos Antônio Bessa-Oliveira ◽  
Edgar Cézar Nolasco
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
The State ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
Cultural Productions ◽  
Artistic Production ◽  
Art Production ◽  
The Government ◽  
Cultural Entity ◽  
Mato Grosso Do Sul

The State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, was established and politically from the geographic division of the State of Mato Grosso in 1977. The new State assumed the title of largest producer of dairy cattle and cropping in Latin America. Since then, various artistic themes have been addressed by local art production, as it has been done throughout Latin America: the artistic cultural productions turn their heads to their rural areas. From this period of division of states, cattle prevailed routinely as the most expressive theme of art production. In this production, cattle is preserved and supported both by the government and by its co-opted critics, which keep resonances in Mato Grosso do Sul’s artistic production. Horns, leather, iconographies, hot iron brands permeate the works made by artists born and residing in the State. This article aims to investigate critically this recurrence in artistic production between the years of 1977 and 2010, a period that marked the State of Mato Grosso do Sul as a particular artistic and cultural entity member of the National Assembly, by tracking the way in which the lowland landscape of the bull is still in keep with being an “artistic relief” representing the State. Using concepts like Charles Baudelaire’s beauty, as well as Theodor W. Adorno’s Essay as form, among others, this work aims to reflect on Mato Grosso do Sul’s current, post-division artistic situation. That is, why is the bull a constant in the state’s visual arts.

The Autocratic Middle Class

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryn Rosenfeld
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
The State ◽  
Government Budget ◽  
Middle Classes ◽  
Basic Tenet ◽  
State Administration ◽  
Societal Actors ◽  
The Government ◽  
Economic Engagement ◽  
State Enterprises

Conventional wisdom holds that the rising middle-classes are a force for democracy. Yet in post-Soviet countries like Russia, where the middle-class has grown rapidly, authoritarianism is deepening. Challenging a basic tenet of democratization theory, this book shows how the middle-classes can actually be a source of support for autocracy and authoritarian resilience, and reveals why development and economic growth do not necessarily lead to greater democracy. In pursuit of development, authoritarian states often employ large swaths of the middle-class in state administration, the government budget sector, and state enterprises. Drawing on attitudinal surveys, unique data on protest behavior, and extensive fieldwork in the post-Soviet region, the book documents how the failure of the middle-class to gain economic autonomy from the state stymies support for political change, and how state economic engagement reduces middle-class demands for democracy and weakens prodemocratic coalitions. This book makes a vital contribution to the study of democratization, showing how dependence on the state weakens the incentives of key societal actors to prefer and pursue democracy.

scholarly journals Globalizacija, tapatybės formavimas ir vietos konfliktai

2008 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 10-21
Author(s):  
Vibeke Andersson
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
The State ◽  
Identity Based ◽  
The Government ◽  
Ethnic Movements

Socialiniai judėjimai kinta priklausomai nuo jų raiškos pobūdžio kaitos: anksčiau jie buvo siejami su organizacijomis, susiformavusiomis klasinės priklausomybės pagrindu, t. y. sąjungomis ar panašiais dariniais, dabar jie persitvarko į grupes ar organizacijas, į kurias jungiamasi dėl tapatybės raiškos, pavyzdžiui, vietinių žmonių ar etninių grupių judėjimų. Tai taip pat lemia diskurso pokyčius, atkreipiančius dėmesį į tai, kad organizacijos ir judėjimai yra priversti pasireikšti ir įvardyti savo poreikius pristatydami juos valstybei ar kitiems, turintiems galią. Straipsnyje aptariami šiandieniai pokyčiai Bolivijoje, kuriuos nulėmė į organizacijas besitelkiantys koką auginantys valstiečiai, taip pat aptariamas kintantis vyriausybės diskursas 2005 metais Bolivijai išsirinkus pirmąjį vietinį prezidentą.Globalisation, identity formation and local conflictsVibeke Andersson SummarySocial movements are changing in their expression from primarily being connected to class-based organisations, i.e. unions, to identity-based organisations like indigenous or ethnic movements. This also leads to a change in the discourse, i. e. organisations and movements use to present themselves and their demands to the state and other power holders. The paper discusses this change in contemporary Bolivia by using the coca producing peasants’ organisation as an example and by discussing the changing discourse of the government after Bolivia has elected its first indigenous president in 2005.Key words: indigenous people, Bolivia, identity, social movements, rights

Political Change, State Autonomy, and Post-Neoliberalism in Ecuador, 2007–2012

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franklin Ramírez Gallegos
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Central Position ◽  
Power Relationships ◽  
Buen Vivir ◽  
Living Well ◽  
Strategic Resources ◽  
Social Coordination ◽  
Oil Exports ◽  
The Government ◽  
Change State

Along with other progressive experiments in the region, the government of the Citizens’ Revolution has restored the state to a central position with regard to social coordination and the promotion of economic development. The open conflict created by the return of the state between 2007 and 2012 transformed power relationships, allowing civil government to expand the state’s relative autonomy and orient it toward constructing a public policy agenda associated with transcending neoliberalism. The challenge of this transition has been to modify the pattern of commodity specialization away from the primacy of primary exports. While reappropriating the surplus that comes from the income from strategic resources increases national sovereignty, it may also contribute to preserving the nation’s position in the international division of labor. The National Plan for Living Well aims at overcoming the centrality of the primary sector and of oil exports in the national economy. En convergencia con otros gobiernos progresistas de la region, el gobierno del la Revolución Ciudadana relanza el Estado al primer plano de la coordinación social y la promoción del desarrollo. El conflictivo proceso político abierto en relación a dicho retorno estatal entre 2007 y 2012 trastrocó de los factores de poder y permitió al gobierno civil ampliar la autonomía relativa del Estado y orientarlo hacia la construcción de una agenda de políticas públicas asociada con la superación del neoliberalismo. El desafio de dicha transición reside en la posibilidad de modificar el patrón de especialización productiva más allá de la centralidad de las exportaciones primarias. Aunque la estrategia estatal de reapropriación del excedente que proviene de las rentas de recursos estratégicos eleva los márgenes de soberanía nacional respecto a la determinación global, también puede contribuir a la continuidad del lugar del país en la vigente división internacional del trabajo. El Plan Nacional del Buen Vivir apunta a superar en el mediano plazo la centralidad del sector primario y de las exportaciones petroleras en la economía nacional.

From the Neoliberal Barrio to the Socialist Commune

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 75-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Ciro Marcano
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
The State ◽  
First Century ◽  
National Scale ◽  
The Government ◽  
New System

With the adoption of the Communal Councils Law in 2006, and the recent creation in 2009 of the People's Power Ministry for Communes, the government of Venezuela fosters the construction of socialism in the twentieth first century. Considerations about communal power are of fundamentally importance. But, what are the communal councils, what direction are they taking, and how does this new system of communal government express itself on the ground at a national scale? This study analyzes the experience of the communalization of the State in Venezuela, a phenomenon of enormous relevancy to questions of equity, political legitimacy, and development, which lie at the heart of the changes underway in Latin America.

Defining 'Indigenous' in Bangladesh: International Law in Domestic Context

2010 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kawser Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
The State ◽  
Internal Colonialism ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Government

AbstractBangladesh is one of the 11 states which abstained in voting on the United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The reason as stated by the representative of Bangladesh at UN is that the term 'indigenous peoples' has not been clearly defined or identified in the aforementioned Declaration. In fact, the government of Bangladesh has been persistently denying many of the marginal communities' claim to recognition as indigenous peoples. The article argues that the state of non-dominance is one of the determining criteria of the definitions of indigenous peoples in international law. Drawing on the discourses of subaltern historiography and internal colonialism, this article further argues that the said marginal communities of Bangladesh indeed meet all the criteria including non-dominance inasmuch as they are entitled to recognition and legal protection as indigenous peoples. Case studies on historical profiles of three marginal communities of Bangladesh are provided as factual evidence in support of the above proposition.

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