scholarly journals Chinese foreign direct investments in Latin America and their influence on Chinese-Brazilian economic relations

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-72
Author(s):  
Marta Czarnecka-Gallas

For many decades Chinese foreign direct investments in Latin America were not a subject of academic research or political debate. However, thanks to China’s fast economic growth, huge saving rate and national reserves, the country plays a more and more important role not only in global trade, being the world’s biggest exporter, but also in international investment scene by increasing the number and volume of its overseas businesses. Chinese FDIs in Latin America, although not as controversial as those in Africa, have registered a steady growth and seem to be both a chance and a threat for Latin American states. The scale and structure of FDI still remain relatively poor but the situation in the last years, especially 2009-2010 shows a significant change. Huge amount of Chinese FDI go to Brazil, which is also the recipient of the biggest Chinese single overseas business project (Porto do Aço). As far as Brazilian-Chinese bilateral economic relations are concerned, the complementarity of countries’ economies gives hope of beneficial cooperation, but at the same time poses a threat on Brazil of being vulnerable to externalities and losing manufacturing advantage in exports. Moreover, Chinese presence in Latin America means not only counterbalance to the influence of the USA but also undermines Brazilian position in the region. Methodology: the author combines quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Data used for the purpose of the article come mainly from UNCTAD statistics on-line, statistics of Chinese Ministry of Commerce, CIA Factbook. Moreover, the author makes use of desk research and literature review.

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernanda Bruno ◽  
Paola Barreto ◽  
Milena Szafir

This on line curatorship presents a selection of 11 works by Latin American artists who incorporate in their creations technologies traditionally linked to surveillance and control processes. By Surveillance Aesthetics we understand a compound of artistic practices, which include the appropriation of dispositifs such as closed circuit video, webcams, satellite images, algorithms and computer vision among others, placing them within new visibility, attention and experience regimes. The term referred to in the title of this exhibition is intended more as a vector of research rather than the determination of a field, as pointed by Arlindo Machado under the term “surveillance culture”. (Machado 1991) In this sense, a Latin America Surveillance Aesthetics exhibition is a way to propose, starting from the works presented here, a myriad of questions. How and to what extent do the destinies of surveillance devices reverberate or are subverted by market, security and media logics in our societies? If, in Europe and in the USA, surveillance is a subject related to the war against terror and border control, what can be said about Latin America? What forces and conflicts are involved? How have artistic practices been creating and acting in relation to these forces and conflicts? Successful panoramas of so called Surveillance Art already take place in Europe and North America for at least three decades, the exhibition “Surveillance”, at the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions being one of the first initiatives in this domain. In Latin America however, art produced in the context of surveillance devices and processes is still seen as an isolated event. Our intention is to assemble a selection of works indicating the existence of a wider base of production, which cannot be considered eventual.The online exhibition can be accessed here.http://www.pec.ufrj.br/surveillanceaestheticslatina/


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camelia Ilie ◽  
Guillermo Cardoza

Purpose Many studies have analyzed how gender diversity and local culture condition the cognitive styles of managers and affect decision-making processes in organizations. Gender diversity has been defended from an equality perspective; it has been argued to improve decision-making processes and to have a positive impact on companies’ return on investment. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the differences between the thinking styles of men and women, in Latin America and the USA that support decision-making processes. An argument is given in favor of gender diversity in management teams, because of its positive implications in decision making. Design/methodology/approach The measurement instrument used was the Neethling Brain Instrument, developed based on recent neuroscience discovery. The sample comprised 1,216 executives from the USA and several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, who have participated in executive training programs. Findings The results show differences in thinking styles by gender, but no differences were found in thinking styles or decision making between men and women at the same managerial level in either of the two regions. Similarly, results suggest that executives in the USA tend to base their management models on strategic thinking styles that focus on interpersonal relations and involve risk taking, while executives in Latin American countries tend to prefer thinking and management styles focusing on data analysis, execution, planning, and process control. Originality/value The results of the present study show that, in all regions, men score higher in rational thinking styles associated with the cortical areas, while women gravitate toward thinking styles where emotional schemes prevail, related to subcortical areas. These results could be useful for organizational leaders in charge of allocating roles and tasks to people, based on their thinking style strengths. The results can also be very valuable for Latin American organizations to design specific training and development programs for men and women accordingly with their individual needs and their managerial roles. They can also support the argument that diverse gender teams will guarantee complete decision-making processes.


2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 48-60
Author(s):  
L. Klochkovsky

There are substantial changes in the evolution of world economy and world economic relations. The growth rates of international trade have diminished two-fold, the prices for oil and other commodities have fallen, and the competition on world markets has sharpened greatly. These new trends complicate fundamentally external conditions for the economic development of peripheral regions, especially Latin America. Latin American countries have reached a phase of considerable economic deceleration. Under these circumstances, there is an urgent need for reconsideration of key conclusions made by some Russian experts on the possibilities of the future economic and social growth of Latin America. The author examines the most discussed aspects of the Latin American modern economic situation – the deepening technological gap and slow rates of technological progress, the limited role of internal economic motive forces, the conservation of foreign economic dependence. The future of Latin America’s economic development is uncertain in many respects and will depend greatly on foreign economic conditions. The new world balance opened important additional possibilities for Latin America on world markets. China has converted into the second largest economic partner of the region. But there is a number of complicated problems in their relations that need an urgent regulation. At the same time, the strategic task for Latin America consists in finding of effective ways for further broadening of economic relations with the United States in terms of equality and mutual benefit.


Author(s):  
Friedrich E. Schuler

The English-speaking world awaits its first detailed study examining Latin America during World War I. Many historical events of the era remain little-known, as does much of the region’s military history during this period. While key chronologies, personalities, groups, and historical avenues remain unidentified, researchers must draw knowledge from existing texts. The authors cited in this article for further study cover only a small fraction of the myriad topics presented by the war. World War I set in motion a unique power readjustment in Latin America, the likes of which had not been experienced in the region since the 1820s. Most significantly, the temporary suspension of economic ties with Europe disrupted everyday processes that elites and commoners had previously taken for granted. Changes in economy and finance triggered a struggle between indigenous Americans, peasants, workers, elites, and immigrants, setting the stage for the social and political changes of the 1920s. Amidst the upheaval of World War I, non-elite Latin American groups successfully focused national politics on regional and ethnic issues, while elite Latin Americans weighed the potential advantages of ties with Spanish and Italian authoritarianism. World War I ended European financial dominance over the region, and the destruction of Europe reduced export markets to a point where Latin America’s economic relations with the United States gained new significance. U.S. military advisors took their places alongside European trainers, and many different “U.S.” actors emerged on Latin American soil, acting out rivaling understandings of appropriate U.S. activity in Latin America. The war heralded the end of Belgian influence and of significant French power in the region, British acceptance of U.S. financial preeminence, and questions as to how Prussian military expertise could be leveraged to Latin America’s benefit in the future. The creation of the League of Nations, a development alien to Latin American political culture, caught the region off guard. And yet it laid the foundation for global Latin American diplomacy in the 1930s and after World War II. In the end, the search for a new understanding of a Latin American nation’s place on the changing world stage led to the elevation of the institution of the national army as a social and political arbiter. The myth of the army as embodiment of national essence would last until the 1980s.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-92
Author(s):  
Maria de Fatima Silva do Carmo Previdelli ◽  
Luiz Eduardo Simoes de Souza ◽  
Rodolfo Francisco Soares Nunes

Since the start of the commercial war between the USA and China in 2018, Brazil has changed many of its previous alliances in order to become the interest representative of the USA in Latin America. After the coup d’état of 2016, Brazil has taken progressive actions in order to distance itself from the previous partners at BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) to get closer to the USA. The arrival of the new Brazilian president in 2019, a declared representative of US interests in the Latin American continent, has increased the pace of such measures. This article aims to explain the main actions taken by the USA and China in that context and how Brazil has adapted to take sides in that scenario, moving away from the BRICS group (now RICS since the B stands for Brazil) and toward the US foreign and economic policies.


2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Verónica Baena

Purpose This study aims to enhance the knowledge that managers and scholars have on franchising expansion. In this sense, it is worth mentioning that although the body of literature on international management focusing on emerging markets is growing, the attention paid to the Latin American context continues to be limited. This is surprising given the substantive economic importance of the region with a population over 590 million, and a gross domestic product of approximately US$5 trillion. To cover this gap, the present study examines how a number of market conditions may drive diffusion of franchising into Latin America: geographical distance, cultural distance, political stability and economic development. The authors also controlled for the host country’s market potential, transparency, unemployment rate and efficiency of contract enforcement. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a quantitative approach applied to a sample of 77 Spanish franchisors operating through 4,064 franchisee outlets across 21 Latin American countries in late 2012. They are: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela. Findings Results conclude that geographical distance between the host and home countries, as well as the level of host country’s political stability, economic development, market potential and transparency are able to drive the spread of international franchising across Latin American nations. Research limitations/implications This study provides readers with a general overview of the current state of global franchising diffusion overseas. Results obtained in this study are useful for understanding and predicting the demand for franchising in Latin American countries. Practical implications Economics reports argue that by 2050, the largest economies in the world will be China, the USA, India, Brazil and Mexico. This fact highlights the substantive importance of Latin America for foreign investors willing to expand their business abroad. In an attempt to give insights from the Latin American context, the present paper develops and tests a model that can be useful to franchisors willing to establish new outlets in the region. In addition, our findings offer guidance to firm managers seeking to target their franchises in Latin America. Franchisors may then use the results of this study as a starting point for identifying such regions whose characteristics best meet their needs of expansion. Originality/value This paper explores how market conditions may drive international diffusion of franchising into Latin American markets. The scant theoretical or empirical attention given to this topic has usually been examined from the USA and British base and focused on developed markets. To fill this gap, the present study analyzes the international spread of the Spanish franchise system into Latin America as a market for franchising expansion.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liseth Perez ◽  
Matthias Bücker

<p>Geoscientists are often highly mobile, making them attractive candidates for academic positions. Nevertheless, changing your country of residency can be very challenging, and such challenges are amplified if one has small children, and especially if both parents are active researchers. We are both geoscientists, with specialties in paleolimnology and geophysics, and have a 2-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter. We are originally from Guatemala and Germany, and our children were born in Mexico, where we worked for seven years before moving to Germany.</p><p>Culture shock is often expected to be severe when moving from Europe to a developing country, like Mexico or Guatemala. In our case, however, we experienced serious cultural shock when we moved from Latin America to Germany. It became apparent that conditions were harsh for couples that try to live equitably at home and at work, and attempt not to neglect either family life or science. We identified multiple challenges in our daily life, such as: (1) the well-known lack of sufficient childcare options in Germany, (2) cultural differences at work, such as family-“unfriendly” scheduling of important meetings, (3) a lack of flexibility with respect to financial support for families whose members participate in professional symposia or fieldwork, and  (4) policies of granting institutions that sometimes, unintentionally, preclude family-friendly work in academic research.</p><p>Our personal experiences may help to elucidate why the gender disparity in science is larger in wealthy, central European countries such as Germany (28.0% female researchers, UNESCO 2018) than in many Latin American countries, such as Mexico (33.0%) and Guatemala (53.2%). By identifying key issues, we hope to improve the situation for parent researchers - both female and male. Changes will be required of universities in Germany and elsewhere in Europe that intend to improve the quality of research and teaching at their institutions by attracting young, talented, international scientists. We acknowledge that every case is different, but encourage universities that are building strong programs through internationalization of the faculty to consider the needs of families of incoming foreign researchers, and actively support dual-career professional couples.</p>


1982 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Beck

Territorial disputes have been an important factor influencing and embittering international relationships within Latin America, especially since the disagreements—often dating back to the early days of independence during the early 19th century—have been difficult to resolve because of the sensitivity of governments and public opinion to sovereignty issues. As a result, there is a marked reluctance to compromise. This not only makes the resolution of such disputes a remote possibility, but also discourages disputants from submitting the matter to a third party such as the United Nations. In the meantime, the very nature of these questions means that normal diplomatic and economic relations are likely to be interrupted by a conflict at any time. In many respects, the Anglo-Argentine dispute over the Falkland Islands (or Islas Malvinas) conforms to this general Latin American pattern even though it involves a European power.


1997 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sidney Weintraub

The United States, during the past several years, has squandered a heaven-sent opportunity to cement its already deep economic relations with Latin America. There is no certainty that the neglect will be altered in the near term.A series of transformations made the 1990s an ideal time to consolidate improved economic relations with Latin America. The end of the Cold War meant that US dealings with Latin America could be based on mutual realities in the Hemisphere rather than be shaped through the one-way prism of East-West confrontation. There was a profound paradigm shift that swept just about all the countries of the Hemisphere, away from protectionism and toward open markets as the path to economic growth.


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