scholarly journals Reflections on local participatory democracy in Latin America

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 1108-1124
Author(s):  
Felipe Addor
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Participatory Democracy ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Local Power ◽  
Popular Participation ◽  
The Public

Abstract This work presents reflections on the field of participatory democracy in Latin America, based on the analysis of the experiences of Cotacachi in Ecuador, and Torres in Venezuela, which are examples of great popular participation at the local level. The study proposes to interpret the experiences from a Latin American point of view, considering the singularities of each municipality analyzed. The aim is to identify which factors contribute to the emergence and consolidation of mechanisms of participation in the public policy decision-making process. In order to approximate the democratic theory of the context of Latin America, the study presents an analysis structured in two relevant concepts for the theory: agency and public space. These concepts were essential to identify which factors allowed the creation and consolidation of practices of participatory democracy at the local level. The analysis of the experiences resulted in a list of seven factors that were fundamental for their advancement and diffusion, factors that may represent important guidelines for the development of new democratic practices in countries of the region. Finally, the study present some reflections on the challenges that must be overcome to expand the local power and popular participation in Latin America.

scholarly journals PRAISE OF THE CONVERT: BELIEVE AND BELONG FROM THE CATHOLICITY OF LATIN AMERICA

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-339
Author(s):  
Felipe Gaytán Alcalá
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
The Church

Latin America was considered for many years the main bastion of Catholicism in the world by the number of parishioners and the influence of the church in the social and political life of the región, but in recent times there has been a decrease in the catholicity index. This paper explores three variables that have modified the identity of Catholicism in Latin American countries. The first one refers to the conversion processes that have expanded the presence of Christian denominations, by analyzing the reasons that revolve around the sense of belonging that these communities offer and that prop up their expansion and growth. The second variable accounts for those Catholics who still belong to the Catholic Church but who in their practices and beliefs have incorporated other magical or esoteric scheme in the form of religious syncretisms, modifying their sense of being Catholics in the world. The third factor has a political reference and has to do with the concept of laicism, a concept that sets its objective, not only in the separation of the State from the Church, but for historical reasons in catholicity restraint in the public space which has led to the confinement of the Catholic to the private, leaving other religious groups to occupy that space.

Democratization of Local-Self-Government in Russia: Current State and Perspectives of Development

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1754
Author(s):  
Andrey POMAZANSKIY ◽  
Viacheslav SEVALNEV
Keyword(s):  
Participatory Democracy ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Local Power ◽  
Federal Law ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Current State ◽  
Legal Nature

The article is devoted to the constitutional legal regulation of local self-government. The dynamics of the realization of the constitutional principles of local self-government are researched. It is outlined that the current state of legal regulation is far from the constitutional principles devoted to the local self-government. The vivid example of such regulation is the latest amendments to the Federal Law of October 6, 2003 №131-FZ ‘On General Principles of Organization of Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation’. These legislative novelties lead to phasedown of the democratic basis of local self-government. This approach shouldn’t be admitted. Its further spread to all spheres of local activities will result in the estrangement of local communities from the public authorities and officials. In this sense, the piecemeal replacement of democratic procedures in the course of formation of local authorities by the administrative ones fails to meet the legal nature of local self-government. Special attention is given to the determination the balance between representative and participatory democracy at the local level. The nature and features of local self-government are assumed the use of various organizational forms of execution of local power as well as the system of its legal regulation. Also the determination of the prospects for the extension of participatory democracy at the local level is presented.

Public policies of connectivity in Latin America in the context of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-136
Author(s):  
Bernadette Califano ◽  
Martín Becerra
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Legal Regulations ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Status ◽  
Telecommunications Policies ◽  
Latin American Countries

This article analyses the digital policies introduced in different Latin American countries during the first three months after the outbreak of COVID-19 reached the region (March–June 2020). This analysis has a three-fold objective: (a) to give an overview of the status of connectivity in five big Latin American countries – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico; (b) to study comparatively the actions and regulations implemented on connectivity matters by the governments of each country to face the pandemic; and (c) to provide insights in relation with telecommunications policies in the context of pandemic emergence at a regional level. To that end, this study will consider legal regulations and specific public policies in this field, official documents from the public and private sectors, and statistics on ICT access and usage in the region.

Pentecostalism and Neo-Pentecostalism in Latin America

2020 ◽  
pp. 289-307
Author(s):  
Virginia Garrard ◽  
Justin M. Doran
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Military Government ◽  
American Christianity ◽  
The Public ◽  
Pentecostal Churches ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Political Realities ◽  
Renewal Movement

Pentecostalism, a Christian renewal movement that emphasizes ecstatic bodily worship and charismatic practices, transformed Latin American Christianity over the course of the twentieth century. While they were influenced by the disruptive North American Holiness movements from which their piety originated, converts adapted Pentecostal Christianity to local economic and political realities that generated new, Latin American forms of Pentecostalism. This chapter traces the dynamics of Pentecostal transformation in Latin America across two case studies: Guatemala and Brazil. Both countries underwent enormous shifts in religious demographics and practices that reveal similar trends amid substantial diversity in the Pentecostalization of Latin America. Guatemala’s Pentecostal boom occurred through the country’s tumultuous thirty-year conflict between leftist guerrillas and an intractable military government. Pentecostalization crescendoed while military general Efrain Ríos Montt, a Pentecostal, came to power and oversaw the violent deaths of as many as 200,000 civilians who were predominantly indigenous Maya. Vast numbers of conversions to Pentecostalism followed, revealing its power to re-enchant destroyed and seemingly hopeless worlds. Brazilian Pentecostalism maintained a subdued, conservative critical presence within Brazilian society until neo-Pentecostal evangelists asserted themselves in the public sphere, taking on popular African diasporic religions, Spiritism, and established Catholicism in equal measure. After democracy was re-established, neo-Pentecostal churches—magnified by their immense fortunes garnered from prosperity theologies—reshaped the Brazilian relationship between Christian piety, national culture, and secular government. Today, Pentecostal and neo-Pentecostal churches sustain a transnational culture that connects Christians across Latin America, dynamically reshaping both social relations and Latin American Christianity itself.

Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires: Public Space and Public Consciousness in Fin-de-Siècle Latin America

1995 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 519-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey D. Needell
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Rio De Janeiro ◽  
Buenos Aires ◽  
Modern Architecture ◽  
Adequate Measure ◽  
The Past ◽  
Public Consciousness ◽  
American Cities

The Parisian Faubourg Saint Germain and perhaps the Rue de la Paix and the boulevards seemed the adequate measure of luxury to all of the snobs. The old colonial shell of the Latin American cities little approximated such scenery. The example of Baron de Haussmann and his destructive example strengthened the decision of the new bourgeoisies who wished to erase the past, and some cities began to transform their physiognomy: a sumptuous avenue, a park, a carriage promenade, a luxurious theater, modern architecture revealed that decision even when they were not always able to banish the ghost of the old city. But the bourgeoisies could nourish their illusions by facing one another in the sophisticated atmosphere of an exclusive club or a deluxe restaurant. There they anticipated the steps that would transmute “the great village” into a modern metropolis.—José Luis Romero

scholarly journals Decision Making at the State and Local Level: Does Science Matter?

2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (01) ◽  
pp. 21-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan G. Mason
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
The State ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Policy Decision Making ◽  
State And Local

ABSTRACTScience is believed to be an important part of public policy decision making because of its inherent characteristics of measurability, rigor, objectivity, replication, and peer review. The purpose of this research was to explore the linkage of science to public policy decision making. The research explores what state and local public officials know about science and how much they actually use science in their decision making. Interview results with public officials in the State of Idaho demonstrate that policy makers ultimately see science as only one element in the mix. Findings suggest that equal attention and debate should be given to how science interacts with all of the other factors that affect the public policy making process.

scholarly journals Post-Crisis Protest: European Features

2021 ◽  
pp. 46-53
Author(s):  
Roman Lunkin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Frame Theory ◽  
Protest Movement ◽  
The Public ◽  
Neoliberal Ideology ◽  
The Government ◽  
Democratic Norms

The article analyzes the phenomenon of modern post-crisis protests. The frame theory is the most effective method for evaluating the modern protest movement, which allows analyzing any action from the point of view of its context, its representation in the public space, its organization and original worldview. The article examines the European specifics of the protests and possible ideological divisions within the framework of mass demonstrations. It is concluded that the post-crisis protests in Europe are characterized, first of all, by a more or less clear division into supporters of neoliberal ideology and traditionalists (identists). The neoliberals opposed the traditionalism of the leadership of Poland, Hungary, and Russia, but the traditionalists more often protested against strict quarantine measures and uncontrolled immigration. Secondly, one of the widespread factors was distrust of the government, which, while proclaiming democratic norms to which does not follow. From this point of view, both the identists and the neoliberals alike demanded more democracy and justice during the protests

scholarly journals The political in recent urbanism of collective actions in the public space and its implications in some Latin-American contexts

ESTOA ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. 7-17
Author(s):  
Nuria Álvarez Lombardero ◽  
◽  
Francisco González de Canales ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Latin American ◽  
The Political ◽  
Collective Actions ◽  
The Public

scholarly journals ‘Mijita Rica’: The female body as a subject in the public space

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1290
Author(s):  
Ana María Ledezma
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Female Body ◽  
Symbolic Violence ◽  
Separate Spheres ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ideological Background ◽  
Accepted Practice

The politeness system is one of the most subtle and everyday forms of gender violence.Harassment in public is a socially accepted practice in Chile, where the ideological background crosses the various social spheres and remains rooted in the national and Latin American ethos.This article questions its bases, revealing the symbolic violence, gender hierarchization, and the reproduction of the ideology of separate spheres infused in street "flattery".

scholarly journals Poder Local, Participação Popular e Clientelismo / Local Power, Popular Participation and Clientelism

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janaína Rigo Santin ◽  
Mariane Favretto
Keyword(s):  
Local Level ◽  
Regulatory Agencies ◽  
Political Society ◽  
Local Power ◽  
Popular Participation ◽  
Shared Management ◽  
The Social ◽  
Local Logic ◽  
Effective Policy ◽  
The Ideal

ResumoO artigo traz em questão a valorização do poder local como campo para a tomada de decisões políticas eficientes, em um tempo em que os governos atuais necessitam estar atentos ao desenvolvimento social. Ressalta-se o tratamento dado ao Município pela Constituição Federal de 1988, que o elevou à categoria de ente federado, o que tornou promissora a possibilidade de uma gestão compartilhada entre poder público e sociedade civil em âmbito local. Entretanto, o clientelismo é um problema político e social a ser enfrentado no país e que só poderá ter alguns de seus efeitos superados mediante aumento da accountability social e da participação por meio de iniciativas locais. Procura-se assim, analisar a democratização promovida pela lógica local, em que as decisões públicas ocorrem de forma descentralizada e mais próximas da população, como controladora das práticas clientelistas. O estudo justifica-se pelo imperativo de respostas céleres e eficazes às necessidades mais elementares da sociedade, sendo que a gestão local tende a ser o meio ideal para atender às demandas sociais. AbstractThe paper brings into question the appreciation of the local government as a field for making effective policy decisions at a time when the current governments need to be aware of the social development. It is noteworthy the treatment given to the municipality by the 1988 Constitution has raised to federal entity, which made it even more promising the possibility of a shared management between political society and civil society at the local level. However, patronage is still a political and social problem facing the country and overcome with increased accountability and increased performance of regulatory agencies, particularly social control. Wanted so seize the democratization promoted by the local logic, in which public decisions occur in a decentralized and closer to the population so, could curb this practice. The study is justified by the need for rapid and effective answers to the most basic needs of society, and the local management tends to be the ideal way to meet these demands. Keywords: Patronage; Municipality; Popular participation; Local power.

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