Where Venezuela Goes?

2010 ◽  
pp. 81-92
Author(s):  
E. Dabagyan
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Political System ◽  
The Political ◽  
Authoritarian Rule ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
National Congress ◽  
Institutional Foundations

The article is an attempt to summarize the results of Hugo Chávez's ten year rule in Venezuela. There has been a comprehensive reorganization of the political system institutional foundations. The new constitution has been approved, which proclaimed the country a Bolivarian Republic in honor of the great Latin American liberation hero. The unicameral National Assembly has replaced the National Congress. The president can now be reelected without any restraints, his term of office has been prolonged from 5 to 6 years. Typical for the Chávez's course is the use of formally democratic mechanisms in order to ensure the authoritarian rule. Prosecution of opposition figures has become commonplace. The initially proclaimed intermediate political course has been dismissed, the new slogan is the construction of a “21st century socialism”.

The Role of the M.P. in Tanzania

1970 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 754-771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond F. Hopkins
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
The Political ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Authority Relationships ◽  
New States ◽  
And Shifts ◽  
The Military ◽  
National Legislatures

The study of politics in “developing” countries has tended to focus on the less formal organs of government, such as political parties, the military, the bureaucracy, and even the educational system. National legislatures have often been ignored or rated of little significance in the political processes of these states. This practice contrasts markedly with the attention paid to legislatures in Western states. The most obvious explanation for it is that legislatures in new states tend to have little influence. Important decisions and shifts in power are usually made or recorded elsewhere in the political system.The Bunge, or National Assembly, of Tanzania is no exception to this general phenomenon. Nevertheless, an examination of the role of M.P.'s in Tanzania can be illuminating. The Bunge contains most of the major political leaders and has, at least constitutionally, broad authority. As a consequence, if the Assembly is to be only a weak political body, then informal norms limiting the powers of the M.P.'s role must exist. Moreover, these norms should prescribe authority relationships between the legislature and other policy shaping bodies in the political system, particularly the Party. Thus, an analysis of the roles of these men can provide important insights not only into the functions of the Bunge, but also into the elite political culture of Tanzania and the pattern of politics which this culture supports.

Skin Color and System Support in Latin America

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Peter M. Sanchez ◽  
David Doherty ◽  
Kirstie Lynn Dobbs
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Skin Color ◽  
Political System ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Skin Pigmentation ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Outcomes

Abstract Is darker skin pigmentation associated with less favorable social and political outcomes in Latin America? We leverage data from 18 Latin American countries across multiple survey waves to demonstrate the robust and potent negative relationship between the darkness of skin tone and socio-economic status. Then we examine the relationship between skin color and attitudes toward the political system. In spite of our substantial sample size, we find little support for the expectation that respondents with darker skin are less favorably disposed toward the political system—indeed, on balance, our findings run counter to this expectation. Our findings suggest that the socio-economic “pigmentocracy” that pervades the region does not necessarily translate into pronounced differences in attitudes about the political system. This finding casts some doubt on the expectation that social inequalities are likely to destabilize governments or undermine their legitimacy.

scholarly journals Apoyo al sistema político y tolerancia política en el período gubernamental 2016 - 2020 a través de la identidad étnica

Sílex ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-50
Author(s):  
Edwin Cohaila
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Political System ◽  
Vice President ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Tolerance ◽  
Democratic Regime ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Los Grupos

El Perú ha atravesado, en este período gubernamental que empezó el 2016, diferentes situaciones políticas, la renuncia del presidente Kucyznski, la asunción al mando por parte de su vicepresidente Martín Vizcarra, el cierre del Congreso, la prisión preventiva de muchos actores políticos; sin embargo, se continuó con el régimen democrático, lo que podría suponer que la población mantiene un apoyo al sistema político y una tolerancia política, puesto que todo se encauzó dentro del marco constitucional. Para averiguar esta situación, se analizará la data que provee el Barómetro de las Américas (LAPOP) para los años 2016/2017 y 2018/2019 para el caso peruano, pero haciendo notar si existe alguna diferencia entre ambos periodos según la identidad étnica. El análisis manifiesta que el apoyo al sistema político se ha mantenido sin variación, mientras que la tolerancia política se ha incrementado; no obstante, al interior de la identidad étnica no todos los grupos se han mantenido bajo esa misma línea, ya que se observan diferencias significativas en especial en el grupo étnico quechua y mestizo. Peru has gone through this governmental period that began in 2016 with different political situations, resignation of President Kucyznski, assumption of command by his vice president Martín Vizcarra, closure of Congress, preventive detention of many political actors; however, the democratic regime continued, which could suppose that the population maintains support for the political system and political tolerance, since everything was channeled within the constitutional framework. To find out this situation, the data provided by the Latin American Public Opinion Project for the years 2016/2017 and 2018/2019 will be analyzed for the Peruvian case, but noting if there is any difference between the two periods according to ethnic identity. The analysis shows that support for the political system has remained unchanged, while political tolerance has increased, although within ethnic identity not all groups have remained along the same line, since there are significant differences especially in the quechua and mestizo ethnic group.

Indigenous Political Representation in Latin America

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Rice
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Indigenous Movements

Indigenous peoples have become important social and political actors in contemporary Latin America. The politicization of ethnic identities in the region has divided analysts into those who view it as a threat to democratic stability versus those who welcome it as an opportunity to improve the quality of democracy. Throughout much of Latin America’s history, Indigenous peoples’ demands have been oppressed, ignored, and silenced. Latin American states did not just exclude Indigenous peoples’ interests; they were built in opposition to or even against them. The shift to democracy in the 1980s presented Indigenous groups with a dilemma: to participate in elections and submit themselves to the rules of a largely alien political system that had long served as an instrument of their domination or seek a measure of representation through social movements while putting pressure on the political system from the outside. In a handful of countries, most notably Bolivia and Ecuador, Indigenous movements have successfully overcome this tension by forming their own political parties and contesting elections on their own terms. The emergence of Indigenous peoples’ movements and parties has opened up new spaces for collective action and transformed the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the state. Indigenous movements have reinvigorated Latin America’s democracies. The political exclusion of Indigenous peoples, especially in countries with substantial Indigenous populations, has undoubtedly contributed to the weakness of party systems and the lack of accountability, representation, and responsiveness of democracies in the region. In Bolivia, the election of the country’s first Indigenous president, Evo Morales (2006–present) of the Movement toward Socialism (MAS) party, has resulted in new forms of political participation that are, at least in part, inspired by Indigenous traditions. A principal consequence of the broadening of the democratic process is that Indigenous activists are no longer forced to choose between party politics and social movements. Instead, participatory mechanisms allow civil society actors and their organizations to increasingly become a part of the state. New forms of civil society participation such as Indigenous self-rule broaden and deepen democracy by making it more inclusive and government more responsive and representative. Indigenous political representation is democratizing democracy in the region by pushing the limits of representative democracy in some of the most challenging socio-economic and institutional environments.

Students and the Political System of the University of Buenos Aires

1966 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 633-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald C. Newton
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Political System ◽  
Buenos Aires ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Student Group ◽  
American University ◽  
High Incidence ◽  
National University ◽  
The University

The National University of Buenos Aires, the largest and for many years the most prestigious in Latin America, is today more commonly taken as the archetype of the political Latin American university—and the connotations of “political” are wholly pejorative. This notoriety may be due in part, as Kalman Silvert suggests, to the high visibility of the University, especially to touring North American newsmen. Nevertheless, as its numerous critics allege, there seems to be abundant evidence to link politics to the manifest disarray of the educational process: in the well-publicized brawls among contending student factions and confrontations between demonstrators and the police, student strikes in opposition to procedural reforms desirable on grounds of efficiency, the reputed “terrorization” of heterodox professors, several student homicides in recent years, the distressingly high incidence of abandonos (for it is assumed, erroneously, that many withdrawals from the University are motivated by disgust with its politics); student political behavior as in the abusive reception tendered W. W. Rostow by a student group in Economic Sciences in February 1965, may have international repercussions. Such depressing phenomena have led even temperate and knowledgeable observers to speak of the “failure” of the University, and to call for a thoroughgoing structural overhaul, conducive, among other things, to depoliticization.

La fonction tribunitienne et la députation créditiste à l'Assemblée Nationale du Québec: 1970–3

1975 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacques Hamel ◽  
Yvon Thériault
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Social Criticism ◽  
Specific Role ◽  
Social Classes ◽  
The Political ◽  
Specific Function ◽  
Protective Function ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
Political Criticism

The tribunicial function and the Créditiste group in the Quebec National Assembly, 1970–3An analysis of the attitudes and behaviour of the Créditiste group since its first appearance in Quebec's National Assembly (1970–3) has two interesting aspects. First, it clarifies the Créditiste phenomenon, supporting the conclusions arrived at in a study conducted by Vera Murray. This study held that the RCQ was distinguished by the exercise of a specific function, namely, the defence and representation of the interests of underprivileged social classes. This is a function which Georges Lavau has described as tribunicial. We intend to show that the Créditiste members, in spite of the internal splits in the party during the leadership of Camil Samson and Armand Bois, have clearly fulfilled a protective function on behalf of “proletarian social elements” in the political system.The election of Yvon Dupuis to head the party in February 1973 inaugurated the progressive abandonment of this specific role, which had characterized the RCQ until then on Quebec's political chessboard, in favour of the function of providing governmental alternatives. Second, this study enables us to clarify and to distinguish between certain points in regard to the tribunicial function and the function of providing alternatives, used by Georges Lavau. In our opinion, the case of the RCQ is a much purer illustration of the tribunicial function than is the case of the PCF.In brief, the essence of the tribunicial function is the use of social criticism – not political criticism – based on the defence of underprivileged classes and revolving around the detailed denunciation of the political establishment. The tribunicial function also displays very little interest in the discussion or elaboration of a program of wholesale reform.

The Political Sociology of 21st-Century Populism in Latin America: A Critique of the Ecuadorian Case

2021 ◽  
pp. 089692052110322
Author(s):  
Jorge Daniel Vásquez
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Dynamics ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
Historical Contextualization ◽  
Latin American Countries ◽  
Universal Application

This paper calls into question the universal application of the concept of populism. It points to how particular historical processes need to be taken into account when addressing the formation of populism in Latin American countries. Unlike more theorized cases as Argentinian or Mexican populism, I use the Ecuadorian case to show how critical historical contextualization of 21st-century populism requires analyzing the continuities and ruptures with sociological knowledge about a particular populism. Such an analysis of continuities and ruptures shows the theoretical convergences among Latin America as a region and the political dynamics of specific historical processes. I highlight how the conceptions of 21st-century Ecuadorian populism as a “passive revolution” or “authoritarian disfigurement of democracy” provide some theoretical tools for examining the historical process of Ecuadorian populism but ultimately fall short of critical analysis. In conclusion, I derived from the Ecuadorian case some elements for the analysis of Latin American populist projects.

scholarly journals Polityka językowa w Polsce a wpływ języka angielskiego na polszczyznę

LingVaria ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Mańczak-Wohlfeld
Keyword(s):  
Language Policy ◽  
21St Century ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Political System ◽  
American English ◽  
The Political ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
The Status ◽  
Polish Language ◽  
The Impact

Language Policy in Poland in the Context of the Impact of English on Polish The paper examines the way and the extent to which language policies have affected the development of the Polish language. However, the purpose of the present paper is to highlight the change in attitude towards the increasing impact of English on Polish. The influence of English became more prominent in Poland after the change in the political system in 1989, and has for the most part been in the area of lexical borrowings. However, the influence of English is not only restricted to the inflow of English loanwords, but also extends to their relatively high frequency of usage. In addition, there is evidence of other types of influence that are non-lexical. However, the impact of English on Polish has not been as extensive as is claimed by some Polish linguists who since the early 1990s have lamented over the decline of the Polish language caused by the ”flood” of British and American English borrowings. Indeed, the status of English as a lingua franca was considered itself to be a threat to Polish, with even the possibility of the extinction of the tongue. This concern about language purity led to the creation of the Polish Language Council in 1996, whose aim has been to advise on and describe (rather than prescribe) linguistic behaviours among Polish language users. This legislative body was behind the Polish Language Act passed in 1999. Its purpose, however, has been to protect Polish rather than to purify it and to minimize the foreign influences (which mainly refer to English) rather than to eradicate them. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the Polish linguists’ attitude towards the ”Anglicization” of the Polish language has changed dramatically and it is now believed that the influence of English makes Polish richer and more globalized.

Policing the Environmental Conjuncture: Structural Violence in Mexico and the National Assembly of the Environmentally Affected

2019 ◽  
Vol 96 (96) ◽  
pp. 69-88
Author(s):  
Gabriela Méndez Cota
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Structural Violence ◽  
Legal Responsibility ◽  
The Political ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Academic Communities ◽  
Mexican State ◽  
Crisis Of Representation ◽  
Neoliberalism In Mexico

In this article, I contextualise the emergence and describe the political processes of a grassroots mobilisation against the structural violence of neoliberalism in Mexico in order to suggest the necessity of re-thinking conjunctural analysis in a posthegemonic direction. The National Assembly of the Environmentally Affected (ANAA) is a nationwide network of Mexican communities and organisations that has operated since 2008. ANAA's most notorious achievement has been the opening of a Mexican chapter at the Permanent People's Tribunal, the final verdict of which established the legal responsibility of the Mexican State for structural violence against the Mexican people. My account of ANAA's intervention in the Mexican conjuncture recuperates Stuart Hall's emphasis on complexity and singularity by narrating, through multiple critical voices, the cultural and political conjuncture in which some of the most environmentally affected groups of the Mexican population have been able to organise and strike alliances with critical academic communities or socially concerned scientists. In terms of theoretical elaboration, I reflect on the limits of conjunctural analysis as a response to the deeper crisis of representation – what I call a 'disjuncture' – that concerns the scale of socioenvironmental violence in neoliberal Mexico. In order to think beyond issues of cultural representation, I propose to inform a situated practice of environmentally affected cultural studies with the posthegemonic turn in Latin American thinking of the political.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document