Left-wing Regimes in Contemporary Latin America: Theoretical Concepts and Political Practice

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-160
Author(s):  
Zbigniew Iwanowski ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Civil Liberties ◽  
The Political ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Social Functions ◽  
Political Pluralism ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Role Of The State

The article examines contemporary approaches to the interpretation of left-wing political regimes and offers his own typology. Particular attention is paid to the fluctuations of the political pendulum in the region in the first decades of this century, the reasons for the successes and failures of the left forces. The author analyzes the ideology and practical activity of the center-left and radical left governments and comes to the conclusion that the persisting and even deepening disagreements between them are associated not only with the interpretation of the socialist ideas, the recognition of various forms of property, the role of the state in the economy, its social functions and foreign policy orientation, but also with the peculiarities of electoral legislation, ensuring political pluralism, forms of political participation and respect for human rights and civil liberties.

The Armed Forces in Latin America: Potential for Changes in Political and Social Functions

1972 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 375-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manfred Kossok
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
The Political ◽  
Social Functions ◽  
Military Dictatorship ◽  
Political Role ◽  
Number Of Publications ◽  
The Military ◽  
Coups D'etat

At the beginning of this study of military dictatorship and the political role of the intellectuals in Latin America, Florestan Fernandes (1970: 1) makes the following statement: “The idea that Latin America is a region in which the coups d'état are a political routine has become a commonplace.” Without doubt, such an opinion is justified and also explains—at least to a certain extent—the wealth of “routine” verdicts on the function of the military in Latin America. A contradiction, however, seems evident at this point: while the number of publications on the political and social position of the armed forces is rapidly increasing (McAlister, 1966; Rouquié, 1969), there is an evident lack of comprehensive analyses that go beyond detailed description, and which explain in a reliable and sound manner the phenomenon of the cyclically increasing militarization of politics. It cannot be overlooked that research on the role of the military in Latin America is in a really critical situation which calls for a reexamination of the facts according to new criteria.

Femicidio and Feminicidio Laws in Latin America

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela Neumann
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Latin America ◽  
The State ◽  
Gender Violence ◽  
Legal Activism ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Mexican State ◽  
The Law ◽  
Precise Content

Femicidio refers to the murder of a woman because of her gender. Feminicidio emphasizes the role of the state in enabling these crimes and the impunity with which they are treated. Feminist legal activism and the development of supranational and regional human rights instruments throughout the 1990s and 2000s were essential to the development of femicidio/feminicidio laws across Latin America. As of 2018, such laws were in effect in 18 countries across the region. However, the precise content and scope of laws criminalizing femicidio/feminicidio vary. For example, in the case of Mexico, transnational feminist legal activism, including a case brought before the Inter-American Human Rights Court, was essential to shaming the Mexican state into codifying feminicidio. This process was facilitated by the presence of feminist legislators within the Mexican legislature, who advocated for such legislation. In the case of Nicaragua and Peru, local feminist advocacy and copious documentation of the scope of the problem of femicidio/feminicidio proved more significant in the ultimate codification of femicidio/feminicidio. However, the legal advances against gender violence achieved in Nicaragua in 2012 were subsequently undone due to pressure from men’s rights and religious conservatives, leading to the weak implementation of the law criminalizing femicidio.

Populism and environmental (in)justice in Latin America

2020 ◽  
pp. 149-164
Author(s):  
Marcelo Lopes de Souza
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Environmental Justice ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
The Political ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter explores the relationship between populism and environmental justice in Latin America. It was not only within the framework of overtly dictatorial regimes during the 20th century that the struggles for social justice and human rights in Latin America faced severe obstacles and suffered setbacks. They have also been badly hampered by populism — both right-wing neo-populism with its component of intolerance and conservatism, and left-wing populism, which, by means of co-opting civil society, helps demobilise it and slow down or limit processes of awareness and radicalisation of democracy. The struggles for environmental justice are a crucial example of this. The chapter then addresses the main aspects of how left-wing neo-populism has undermined environmental justice in Latin America, and particularly in Brazil. It focuses more closely on the political and ideological consequences of left-wing populism's contradictions and failure in terms of a deepening of social tensions and struggles. The chapter argues that left-wing neo-populism has been ultimately part of the problem rather than of the solution.

DEMOCRACY AT THE SERVICE OF FOREIGN POLICY OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. FREDDIE
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Foreign Policy Change ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Apartheid Regime

The article examines the place and role of democracy and human rights in South Africas foreign policy. The author analyzes the process of South Africas foreign policy change after the fall of the apartheid regime and transition to democracy. He gives characteristics of the foreign policy under different presidents of South Africa from 1994 to 2018 and analyzes the political activities of South Africa in the area of peacekeeping and human rights on the African continent.

Freedom Tide? Ideology, Politics, and the Origins of Democracy Promotion in U.S. Central America Policy, 1980–1984

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 60-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan McCormick
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Central America ◽  
Reagan Administration ◽  
Democracy Promotion ◽  
The Political ◽  
History Of ◽  
Policy Objectives ◽  
Dramatic Shift

The Reagan administration came to power in 1981 seeking to downplay Jimmy Carter's emphasis on human rights in U.S. policy toward Latin America. Yet, by 1985 the administration had come to justify its policies towards Central America in the very same terms. This article examines the dramatic shift that occurred in policymaking toward Central America during Ronald Reagan's first term. Synthesizing existing accounts while drawing on new and recently declassified material, the article looks beyond rhetoric to the political, intellectual, and bureaucratic dynamics that conditioned the emergence of a Reaganite human rights policy. The article shows that events in El Salvador suggested to administration officials—and to Reagan himself—that support for free elections could serve as a means of shoring up legitimacy for embattled allies abroad, while defending the administration against vociferous human rights criticism at home. In the case of Nicaragua, democracy promotion helped to eschew hard decisions between foreign policy objectives. The history of the Reagan Doctrine's contentious roots provides a complex lens through which to evaluate subsequent U.S. attempts to foster democracy overseas.

The Role of Religious Force in the Wukan Incident

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hou Yuxin
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
The Political ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Media ◽  
Social Management ◽  
The Village

Abstract The Wukan Incident attracted extensive attention both in China and around the world, and has been interpreted from many different perspectives. In both the media and academia, the focus has very much been on the temporal level of the Incident. The political and legal dimensions, as well as the implications of the Incident in terms of human rights have all been pored over. However, what all of these discussions have overlooked is the role played by religious force during the Incident. The village of Wukan has a history of over four hundred years, and is deeply influenced by the religious beliefs of its people. Within both the system of religious beliefs and in everyday life in the village, the divine immortal Zhenxiu Xianweng and the religious rite of casting shengbei have a powerful influence. In times of peace, Xianweng and casting shengbei work to bestow good fortune, wealth and longevity on both the village itself, and the individuals who live there. During the Wukan Incident, they had a harmonizing influence, and helped to unify and protect the people. Looking at the specific roles played by religion throughout the Wukan Incident will not only enable us to develop a more meaningful understanding of the cultural nature and the complexity of the Incident itself, it will also enrich our understanding, on a divine level, of innovations in social management.

scholarly journals Revisiting Raúl Prebisch’s concept of crisis

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-164
Author(s):  
Crespo Maria Victoria ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Import Substitution ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Economic Commission ◽  
Neoclassical Economic Theory ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Horizon Of Expectations ◽  
Theoretical Proposal

This article offers a review and appraisal of the concept of crisis in the context of the remarkable trajectory and works of argentine economist Raul Prebisch. It argues that the crisis of the 1930s is the foundation of Prebisch’s theoretical proposal on dependency and development in Lat-in America. The crisis of 1929-1930 was the turning point that encour-aged him to revise and reinvent neoclassical economic theory, promote industrialization and import substitution, and, more importantly, to deeply restructure the role of the State in the region. The crisis leads to decision and action, and it implies and orientation towards the future, a new “horizon of expectations.” This horizon throughout the most part of the twentieth century in Latin America was development. The article also puts forward an interpretation of his program at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC/CEPAL), also triggered by the crisis and oriented to the formulation of policies meant to overcome the crisis. Finally, the article shows how through his interactions with CEPAL sociologists, in particular José Medina Echavarría, Prebisch proposes a redefinition of his concept of crisis, shifting from an economic and junctural concept to a structural one: the crisis of peripheral capitalism

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