Blog2020-06-23T20:10:57+00:00

Blog Exclusive, Political Report #1959 – The Washington Consensus Arrives In Brasília

September 10th, 2021|

by Marc Castillo and Sírio Sapper

Abstract

John Williamson´s renown paper “The Washington Consensus” while causing controversy is nothing more than basic capitalist tenants.  Brazil has been undergoing a “Washington Consensus” transformation for decades now.  During the last several years this evolution has progressed at a more ambitious pace.  This paper examines the actions and mechanisms that the Bolsonaro administration has undertaken to make free market principles more concrete in Brazil.

Keywords:  Free Market Principles, Brazil Economy, Bolsonaro Administration, Brazil, Brazilian Politics

THE WASHINGTON CONSENSUS AND BRAZIL: CONTEXTUALIZATION

The ‘Washington Consensus’ has arrived in Brazil and it is there to stay.  In […]

Political Report #1458 The Business of Puerto Rico’s Statehood Party by Pedro Cabán

August 18th, 2021|

LAP Blog Exclusive

“To reach the unreachable star. This is my quest, To follow that star No matter how hopeless, No matter how far.” 

Don Quixote’s elusive quest is a fitting metaphor for Puerto Rico’s statehood movement. For over 120 years Puerto Rican annexationists have campaigned to convert the archipelago into a state of the Union. In 1899, one year after Spain was forced to cede Puerto Rico to the United States, the island’s Republican Party and the Federal Party called for the archipelago’s “definitive and sincere annexation.” Consistent with their understanding of U.S. territorial policy, the […]

Political Report #1457 Pedro Castillo’s victory raises hopes beyond Peru

June 17th, 2021|

by Steve Ellner Posted by Canadian Dimension

Peru’s long-standing polarity between a large extension of coastal region, where the nation’s wealth is concentrated, and the much-neglected interior was on full display in the June 6 presidential election. But the polarity was not just geographical. It wasn’t just that the winning candidate Pedro Castillo received the lion’s share of his votes from the interior, known as the “Other Peru.” Nor that Lima and other coastal cities favored Keiko Fujimori, particularly in middle class districts. The election also pitted two candidates with very dissimilar backgrounds against each other: […]

Blog Exclusive – Latin American and Caribbean tie-breaker

April 22nd, 2021|

written by Félix Pablo Friggeri y Angélica Remache López

    The description of the regional situation and its integration process has gone through a series of conceptualizations with diverse political intentions. We propose a characterization based on the concept of “catastrophic tie,” seeking to highlight elements that may be studied prospectively, considering recent events. These include aspects of the electoral processes and popular demonstrations that have taken place in recent times. We raise the question of whether we are moving towards the possibility of a resumption of the predominance of popular governments and regional integration processes.

Regional catastrophic […]

Political Report #1455 Ecuador’s April 11 Presidential Election

April 6th, 2021|

Ecuador’s April 11 presidential election
by Marc Becker — 31 March 2021
    On April 11, Ecuadorians will go to the polls to select their next president. On the

surface, the contrast between the two candidates seems stark and the choice clear.

    Out of a record number of 16 candidates in the first-round vote on February 7, Andrés

Arauz and Guillermo Lasso emerged at the top of the polls.

Arauz of the progressive Union for Hope (UNES) coalition is a protégé of former
president Rafael Correa. Like Correa, Arauz is a heterodox economist who emerges out of a
Keynesian and developmentalist framework. Redistributive […]

Political Report #1454 Don’t Make Puerto Rico a State Now

February 25th, 2021|


Political Report #1454 Don’t Make Puerto Rico a State Now

Don’t Make Puerto Rico a State Now — by Pedro Cabán, University at Albany

    Puerto Ricans went to the polls on November 3 to elect a new governor and hundreds of other officials, and yes to vote on whether their colonized archipelago should become the 51 st American state. The results signaled a resounding rejection of both major political parties. They also revealed a far more ambivalent attitude towards the status question than pro-statehood proponents will admit.
    The New Progressive Party’s […]

Afrodescendientes in Paraguay: the 209-Year Struggle for Recognition

February 18th, 2021|


Political Report #1453 — Afrodescendientes in Paraguay: the 209-Year Struggle for Recognition
by Valencia Wilson


Introduction

A glimpse of Afro-Paraguayan contributions occur through the annual Kambá Cuá festival on January 6th.  Kambá refers to the Afro-Paraguayan community, and this proud community with Kenyan roots participates in this festival using vivid colors and dances.  The problem is that this annual tradition consistently falls short of the recognition they deserve. In simple terms, Afro-Paraguayan activists are fighting an uphill legislative battle for Paraguay to acknowledge that they exist. Existence in the Afro-Paraguayan context […]

COVID-19 in El Paso: A Spectacle of Injustice

January 21st, 2021|

By Amy Reed-Sandoval


The French philosopher Michel Foucault famously described the nature of a “spectacle” in Discipline and Punish, in which he explored 18th century public executions in France. The purpose of spectacle, he argued, is “to bring into play…the dissymmetry between the subject who has dared to violate the law and the all-powerful sovereign who displays his strength.” Such “Foucauldian spectacles” are about inequality and, above all else, power.

Despite the various forces striving to invisibilize COVID-19 as much as possible, COVID-19 has become, I argue, a Foucauldian spectacle in the U.S.-Mexico border city of El Paso, Texas, which is now […]

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