Toward a New Agenda for the Study of Religion in the Americas

1999 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel A. Vásquez
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Religious Practice ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
Scholarly Work ◽  
Global Context ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Definition Of

Recent scholarly work on Latin American religion reflects the pluralism and fragmentation of both religion and civil society. What effect will religious practice at the local, “micro” level have on institutions and structures at the “macro” level-namely, the process of democratization? A deeper, simultaneously more foundational and more encompassing definition of democratic politics might be involved. In an increasingly global context, the study of religion and social change in Latin America and among U.S. Latinos needs to take a comparative, truly interamerican approach.

Transnational Social Movements in Latin America

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisa von Bülow
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Transnational Social Movements ◽  
Collective Action Problems ◽  
Diffusion Paths

Latin American transnational social movements (TSMs) are key actors in debates about the future of global governance. Since the 1990s, they have played an important role in creating new organizational fora to bring together civil society actors from around the globe. In spite of this relevance, the literature on social movements from the region focuses primarily—and often exclusively—on the domestic arena. Nevertheless, there is an increasingly influential body of scholarship from the region, which has contributed to relevant theoretical debates on how actors overcome collective action problems in constructing transnational social movements and how they articulate mobilization efforts at the local, national and international scales. The use of new digital technologies has further blurred the distinction among scales of activism. It has become harder to tell where interpretative frames originate, to trace diffusion paths across national borders, and to determine the boundaries of movements. At the same time, there are important gaps in the literature, chief among them the study of right-wing transnational networks.

Health Diplomacy in the Political Process of Integration in Latin America and the Caribbean

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo Buss ◽  
Sebastián Tobar
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Economic Importance ◽  
Noncommunicable Diseases ◽  
The Political ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Global Context ◽  
Health Diplomacy ◽  
The Caribbean

The construction of the concepts of diplomacy and health diplomacy must consider their conceptions and practices, at both the global and regional levels. Health diplomacy is vitally important in a global context, where health problems cross national borders and more new stakeholders appear every day, both within and outside the health sector. On the other hand, regional integration processes provide excellent opportunities for collective actions and solutions to many of the health challenges at the global level. In the current global context, the best conditions for dealing with many health challenges are found at the global level, but the regional and subregional spheres also play essential roles. The region of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) consists of 26 countries or territories that occupy a territory of 7,412,000 square miles—almost 13% of the Earth’s land surface area; it extends from Mexico to Patagonia, where about 621 million people live (as of 2015), distributed among different ethnic groups. Geographically, it is divided into Mexico and Central America, the Caribbean, and South America, but it presents subregions with populations and cultures that are a little more homogenous, like the subregions of the Andes and the English Caribbean. By its characteristics, LAC has acquired increasing global political and economic importance. In the 1960s, integration processes began in the region, including the creation of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), Mercosur, the Andean Community, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Central American System, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), the Sistema Económico Latinoamericano y del Caribe (SELA), the Asociación Latinoamericana de Integración (ALADI), and finally, since 2010, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños, or CELAC), which is the most comprehensive integrative organization. While originally a mechanism for political and economic integration, health is now an important component of all the abovementioned integration processes, with growing social, political, and economic importance in each country and in the region, currently integrating the most important regional and global negotiations. Joint protection against endemic diseases and epidemics, as well as noncommunicable diseases, coordination of border health care, joint action on the international scene (particularly in multilateral organizations such as the United Nations and its main agencies), and the sectoral economic importance of health are among the main situations and initiatives related to health diplomacy in these integration processes. The effectiveness of integration actions—and health within those actions—varies according to the political orientations of the national governments in each conjuncture, amplifying or reducing the spectrum of activities performed. The complexity of both the present and future of this rich political process of regional health diplomacy is also very important for global health governance (GHG).

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.

Contours of an Indigenous Peoples’ Right to Water in Latin America under International Law

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Parriciatu ◽  
Francesco Sindico
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Latin America ◽  
International Law ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Customary Laws ◽  
The One ◽  
Definition Of

This article critically assesses the nature and the content of a possible human right to water for Indigenous People in the Latin American context. On the one hand, after introducing the deliberately unclear definition of Indigenous People, the article considers that a human right to water is embedded in Indigenous Peoples’ customary laws, which, according to legal pluralism, are to be considered as a legitimate source of law. The article then moves to the content of a possible human right to water for Indigenous People in the Latin American context. The importance of the jurisprudence of the Inter American Court of Human Rights is highlighted, and the obligation for States to consult with Indigenous People when dealing with their water resources is hailed as one of the key elements of a human right to water.

Veltmeyer, Henry and James Petras: The Dynamics of Social Change in Latin America. UK: Macmillan Press Ltd.; US: St. Martin’s, 2000. 210 pp.

2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-133
Author(s):  
Satya R. Pattnayak
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Scholarly Work ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
Foreign Markets ◽  
The Social ◽  
Trade And Investment

The Dynamics of Social Change by Henry Veltmeyer and James Petras is part of a wave of scholarly work critical of the social impact of globalization since the early 1980s. Organized into seven chapters, the book poses important questions about the supposed positive benefits of a greater exposure to foreign markets through increased trade and investment in the host countries of Latin America.

Disappearances in the Post-Transition Era in Latin America

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Personal Story ◽  
Authoritarian State ◽  
Latin American Countries

The book identifies a new human rights phenomenon. While disappearances have tended to be associated with authoritarian state and armed conflict periods, the study looks at these acts carried out in procedural democracies where democratic institutions prevail. Specifically, the book manuscript analyses disappearances in four Latin American countries (Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and El Salvador) which provide insights into the dimensions of this contemporary social problem. The theoretical framing for the volume links contemporary disappearances with certain logics that emerged in the authoritarian and armed conflict periods and continue today. It also covers the evolution of legal instruments addressing past disappearances and the current phenomenon. Each case study is introduced by a personal story of disappearance, followed by analyses. The following ‘Tools’ section sets out ‘best practices’ used by civil society groups and non-governmental organisations to address the rights of victims for truth, justice, reparations, and guarantees of non-repetition.

A Materialist Theory of Religion: The Latin American Frame

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 430-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Scheper Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Review Essay ◽  
Religious Practice ◽  
The Body ◽  
Theory Of Religion ◽  
American Intellectual ◽  
Materialist Theory ◽  
Material Religion

Abstract This review essay engages Manuel Vásquez’s new book, More than Belief: A Materialist Theory of Religion, from the perspective of Latin American religious practice and thought. Vásquez’s materialist theory of religion is shaped by Latin American intellectual strands, including liberationist intellectual concerns and commitments. While Vásquez’s focus remains primarily on the body, his work allows for and invites a more extended theorization of material religion (or material culture)—bringing new attention to the “objects,” the “things,” that so often anchor and define religious practice in Latin America and across the globe.

Latin American Modernities

2021 ◽  
pp. 23-44
Author(s):  
Luis Roniger
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Public Debate ◽  
Representative Democracy ◽  
Multiple Models ◽  
Internal Colonialism ◽  
Public Spheres ◽  
World Development

Modernity has been associated with a series of trends that have altered many societies worldwide, including those in Latin America. Chapter 2 analyzes Latin America and its path to global insertion and modernity. The chapter also addresses the images attributed to this multistate region. Latin American societies patterned their political institutions and public spheres after models that they conceived as the epitome of advanced global progress and modernity. They incorporated modern notions of citizenship, representative democracy, civic associations, elections, public debate and public spheres, justice, and equality before the law. Yet these multiple models were hybrid in nature, resulting from their international insertion and the format of internal colonialism and biases toward the centers of world development. Many of the promises of modernity were unfulfilled, generating new political demands, social change, and transnational spillover from one society to the others.

Digital Humanities in Latin America

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Digital Humanities ◽  
Transnational Networks ◽  
The Us ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Uk

Digital Humanities in Latin America performs a number of tasks: a re-definition of the nations’ symbolic territories, which implies their exploration as digital contexts, experiments, media products, or even as uneven battlefields; a re-examination of the role of transnational networks in the configuration of new identities and/or communities, as exemplified by the cases of the Andean, Latin, and Afro-Latin networks discussed in this book; and a highlighting of the importance of cases that complexify the interaction between national territories and transnational flows through the remixing of aesthetic and political codes. Cognizant of the risks implicit in hegemonic agency, its object is to serve as a vehicle of communication between the Latin American digital humanities and the English-speaking circles of this field in the US and the UK, while at the same time documenting the existence and viability of pertinent academic initiatives south of the border.

Generating a critical dialogue on gentrification in Latin America

2020 ◽  
pp. 030913252092657
Author(s):  
Ibán Díaz-Parra
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Cultural Imperialism ◽  
Urban Restructuring ◽  
Critical Dialogue ◽  
Political Concern ◽  
The One ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
American Cities

Studies on gentrification in Latin America currently face two main obstacles. On the one hand, there appears to be a refusal by the academy in Latin America to use the term, regarding it as an expression of cultural imperialism. On the other hand, there has been an excessively flexible and ambiguous use of the term, obscuring political and scholarly debates on the issue. Both obstacles are partly a consequence of the lack of dialogue between the different authors in the field. This article generates a critical dialogue with the most relevant works and researchers on gentrification in Latin America, as well as with those scholars reluctant to use the term. Specifically, the author advocates for a more restrictive and clarifying definition of the phenomena and defends the utility of the concept as a tool to promote the critical analysis of the specific processes in many Latin American cities, as well as in cities outside the region. The paper concludes that, even though it should not be the main political concern for urban researchers in the region, gentrification is a relevant ongoing process in some Latin American cities and its study would contribute to a better comprehension of recent processes of urban restructuring.

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