Group items tagged

This article continues analysis of Latin America's potential as an economic and technological powerhouse of the future. Christopher Johnson writes, " As Europe attempts to cope with its financial crisis and Asia braces for the looming slowdown of China's economy, Latin America - in America's backyard - is witnessing an unprecedented expansion of its indigenous technology economy." Of course, the region is not without its problems: violence in Northern Mexico, lack of Brazilian infrastructure, and the attempts of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela to kindle anti-US sentiment, to name a few. However, the result of the diligence of a number of independent technological startups in countries such as Peru, Brazil, and Argentina give many hope that Latin America will become a significant player in the global marketplace sometime in the near future.

This article in regards to Google's new data center in Chili highlights the paradox facing Latin American IT. Latin American use of the internet has increased rapidly in recent history (the online population jumped 16 percent in 2011), but Latin American users have yet to view the Internet as simply more than an entertainment source. Online banking and business continues to struggle to catch on, despite attempts by the Chilean government to spur growth in this sector. Many believe the implementation of this data center will help Latin Americans make this transition.

This article analyzes claims by Sebastian Pinera, president of Chili in his article for the Economist. Economic potential in Latin America seems quite high recently, with the earnings of top bankers in Brazil moving past those in New York or London. If these claims are true, the influx of business capital in the Latin American region should be a harbinger of an information revolution, as Latin America tries to keep up with the US, Europe, and Asia in this increasingly wired world.

This article again illustrates the nature of the Latin American technology market: largely consumer driven. This stands in opposition to the American model, which is mostly a top-down funding model where infrastructure is the primary concern for investors. In fact, most infrastructure spending in Latin America is imported from Japan, China, and the US, while in consumer markets, these global players have a hard time competing with local providers. Latin American must diversify its tech industres foundation to include local businesses focusing on infrastructure technologies if it wishes to be a competitor on the global scale in the future, rather than remaining dependent on these global powers for tech innovation.

This article discusses the implications of the US giving surveillance aid to Latin American countries. US officials have in recent years aided Latin American governments with surveillance equipment in order to bolster their reach in their own territories. The primary thought has been that this will help the governments with anti-drug traffickin operations, however, recent evidence has emerged that these technologies have been repurposed to silence judges and opposition voices. This goes to illustrate the danger in providing potentially corrupt governments with US aid, that is, the danger of misappropriation (this true for any form of aid). As such, as the United States becomes more and more comfortable with the idea of Latin America as a global player in the tech market, we must still utilize caution in regards to where and how we provide aid to bolster these governments and markets.

Broadpeak will for the first time showcase its nanoCDN technology in Latin America at TB Connect LATAM. This new CDN (content delivery network) techology " leverages subscribers' home networks to reduce infrastructure investments for network service providers," essentially utilizing equipment already in subscribers households to minimize the need for some sort of additional tower. These sorts of technologies are necessary for the development of technology markets in Latin America, where a lack of infrastructure remains one of the most significant barriers preventing a break-through in online and technological usage by the populous.

This article details the rise of cell phone usage in Latin America during recent years. The growth of cell phone usage is such that in recent years, the number of users per 100 residents has grown to surpass that of even Germany. This is in a region where only between 3% and 7% of the population have access to the internet. This is indicative of the decentralized nature of Latin America's information networks, a significant problem facing Latin American leaders in today's global economy.

This is a good article examining Latin America and its place within the foreign policy of the United States. Specifically it questions the reasons why Latin America did not come up in the final presidential debate on foreign policy.

This is a really good article. The United States often just doesn't seem to take Latin America seriously, and we have a somewhat tainted history of involvement in that area. This needs to change.

Here's another article regarding current drug policy in Latin America. In this article the author explains why this joint declaration (no pun intended) is particularly unique since it triggers an actual evaluative process within the UN.

In reading this article, it is clearly stated that the U.S.'s war on drugs was of little benefit to the whole of Latin America. It seems that the joint declaration is a last effort to relieve some of the violence and upset occuring from drug wars. Interestingly, I feel this evaluative process could be what is necessary to relieve some of the surrounding tensions. The U.S. and Latin American need to find a common goal from which to work, in order to improve the struggles are ongoing.

Brazil's government enacted one of the most sweeping affirmative action laws. This is just one example of the sort of democratic, humanitarian charge that Brazil is leading in South America. On one end of the spectrum we see Chavez's authoritarian-ruled Venezuela, with state-controlled sectors still on the rise. On the other end we see Brazil, enacting humanitarian changes such as this affirmative action law. Increasingly, we have seen Latin American countries follow the lead set by Brazil, with a shift away from the state-controlled policy championed by Venezuela. Economically, we also see that Brazil is in much better shape than Venezuela, regardless of the fact that Venezuela is oil-rich. This law just offers one example of the changes set in motion by Brazil that stand at odds with the state-controlled ideals that were previously indicative of Latin American politics.

Fascinating article -- this is a huge social engineering step, with 50% of university slots set aside for poor and minority students! While there is debate about the step, only one senator voted against it.... Since our focus here in the class and the diigo articles is science and technology, I'm wondering if anyone here is willing to venture any guesses about how this policy might affect science, technology, and medicine in Brazil. Would most of these students from poorer social worlds opt for sci/tech/med training? If so, how might this change society itself? Do the wealthier students now attending college select different sorts of majors? It would be interesting to do some digging... Of course, the influx of students from different backgrounds could affect the wealthier students' worldviews, also -- if they stay in the public university system, however, which might not happen...From the article: Dozens of other Brazilian universities, both public and private, have also adopted their own affirmative action policies in recent years, trying to curb the dominance of such institutions by middle- and upper-middle-class students who were educated at private elementary and secondary schools. Public universities in Brazil are largely free of charge and generally of better quality, with some exceptions, than private universities. Still, some education experts are already predicting a shift to the better private universities among some students. "With these quotas, these rich Brazilians who took up their spots will not be abandoned," argued Frei David Santos, 60, a Franciscan friar in São Paulo who directs Educafro, an organization preparing black and low-income students for university entrance exams. "Their parents who had money saved will spend it" on elite private universities.

Two south Texas city council persons wrote a book last year on the effect of the illegal drug trade out of Mexico and the effectiveness of US policy responses. Their conclusion: Legalization of marijuana the "least bad" option at this point, as the only way to effectively battle the criminal cartels that export drugs is economically. Here I think is an example of ways in which international black and grey markets, in this case the illegal drug trade, can affect policy.

Unfortunately, we won't know if legalization of a drug will have a net positive impact on society until we try it. Although history does provide some analogies that could help policy makers make a decision, such as prohibition.

Many Latin American countries seem to be considering drug legalization to be the "least bad" and necessary solution to the heinous drug trafficking problems present Mexico, Columbia, Bolivia and Peru for example. I believe legalization efforts are a step in the right direction. Sadly, wealthy countries such as the United States and Western Europe drive the demand for drugs from Latin America, but we do not suffer the consequences of trafficking or the war on drugs. Instead, people who have nothing, poor coca growers and drug mules who have no other options, are punished most harshly for rich people's cocaine. This is clearly unjust. Although legalization would be a complicated and messy process, I hope that in the future Latin American countries as well as the United States will come together and legalize drugs so that fewer people will suffer in the illegal trafficking process.

I felt that this article was interesting leading up to the election. It explains the varying differences between Romney and Obama's policy regarding Latin America. Romey's policy plan that he has adopted seems to be very agressive and confrontational regarding Latin America. Reading this article made me heavily question Romney's plans. I do not always feel agression grants the best results. After the ongoing violence that has risen from the insuing war on drugs, this approach seems harsh. Although it does point out Obama's hands off approach (for lack of a better term), the article does outline Romey's opinions and strategies.

I'd sure like to hear more about other parts of the world in terms of the issues in the presidential and senatorial/congressional elections. I know that the Middle East is incredibly important, but in this increasingly interconnected global world other regions are vital as well, given the global scope of issues such as climate change and the global ocean, not to mention the issue of adjusting to working together across cultures as a general issue. But I'm always surprised that we don't think more "hemispherically" when we think about international relations in terms of public debates. Perhaps as the percentage of US citizens with Hispanic ancestry increases this might change? Perhaps it is related as well to the fact that Americans don't put as much effort into learning foreign languages as other countries do...perhaps if more of us were fluent in Spanish there might be more awareness of what is going on elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere? Maybe more foreign exchange programs as well as a consequence would help?

Pay particular attention to the section under "The Region" which explains why Latin America is an interesting site to look at the intersection between science, politics, and culture.

Chinese economic growth is set to decline according to forecasts, which alarms S. American analysts because Latin America provides many of the materials and commodities that China is buying. Note how China's long term goal of urbanization is cited as proof of hope for Latin American markets, since as more Chinese move into the cities they will have need for appliances and lifestyles powered by materials and commodities acquired from S. American countries.

Although the article is talking about long term vs short term analysis, China is still the fastest growing country in the world, even if its growth rate declines by a few percentage points. Seeing as the United States has been able to maintain post-industrial growth rates in GDP over the past few decades, I don't see why that wouldn't be the case with China.

Another article on the war on drugs. This article explains that the Guatemalan president suggested drug decriminalization in front of the UN General assembly, and said that it should coincide with increasing military pressure on drug violence. Legal drug use would be state controlled, much like the use of tobacco and alcohol in the United States.

It certainly seems like decriminalization would take the money and violence out of the equation (or at least, a great deal of it). Certainly, Prohibition in the US re alcohol was a big mistake in regard to criminal activity, and even with the problems alcohol currently causes, there are still forms of control (laws, public attitudes, health advisories)...Would it help if we put more effort into scientific studies on addiction? Do we know enough in that regard to circulate public information that would be relevant? Why don't we have conferences about this topic where the issues are debated? I'd like to see something like that at OU, with input from the law school, and the sociologists, psychologists, law enforcement, Latin Americanists, etc. etc. It could be very enlightening. Too dangerous a topic, though? But we should be able to talk about anything at an education of higher learning...

This article explains a new road that has been built that is working to revitalize a road for farmers. This road creates a direct path to the super market in order to boost earnings for the farmers. It was funded by the United States supported "Millennium Challenge Cooperation."

More new stuff for me to learn about, thanks, Elizabeth! It's amazing that lack of reliable roads can be a stumbling block to development in the 21st century, but often this is the legacy of colonial regimes that in previous eras weren't interested in internal connections among the people, but in building only what was necessary in terms of transportation infrastructure to extract indigenous resources and get them exported (a problem in Africa as well). I didn't know anything about the Millennium Challenge Corporation, so began looking up some info. One interesting fact is that they are rated as the most "transparent" US agency and 9th most transparent out of 72 in the world by "Publish What You Fund: The Global Campaign for Aid Transparency" [one of 13 organizations marked "fair," the second highest category -- only two came in at the top category]. http://www.publishwhatyoufund.org/index/2012-index/ The pressure for transparency: a consequence of the Internet, since the cost of "publishing" the information is minimal? It will be interesting to see how well the federal and state governments at home and abroad do on this score in the coming years.

This article is fascinating. It discusses the drug violence in Brazil, and what could be done to combat it. The police are working to recover slums in order to prepare for the 2016 Olympics and the World Cup. Here, it is questioned what will happen to the drug stricken areas.

It's interesting to think that drug violence or youth culture could be impacted in such a way. However, I wonder if this is a phenomena unique to Brazil, or if it could be applicable to countries like the United States.

This article describes a mining mountain in Bolivia, Cerro Rico, that is on the verge of collapse. This mountain has been mined for centuries by quechua slaves and although the people that toil in its bowels today are not technically enslaved, the harsh conditions and meager living workers make can still be equated to slavery. Unless something is done to stabilize the mountain, all the minors lives are in immediate danger. This article is very sad as it shows the ways in which colonial class stratification still exists today in Latin America.

an excellent piece, Josie, that reminds us that although we live in the shiny new hi-tech world of the 21st century that the 20th and even the 19thc are still with us literally in some parts of the world. We need to remember that fact. This situation also recalled one closer to home, in Picher Oklahoma. This wikipedia article notes that: "Picher is one of only a few locations in the world (along with others such as Gilman, Colorado and Wittenoom, Western Australia) to be evacuated and declared uninhabitable due to environmental and health damage caused by the mines the town once serviced." The cross-cultural comparisons would be interesting.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picher,_Oklahoma

Higher than average rainfall washed away some 84,000 acres of crops. As a result Ecuador's exports are expected to fall 10 percent resulting in higher prices for commodities like bananas, which are one of the countries main exports. This seems like a good example of the ways in which climate and abnormal weather patterns can affect market prices in the global economy.

Weather is one of the most unpredictable variables on world economy.

and one of the predictions of the ramifications of climate change is an increase in the number of severe weather events -- good for futures speculations but not for the rest of us?