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- Convenor:
-
Alexandre Pereira
(King's College London)
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- Location:
- UP 4.210
- Start time:
- 11 April, 2013 at
Time zone: Europe/London
- Session slots:
- 2
Short Abstract:
While some Latin American countries are now emerging as significant players on the international economic stage, the region contains some of the most inequitable societies in the world. The panel will discuss serious problems which deserve priority on Latin America's social and political agenda.
Long Abstract:
Following the turbulent transition processes which have accompanied democratic consolidation in Latin America, some countries in the region are now achieving high levels of economic growth and emerging as significant players on the international stage. However, serious domestic social problems persist, including a lack of adequate infrastructure to support competition in world markets, and widespread poverty and inequality. Economic growth without a more equitable wealth distribution will fail to generate the development many hope for. In this context, Latin American governments are opting for a strategy of neoliberalism, adopting policies of privatisation and public-sector financial constraint that require careful attention from researchers, especially those pursuing comparative analyses between developing countries. This panel will examine the implications of definitive policies in a number of countries in order to explore urgent questions of economic and industrial development, equality, human rights, environmental sustainability and poverty alleviation.
Accepted papers:
Session 1Monica Pinilla Roncancio (Universidad de los andes)
Paper short abstract:
Social protection systems in LA have been defined as fragmented. After the reforms during the nineties poverty became a priory. Although disability is associate with poverty, disabled people have been ignore of the social protection strategies in LA.
Paper long abstract:
Disabled people are considered the poorest of the poor, are excluded from basic opportunities such as education, health and labour. The evolution of the social security and social protection systems in Latin America (LA) has been influenced by the macroeconomic and political context of the region. Before the neoliberal reforms during the eighties and nineties, the social insurance system was fragmented and only covered a small proportion of the population. After the neoliberal reforms, new strategies to reduce the risk of poverty were established in LA, those looked forward to prevent, mitigate or reduce poverty. To analyse how social protection policies cover disabled people and guarantee the access to social protection services of disabled people in LA, five countries with different structure and historical development of their social protection systems were selected (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico) and a documentary analysis of 75 legal documents was done. A list of categories and codes were defined and three thematic networks were created (Disability, Social Protection and Equalization of Opportunities). The most important results are that although disability increases the risk of poverty in most of the countries, the strategies to reduce this risk are usually no-contributory pensions and a limited number of economic subsidies, which do not cover all disabled people and their families. The biggest benefits are still given in the contributory regime, which is associated with formal employment, which excludes disabled people.
Hilen Meirovich (Inter-American Development Bank)
Paper short abstract:
Why did Mexico pass a Climate Change Law? International negotiations have tended to divide between industrialized and developing countries. However, peculiarities of countries may affect their policy options. This paper examines why Mexico having no formal international commitment decided to act.
Paper long abstract:
This paper examines the unexpected: why a developing country with no formal international commitment to act in the area of climate change actually acts in unpredicted way to the point of becoming the second country in the world to pass a climate change law that limits its capacity to emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The starting point of this paper is the recognition that not all developing countries are the same. Some peculiarities of countries may affect their policy drive for change. By looking at the relationship between domestic policy making and the role of different 'clubs,' such as the G-20 and the OECD, jointly with the multilateral development banks, as sources of funding for climate actions this paper seeks to trace the process by which Mexico made significant progress. It suggest that Mexico's changes in the domestic political structure in the last decade, as well as its positioning within the international negotiations on climate created a unique interplay where Mexico is not a simple recipient of resources under donors' conditions. Rather, it's a multi-level negotiation where Mexico uses its membership in selected groups as a bargaining position to get resources in the best conditions possible for its development in exchange for specific actions, and those action have become viable in the post-PRI arena.
Alexandre Pereira (King's College London)
Paper short abstract:
Does the new National Policy on Solid Waste enacted recently in Brazil have the potential to bring real benefits to the living and working conditions of waste pickers and integrate the role of the informal sector, or will this legislation simply boost the growth of a profitable private market?
Paper long abstract:
According to a survey from ABRELPE (2010), from 2009 to 2010, the amount of waste in Brazil increased at six times the population growth rate and about 60% of the 173.583 tonnes of waste officially collected per day was improperly disposed of in uncontrolled landfills and open dumps. A further major challenge in Brazil is the issue of informality. Freitas and Fonseca (2011) estimate that there are approximately 800,000 casual waste-pickers in the informal sector, of whom 60% are working in very low-efficiency circumstances.
The launch of the National Policy on Solid Waste in 2010 signalled Brazil's adoption of management strategies of other more developed economies, and opens a promising market for investments in the solid-waste management sector. Brazil is thus undergoing an important transition period of modernisation that deserves careful attention.
A key feature of this policy is the obligations to prioritise the use of cooperatives of waste pickers in the collection of recyclable waste. Solid waste in this country is closely linked to the social and employment status of waste-pickers, and the role of the informal sector.
The study will consider whether this policy will address the issues of lack of technology and growth of the informal market - matter that are very live within debates about issues of waste management in developing countries. The study will consider whether this legislation will be able to bring real benefits to the living and working conditions of waste pickers and integrate the role of the informal sector.