Forms of Welfare in Latin America: a Comparison on Oil Producing Countries
15.06.2015
15.06.2015
12:00 - 13:30
In the last decade the equilibriums of Latin America seem profoundly changed: the US does not have the important weight that held in the ‘90 for the subcontinent, at the same time the region grows with a balance of trade which is rebalanced thanks to the relationships cultivated with new actors. Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela are the main protagonists of the political dynamics of the area, but the new scenarios, not tied to an excessive dependence of the United States, and the frequent interactions with emerging economies in the world, permitted to states with a weaker international outlook (like Ecuador) to acquire a commercial dimension and a strong policy in the region. Latin America has once again become a political and social laboratory, also with the unprecedented socialism, experimentation of environmental sustainability and the growing importance of a nativist ideology. The subcontinent is strongly looking for a synthesis of the first European and American influence, the American indios culture and the needs of a global economy.
Even though Latin America has good economic growth since the early 2000s, globalization creates distortions such as loss of quality of loans (informal work) and urbanization continuous grow and the migrations to the new poles of economic attraction. The region has faced the welfare of different fronts, from decentralization to local development, with a gradual change of the role of the state and the inclusion of new forms of social participation and active citizenship. The "second welfare" is the prerogative of those countries, just think about how the indigenous communities organized themselves (share economy) .The participation of active citizenship in the territories has increased with decisions and strategies. Participatory budgeting and decentralization with the presence of citizens in the co-management of resources in local areas are examples of how to channel the citizenship participation mechanisms that include the analysis of family policies, child care, the new role of women, the need for proper management of social spending.