Capital and the Lagos Presidency: Business as Usual?

Business-state relations in Chile's new democracy had been relatively tension-free for the first two governments of the centre-left Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia. However, during the first two years of the third Concertación administration, under the presidency of Ricardo Lagos, the relationship soured dramatically. At first glance, an ideological shift in the ruling coalition's centre of gravity would seem to explain the change in business-state relations. During the first two governments more conservative factions of the centrist Christian Democratic party had controlled the Concertación. Lagos, on the other hand, represented the left pole of the coalition and his socialist credentials brought the long shadow of the past on his presidency. This, however is an insufficient cause, three additional conditions must also be taken into account. The first one considers changes in the institutional and economic context that eroded the private sector's confidence in the Concertación's commitment to maintain the free-market socioeconomic model imposed under military rule. The second and third conditions are a decline in the electoral fortunes of the Concertación in favour of conservative parties and a shift in power relations among employers' associations towards more confrontational factions.     

Hot spots policing in a high-crime environment: an experimental evaluation in Medellín

Journal of Experimental Criminology - Test direct, spillover, and aggregate effects of hot spots policing on crime in a high-crime environment. We identified 967 hot spot street segments and...     

PROGRAMME CIHAE/ICHRPI – PROGRAM ICHRPI/CIHAE

SUMMARY

In this article a set of sources and methodology are presented for analyzing contemporary Parliaments, based on a case study focusing on the representatives of some of the different parliamentary chambers constituted during the period of the Spanish Transition (1977–82). The use of oral sources is emphasized in particular, since a sound understanding and management of these historiographical sources is a requirement set by the specific characteristics of what is known as the history of the present, in order to obtain information for its study. Moreover, oral history sources acquire a greater degree of importance in this study, as they form a vital element for the broadest possible form of micro-biographies of parliamentarians that will later allow for an in-depth prosopographical study.     

The deliveries cannot stop: Ecological (dis) advantages and socio-spatial safety tactics against predatory crimes among Brazilian couriers

In this article we discuss the reactions and responses of Brazilian motorcycle couriers (motoboys) to the risk of predatory crimes. We show that they work two simultaneous and overlapping “shifts”: the first involves carrying out their professional responsibilities, and the second, reducing the opportunities for victimization presented by those responsibilities. We analyse the socio-spatial tactics they adopt with a view to optimising security. These involve restricting their interactions and negotiations with neighbours and customers, as well as with criminals to guarantee that the deliveries are made and also to manage the various risks associated with working in different ecological areas. We explore the effect of these tactics on their activities, on labour relations and on attitudes to their customers in the delivery business. It concludes that both negotiation types point towards a process of expanding interactions, creating alternative distribution networks and seeking methods of protection against risks that cannot be overcome simply by the couriers protecting themselves.     

Expanding housing choices for the sector popular: Strategies for Mexico

Abstract

By the year 2000, some 40 million people in Mexico will live in settlements commonly called the informal sector. Most will live in houses that they have constructed themselves and that have some infrastructure deficit. To meet their needs, the authors propose a set of demand and supply strategies. Emphasis is placed on the increased use of small group savings programs, the provision of progressive infrastructure, and the creation of housing‐related employment. The supply of low‐cost land must be increased, which will necessitate reforms in the ejido land tenure system. Examples of locally derived, non‐government‐supported betterment programs are presented.

The article concludes by calling on the federal government to create stronger links with the informal sector and to reestablish its role as the supporter of social housing in Mexico.     

Institutional impact of criminal networks in Colombia and Mexico

This paper explores the effects of criminal networks involved in corruption and drug trafficking on democratic formal institutions in Colombia and Mexico. The theoretical framework is sustained in the concepts of State Capture (StC) and Co-opted State Reconfiguration (CStR). Three illicit networks are analyzed: (i) The Familia Michoacana in Mexico, (ii) the Autodefensas Campesinas del Casanare (ACC) in Colombia and (iii) the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC). These cases are analyzed throughout the Social Network Analysis (SNA) in order to identify (i) the hub and (ii) the structural bridge of each network. A methodological variation referenced as Social Network Analysis for Institutional Diagnosis (SNAID) is also applied, in order to analyze the institutional scope of processes of StC and CStR. Conclusions and explorative venues regarding the application of SNA and SNAID as a diagnosis tool are presented.     

Analysis of active ricin and castor bean proteins in a ricin preparation, castor bean extract, and surface swabs from a public health investigation

In late February 2008, law enforcement officials in Las Vegas, Nevada, discovered in a hotel room, a copy of The Anarchist Cookbook, suspected castor beans and a "white powder" thought to be a preparation of ricin. Ricin is a deadly toxin from the seed of the castor bean plant (Ricinus communis). The United States regulates the possession, use, and transfer of ricin and it is the only substance considered a warfare agent in both the Chemical and the Biological Weapons Conventions. Six samples obtained from the hotel room were analyzed by laboratories at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention using a panel of biological and mass spectrometric assays. The biological assays (real time-PCR, time resolved fluorescence and cytotoxicity) provided presumptive evidence of active ricin in each of the samples. This initial screen was followed by an in-depth analysis using a novel, state-of-the-art mass spectrometry-based ricin functional assay and high sensitivity tandem mass spectrometry for protein identification. Mass spectrometric analysis positively identified ricin and confirmed that in each of the samples it was enzymatically active. The tandem mass spectrometry analysis used here is the most selective method available to detect ricin toxin. In each sample, ricin was unequivocally identified along with other R. communis plant proteins, including the highly homologous protein RCA120. Although database searches using tandem mass spectra acquired from the samples indicated that additional controlled substances were not present in these samples, the mass spectrometric results did provide extensive detail about the sample contents. To the best of our knowledge following a review of the available literature, this report describes the most detailed analysis of a white powder for a public health or forensic investigation involving ricin.     

Extending the “voting with the feet” proposition: the impact of local economic development actions on immigration across Mexican municipalities

Tiebout's “voting with the feet” proposition directs attention to the role of local authorities in delivering public services, and the implications of their decisions in people's choice of place of residence. Similarly, the bottom-up approach to economic development places a relevant role of local governments in promoting higher standards of living. By considering the latter, the former can be extended as citizens can choose a jurisdiction not only on the basis of a combination of taxes and public services but a broader mix of public goods. This paper analyses the effects of the fundamental features of the bottom-up or local economic development (LED) approach on population mobility among Mexican municipalities. This study finds significant evidence of a positive impact of LED elements on immigration during the period between 1990 and 2005.