Miscommunication in the COVID-19 Era

This article discusses issues around the communication of preventive health messages related to COVID-19 to indigenous language-speaking communities in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Official communication is primarily in Spanish, and the many translation initiatives that have arisen do not always succeed in getting the message across due to the lack of cultural interpretation that needs to accompany the linguistic message. This situation compounds the vulnerability of indigenous peoples in the face of the crisis.     

Organised Crime Governance in Times of Pandemic: The Impact of COVID-19 on Gangs and Drug Cartels in Colombia and Mexico

The COVID-19 crisis provides a window of opportunity for organised crime organisations in Colombia and Mexico to exert social control in local communities through actions of solidarity and care rather than traditional violent coercion. This new dynamic is increasing the legitimacy, power and social capital of gangs and drug cartels, helping them to co-opt civil society and the state to support their criminal operations. The pandemic also shows how poverty and inequality remain fundamental in shaping the building of the nation-state in both countries, where criminals act as a de facto state even without the virus and, in many areas, effectively replace the state. The coronavirus is making visible the ways in which organised crime groups cultivate civil society's support in delivering the provision of governance, order and public health in a time of lockdown and quarantine, making local ‘narco-gang’ governance profitable economically and politically.     

Filling in the Gaps: The Transnational Administration of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Peru

Diverse sources have constructed a common narrative of individual and isolated responses by countries and their leaders to the global coronavirus pandemic, akin to sálvese quien pueda (every man for himself). This article suggests that this is a simplification of the governance of the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru. Peru's governance story is one of domestic public and private action closely interwoven with crucial elements of transnational administration out of sheer necessity. The struggle against the pandemic has generated a domestic and transnational administrative symbiosis, involving authorities at multiple levels in efforts to fill a series of interconnected domestic, regional, and global governance gaps.     

Vulnerable Women in a Pandemic: Paid Domestic Workers and COVID-19 in Peru

Paid domestic workers (PDWs) in Peru, who are predominantly women, are one of the most vulnerable labour sectors in the country. We argue that an important factor explaining this is linked to national legislation that grants only partial rights to the sector, thus maintaining inferior labour conditions for such workers. Here we share our analysis of a survey of 314 PDWs, conducted between April and May 2020, confirming that PDWs in Peru are highly unprotected, particularly during the COVID pandemic, in which there has been a lack of comprehensive social protection schemes.     

The Experience of Women Regarding Chilean Government Measures during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study explores the experience of ten possible beneficiaries of the measures provided by the Chilean government during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic through remote semi-structured interviews. The results show a scenario of improvisation. Instead of relying on solid gender equity policies, a patchwork of focused measures was implemented, which increased uncertainty and vulnerability. As a result, women experienced sorrow and despair while facing economic constraints and care tasks mostly on their own. This article shows that care remains invisible in politics while overwhelmingly evident at home. Social care policies are urgently needed.     

Health Risks for Poultry Workers in Brazil in the COVID-19 Pandemic

This article discusses labour relations in the poultry industry in Brazil in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the meat production and processing industries there have been many complaints about abusive practices that put workers' health at risk. In several small cities across the country, slaughterhouses already act as pandemic contagion risk hotspots. We present an overview of the demeaning treatment of workers and the risks to public health associated with Brazil's poultry industry.     

COVID-19 Pandemic and Social Unrest: The Social Protest by Other Means. Reflections on the Argentinian Case

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world have implemented exceptional measures aimed at restricting people's mobility or banning public spaces used, among other things, for protest, thus causing the expected regressive effects in the socioeconomic sphere. What happens with social protest when the public space is banned? Does it stop, is it displaced, does it occur in any other form? In this article we present a map of protest in Argentina since the beginning of the pandemic. We conclude that the levels of participation remain high and that, given the features of the protest itself, its claims may be channelled into the institutions.     

The Role of Protestant Missionaires in Mexico’s Indigenous Awakening

Protestantism has grown rapidly among Latin America’s indigenous population since the 1980s. Despite Protestantism’s attractiveness to indigenous people, the literature has historically regarded it as incompatible with indigenous culture. Recent scholarship has moved beyond this assertion, focusing instead on the complexities of conversion and the paradoxes associated with it. Most scholars now argue that Protestantism can be compatible with indigenous culture. It is unclear, however, how Protestant institutions came to have a compatible relationship with indigenous culture. Indeed, Protestant churches/clergy continue to eschew many of the practices associated with indigenous culture. In this paper I address this question by examining the work of Protestant missionaries. I choose missionaries as my point of analysis because they were crucial in establishing Protestantism in the region, and thus the base point from which it is defined, practiced, and altered. As a case study I examine mission work in Oaxaca, Mexico. I argue that missionaries have changed both their conversion strategies and tactics for dealing with indigenous traditions. These changes make it easier for indigenous people to convert to Protestantism without rejecting key parts of their culture, and in a few cases by even embracing it. I examine two conversion strategies—group targeting and church planting. I also analyze three tactics missionaries use to negotiate indigenous customs considered ‘pagan.’ I choose tequio, village fiestas, and language politics because they have historically been sources of conflict between converts and their Catholic neighbours.     

Behind COVID-19: Deepening Poverty in Cuba

The article explores the Cuban government's reaction to COVID-19, emphasising its control of the press and the role of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR). The main question is whether the health crisis could empower or weaken the government vis-à-vis civil society.     

新冠疫情对中日韩价值链的影响

2020年初暴发的新冠疫情给世界经济造成了不可低估的损失,全球价值链受到巨大冲击,流通受阻、贸易萎缩、价值链一度濒临断裂,中日韩价值链也不例外。疫情下,中国、日本、韩国为实现价值链重组,从政策与导向、供给与需求、贸易与流通等方面实施了多项策略。中日韩三国采取的应对措施有利于完善其国内价值链,促进价值链技术革新,加深中日韩价值链的区域化程度,但也不可排除存在割裂原有价值链的风险。后疫情时代,中日韩三国应携手抗疫,深化合作,共同提升价值链抗压能力,快速推进价值链数字化建设,最终实现中日韩价值链重组并带动区域乃至世界经济增长。     

Beyond Rainforests: Urbanisation and Emigration among Lowland Indigenous Societies in Latin America

Indigenous societies across lowland Latin America have recently made impressive political and territorial gains by emphasising their stewardship of and attachment to particular rural landscapes. But surprising new censal and microdemographic evidence shows that these groups have simultaneously been developing a presence in domestic and foreign metropolises. Cities offer employment and advanced education opportunities as well as escape from rural conflicts. We suggest that the dynamics and outcomes of these migrations are distinct from those of other rural Latin Americans. By outlining specific areas in which migration, politics, and territory appear to be interlinked, we seek to stimulate research that engages with these processes and their implications for indigenous advocacy and migration theory.     

COVID-19 and Historical Global Rupture in Latin America

This article contrasts two significant ruptures in globalisation. World War I in 1914 was a significant break from the Latin American export-oriented development that was firmly connected to economic globalisation. This article uses the Argentine case study to reveal the ramifications of the post-1914 global breakdown for the republic's internationally dependent development. It draws comparisons with the current COVID-19 crisis as a significant departure from rapid globalisation. Both events altered the trajectory of international activity. Analysis of the 1914 rupture exposes the parallels with COVID-19 and its potential severity for Latin America's internationally connected development.     

COVID-19 and Social Protection in Latin America

The paper considers the role of social protection in mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on livelihoods and in addressing the impact of the economic crisis ahead.     

The Causes of Disease Impact Denialism in Nicaragua's Response to COVID-19

The response of the Nicaraguan government to the COVID-19 emergency is an extreme case of disease denialism. Such denialism is a major threat to public health, so understanding the sources of this attitude is paramount. Three explanations are offered: (a) the autonomous logic of a polarised political conflict; (b) an explanation based on an economic rationale; and (c) the regime's mystical and religiously-inspired discourse. The denialist response of the government is inexplicable without referring to the characteristics of the political regime, its political discourse and its recent developmental trajectories since the massive 2018 protests and the ensuing political conflict.     

Structural and Contingent Inequalities: The Impact of COVID-19 on Migrant and Refugee Populations in South America

In a comparative assessment of the pre-pandemic living conditions of migrants and refugees in six South American countries, we analyse the structural and contingent challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic on these populations. We argue that they are particularly exposed to the harmful effects of the pandemic, given their segmented incorporation into labour markets and their limited and fragmented access to and exercise of health, housing, and other social rights. The evidence points to a significant deterioration in their livelihoods and social inclusion, and potential profound changes in (im)mobility regimes caused by pandemic-induced restrictive measures.     

Necropolitics in the Jungle: COVID-19 and the Marginalisation of Brazil's Forest Peoples

COVID-19 has been particularly damaging to already vulnerable social groups, such as forest peoples. In Brazil, indigenous, Afro-Brazilian quilombolas and other racialised communities have suffered disproportionately under Bolsonaro's hands-off policy during the pandemic. We argue that, far from happenstance, this policy fits into a form of necropolitics towards forest peoples. Drawing from Achille Mbembe's seminal work, this article analyses how underlying (and sometimes overt) racism, cultural depredation, and government-supported deforestation constitute an assault now catalysed by the pandemic. Understanding forest peoples' disproportionate deaths in perspective is critical for addressing their growing vulnerability and the broader politics currently at play.     

The 'Culture' of Exclusion: Representations of Indigenous Women Street Vendors in Tijuana, Mexico

Representations of indigenous women vendors are contrasted with the ways indigenous women see themselves. Some images are openly hostile, whereas others discriminate against these women through a form of paternalistic love. For example, the understanding of indigenous women as outsiders from different social spaces and deviants from middle-class gender norms suggests that they are 'undeserving poor' whose interests should not be considered. On the other hand, the concept of indigenous 'culture,' as defined and shaped by some non-Indian academics, has further marginalized Tijuana's indigenous migrants. While defending the right of indigenous migrants to use public spaces, academics have characterized manifestations of poverty as the traditions of this ethnic group.     

‘The Root Is Maya,the Practice Is Pluralist’: Xel‐jú and Indigenous Political Mobilisation in Quetzaltenango,Guatemala

Since the 1990s Latin America has witnessed the emergence of ethnic, often social movement‐based, political parties. Within this context Rigoberto Quemé Chay became the first indigenous mayor of Quetzaltenango, the second‐largest city of Guatemala, a place that until then had been marked by indigenous political exclusion and racism. This article seeks to explain why Quemé was victorious in 1995 and also why he subsequently lost the election in 2004 through an analysis of the ideational struggle within the (indigenous) political organisation, Xel‐jú, which backed Quemé's candidacy twice. I use the movements of ‘departure’, ‘manoeuvre’ and ‘arrival’ in the process of the constitution of hegemonic visions of power to analyse Xel‐jú's rise to political power.     

COVID-19 and the Limitations of Official Responses to Gender-Based Violence in Latin America: Evidence from Ecuador

As the COVID-19 lockdowns were implemented, Latin American countries raced to announce plans to address gender-based violence in response to the increase in reports of intrafamily abuse. However, states' interventions had limited results. This article explores the Ecuadorian case. The Andean country's emergency strategy was based on reporting violence via the 911 emergency number, a plan that failed to consider that women quarantined with their aggressors would not have the opportunity to make the call. This article lays bare the extent of the gap between policy and practice in gender mainstreaming and the acute consequences of this during the pandemic.     

城市灾难应急医疗救援体系建设的理论与实践:对防控新冠肺炎疫情的启示

新冠肺炎疫情的暴发暴露出我国在重大疫情防控体制机制、公共卫生应急管理体系等方面的短板。加强基础性的制度建设,是总结疫情教训、推动危机转化的关键。我国城市灾难应急医疗救援体系的建设可借鉴国际社会在修复理念、救灾体系、应用平台、志愿服务等方面的先进经验,通过采取法律体系建设、健全机构和完善基础设施、社会化普及等手段,尽快补...