Industrialized countries, national officials, transnational corporations, and multilateral banks have developed a new consensus model of development using mega-projects. This new investment model continues to undermine current social and environmental safeguards.
The funding of sub-national government as part of strategies to decentralise administrative structures is usually considered as a condition for success. Without a degree of fiscal autonomy, local government is unable to exercise latitude in the choice of spending priorities that comes with the delegation of authority and responsibility. However, as the recent experience of Peru shows, fiscal decentralisation is far from problem-free, especially when democratic, participative and accountable layers of government are largely missing.
The Brazilian Congress returns to work this week after a recess and faces news that the industrial sector has fallen yet again. Congress has been pushing the Senate to vote on tax raises on Brazilian companies in order to avoid a national credit downgrade.1 Since the industrial sector has fallen in many sectors, including automobile and informatics technology manufacturing, this push from congress is necessary in order for the country to evade a full blown economic recession.2
Guayusa (ghwy-you-sa) is an Amazonian super leaf packed with caffeine and antioxidants that has been providing focused, mental energy to Amazonian hunters for years. In 2009, the beverage company known as RUNA was created, and together with local Ecuadorian farmers, they brought guayusa to the international market. Their “clean energy” drinks provides all of the organic, natural caffeine from guayusa to provide a healthy energy high.
China’s recent mini economic collapse this past summer caused mayhem not only within its borders but thousands of miles away in many Latin American countries. Ever since the early 2000s China has been one of the leading foreign investors across Latin America in countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela.
Este artículo ofrece un breve análisis sobre los motivos que han llevado a la construcción de urbanizaciones cerradas y sus impactos socio-espaciales en un contexto rural. Teniendo en cuenta que las urbanizaciones cerradas pueden ser consideradas el modelo urbanístico paradigmático que ha caracterizado el desarrollo de las ciudades latinoamericanas en los últimos años, este tipo de análisis no es nuevo en un contexto urbano.
