Brazil and the nuclear issues in the years of the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva government (2003-2010)

The present article is an analysis of Brazilian nuclear diplomacy and of the international relevance of the national nuclear program adopted during the two Presidential terms of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Particular attention will be given to the Brazilian position in the agreement on nuclear non-proliferation, to the role of mediation between Iran and the nuclear powers, and finally to the national ambitions concerning the industrial and military uses of the nuclear technologies.

The Brazilian position on forests and climate change from 1997 to 2012: from veto to proposition

This article describes the Brazilian position on forests and climate change from 1997 to 2012. It argues that it has evolved from a veto, which excluded from the climate change regime emissions from the conversion of native forests, to a proposition, as Brazil offered its approach to the international community. It explains the change with domestic developments: governance over deforestation, the emergence of new and relevant actors, and presidential diplomacy.

Os Estados Unidos e a ameaça do crime organizado transnacional nos anos 1990

O estudo analisa a inserção do crime organizado transnacional na agenda de segurança dos Estados Unidos e sua qualificação como uma das principais ameaças contemporâneas à ordem internacional pós Guerra Fria. Os resultados apontam a importância dos dois mandatos de Clinton (1993-2001) neste processo, cuja maior expressão é a Presidential Decision Directive 42, ao viabilizar, inclusive, a reorganização das estruturas policiais, militares e de Inteligência do país para combater esta ameaça. Conclui-se que a década de 1990 é o momento determinante da identificação norte-americana desta criminalidade como uma ameaça inédita, estrangeira e de grandes proporções.

An overview of invasive plants in Brazil

Alien plants are known to occur in Brazil since the 18th century when African grasses started to be recorded in pastures near Rio de Janeiro. In the beginning of the 19th century two royal decrees (July, 1809 and July, 1810) offered grants and tax exemption to everyone who would introduce plants of economic value. Nowadays, there are 117 plant species recognized as invasive or established and with invasive potential in Brazil and an unknown number of introduced plant species. Some of the most pervasive invasive species are Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. and Hedychium coronarium König in tropical ombrophilous forest, Hovenia dulcis Thunb. in subtropical ombrophilous forest and subtropical semi-deciduous forest, Pinus taeda L. and Pinus elliottii Engelm. in subtropical ombrophilous forest and steppe, Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC. in stepic-savanna, Tecoma stans (L.) Juss. ex Kunth in tropical and subtropical semi-deciduous forest, Melinis minutiflora P. Beauv. in the Brazilian savannas, and Eragrostis plana Nees in the steppe. The purpose of this article is to fill a knowledge gap on alien species that are invasive in Brazil and where they are invading by summarizing data obtained by joint efforts of the Hórus Institute for Environmental Conservation and Development, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network (IABIN) invasive species thematic network (I3N), and the Brazilian Ministry of Environment (MMA) in the last six years.

Discutindo o papel do Programa Bolsa Família na decisão das eleições presidenciais brasileiras de 2006

This paper investigates the relationship between the impact of Bolsa Família Program in the Brazilian population and the result of the presidential elections of 2006. The database involves municipal information provided by MDS, IBGE and TSE. To control the experiment, the eventual influences of other variables in the determination of this relationship had been studied. All those variables come from specific characteristics of the cities, such as: city with predominant urban or not urban population; size of the city population; among others. The results state that the Bolsa Família was, in fact, a very important factor in the determination of the votes in Lula. It was, in itself, responsible by 45% of the total votes in Lula.

Estado e embates socioterritoriais na Bolívia do século XXI

Recent results of presidential elections in Latin America suggest a turn to the left in various countries. In Bolivia, such a movement includes the victory of an Aymara Indian who is also a leader of coca farmers. The article proposes an interpretation of this event, describes and discusses the main actions of the new government, stressing the reactions they provoked, and explores the class, ethnic and territorial dimensions of the resulting conflicts. The regional aspects of the fights, seen in connection with the country's historical regionalism, are highlighted and their basic conditions are investigated.

As convenções de desenvolvimento no governo Lula: um ensaio de economia política

Development conventions in Lula's mandates: an essay on political economy. This article analyses the different development proposals put forward during the two Lula Presidential mandates. It is argued that such proposals are structured as "development conventions", which involve different priorities and different solutions to the problem of structural transformation. Their analytical frame is also different as are the interest groups which uphold them. Therefore their epistemology must be placed in the political economy context. It is argued that, notwithstanding the weight gained by a "developmental" convention over the second mandate, a "stability" convention is still hegemonic and commands macroeconomic policies.