Port throughputs in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2009 and the first half of 2010

This issue of the FAL Bulletin presents primary analytical data on port development in the region and analyses the impact of the economic crisis on port activity in Latin America in 2009. It also provides preliminary data on container port throughput through June 2010, which point to recovering activity at most of the region’s ports.

The employment situation in Latin America and the Caribbean: Crisis, stabilization and reactivation: performance of the labour market in 2009

Following a five-year period during which economic and social performance in Latin America and the Caribbean surpassed anything seen in recent decades, the global economic and financial crisis not only hurt macroeconomic variables but also impacted heavily on labour markets in the region’s countries. Between 2003 and 2008 employment rates had risen considerably, especially in the formal sector, but the crisis spelled a reversal of this trend. Nevertheless, the region was better prepared than it had been in previous crises, since it had achieved a sound fiscal footing, a good level of international reserves and low rates of inflation. This meant that the authorities had the space to implement countercyclical policies on both fiscal and monetary levels. Be this as it may, faced with the worst global crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s, these measures could only attenuate the impact on the region’s economies —they could not prevent it altogether. Furthermore, the crisis struck with notable differences among subregions and countries depending on the nature of their trade integration, and not all the countries had the fiscal space to implement vigorous countercyclical policies. As discussed in this third ECLAC/ILO bulletin, the crisis did less damage to the region’s labour markets than had been feared at the beginning of last year, thanks to the implementation of public policies geared towards employment, as reviewed in the two previous bulletins. This bulletin offers an additional analysis from the perspective of gender equality. Moreover, some countries in the region, notably Brazil, managed to rapidly stabilize and revive economic growth, with positive effects on labour variables. The fact remains, however, that millions in Latin America and the Caribbean lost their jobs or were obliged to accept more poorly paid employment in more precarious conditions. The macroeconomic data indicate that recovery is under way and is stronger and occurring more rapidly than foreseen one year ago. In fact, regional growth in 2010 may well exceed the 4.1% forecast at the end of 2009. Consequently, although the unemployment rate may be expected to record a modest drop, it may not return to pre-crisis levels. The upturn is taking many different forms in the countries of the region. In some, especially in South America, recovery has benefited from the buoyancy of the Asian economies, whose demand for natural resources has driven large increases in exports, in terms of both volume and price. Countries whose economies are closely tied to the United States economy are benefiting from the recovery there, albeit more slowly and with a certain lag. Conversely, some countries are still suffering from major disequilibria, which are hampering their economic reactivation. Lastly, Chile and Haiti were both victims of devastating earthquakes early in the year and are therefore facing additional challenges associated with reconstruction, on top of their efforts to sustain an economic upturn. Despite the relatively favourable outlook for regional growth in 2010, great uncertainty still surrounds the global economy’s recovery, which affects the region’s economic prospects over the longer term. The weakness of the recovery in some regions and the doubts about its sustainability in others, as well as shocks that have occurred in international financial markets, are warning signs which authorities need to monitor continuously because of the region’s close integration with the global economy. In addition, a return to growth does not directly or automatically mean higher employment rates —still less decent working conditions. Although some labour indicators have performed reasonably favourably since the end of last year, the countries still face daunting challenges in improving the labour market integration of millions in Latin America and the Caribbean who are not seeing the fruits of renewed growth. This is why it is important to learn the lessons arising from the policies implemented during the crisis to offset its impact on labour markets. With this third joint bulletin, ECLAC and ILO continue to pursue their objective of affording the region the information and analyses needed to face these challenges, as regards both trends in the region’s labour markets and the corresponding policy options.

The employment situation in Latin America and the Caribbean: Crisis and the labour market

Since the financial and economic crisis began to affect the real economy and spread throughout the world, the region’s economies have been faced with a situation where data on employment and labour reflect the real stories of millions of women and men for whom the future has become uncertain. When these problems began to appear, the International Labour Organization (ILO) warned that the world faced a global employment crisis whose consequences could lead to a social recession. As the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has pointed out, the outbreak of the crisis put an end to a five-year period of sustained growth and falling unemployment. As early as the second half of 2008, the figures began to reflect slowing economic growth, while a downward slide began in the labour market. This initial bulletin, produced jointly by ECLAC and ILO, seeks to review the ways in which the crisis is affecting the region’s labour markets. Amidst a situation characterized by shocks and uncertainty, governments and social partners must have the inputs needed for designing public policies to increase the population’s levels of employment and well-being. It is planned to produce two further bulletins by January 2010, in order to measure the impact of the crisis on employment and provide an input to the process of defining the best public policies to reverse its consequences. The bulletin reviews the most recent available indicators and analyses them in order to establish trends and detect variations. It provides statistics for the first quarter, estimates for the rest of 2009, and a review of policies announced by the Governments. In 2008, the last year of the growth cycle, the region’s urban unemployment stood at 7.5%. According to economic growth forecasts for 2009, the average annual urban unemployment rate for the region will increase to between 8.7% and 9.1%; in other words, between 2.8 million and 3.9 million additional people will swell the ranks of the unemployed. Data for the first quarter of 2009 already confirm that the crisis is hitting employment in the region. Compared with the first quarter of 2008, the urban unemployment rate was up by 0.6 percentage points, representing over a million people.Work will continue until September 2009 on the preparation of a new report on the employment situation, using data updated to the first half of 2009. This will provide a picture of the region’s employment situation, so that growth and employment projections can be adjusted for 2009 as a whole. Strategies for dealing with the crisis must have jobs and income protection as their central goals. Policies are moving in that direction in Latin America and the Caribbean and, if they are effective, an even greater worsening of the situation may be avoided. Labour produces wealth, generates consumption, keeps economies functioning and is a key factor in seeking out the way to more sustainable and equitable growth once the crisis is past.

Panamá: evolución económica durante 2010

Incluye Bibliografía

The tourism sector and the global economic crisis: development implicatins for the Caribbean

Over the past two years the global economy has experienced substantial economic turmoil, resulting in severe economic contraction. While there has been a recent return to growth, this situation has impacted all economic sectors worldwide. In the highly tourism-dependent region of the Caribbean, the impact of the global economic crisis has been most notable on the tourism sector, which, from the early 1990s, became the key driver of economic growth for the region. The eventual emergence of this sector reflects an economic development history which was previously underpinned by the export of agricultural commodities, and subsequently by the adoption of the import substitution industrialization model as promulgated by Arthur Lewis. This was further stimulated by spectacular economic contraction in Caribbean economies during the 1980s as a result of changes in the global terms of trade for commodities, generally low levels of competitiveness for manufactured goods, as well as weak institutional and governance frameworks. Ultimately, many economies began to reflect fiscal and balance of payments constraints. By the end of the 1990s, too, evidence of declining competitiveness even in the tourism sector began to become apparent particularly when evaluated under the framework of the Butler Tourism Area Life- Cycle (TALC) model. The recent economic crisis, therefore, provides an opportunity to reflect on the overall approach to economic development in the Caribbean, and to assess the implications of the region’s response to the crisis. This analysis makes the case for the future development of the sector to be based on two broad strategies. The first is to deepen the integration of the tourism sector into the broader economy through the diversification of the regional tourism product, as well as the enhancement of linkages with other sectors, while the second is to expand the tourism sector into a total service economy through the introduction of new services. Considering linkages, the development of clusters and value chains to support the tourism sector is identified with respect to agriculture and food, handicraft, and furnishings. Among the new services identified are education, wellness, yachting and boating, financial services, and information and communications technologies (ICT). This overall strategy is deemed to be better suited to the macroeconomic realities of the Caribbean, where high labour costs and other structural rigidities require a high-valued specialty tourism product in order to sustain the sector’s global competitiveness.

Globalización, integración y comercio inclusivo en América Latina. Textos seleccionados 2010-2014

En el actual contexto de globalización económica, el tema de la inserción internacional de la región cobra una renovada importancia. La presente publicación, la segunda de la colección “Páginas Selectas de la CEPAL”, contiene extractos de documentos publicados desde 2010 y que abordan diversos aspectos de dicha temática. Entre éstos se destacan la participación regional en las cadenas mundiales y regionales de valor, la irrupción de China como un socio comercial crecientemente influyente, los logros y desafíos pendientes del proceso de integración regional en su vertiente económica y comercial, y las posibles implicancias para América Latina y el Caribe de las negociaciones comerciales megarregionales actualmente en curso. Como trasfondo de todos los textos seleccionados se encuentra el vínculo entre la participación regional en el comercio internacional y el logro de un crecimiento inclusivo. Este último se entiende como un crecimiento capaz de contribuir a la reducción de la heterogeneidad estructural mediante un aumento del empleo, la productividad y el ingreso, mejorando el bienestar de la mayoría y reduciendo la desigualdad

A política de assistência estudantil no governo Lula: 2003 a 2010

O objetivo geral da pesquisa é analisar a política de assistência estudantil desenvolvida durante o governo Lula (2003-2010) para atendimento dos estudantes de graduação das Universidades Federais, especialmente, no âmbito da Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA), identificando sua repercussão na permanência dos referidos estudantes. Partiu-se, centralmente, da indagação: como tem se desenvolvido a política de Assistência Estudantil no contexto da política de acesso e permanência na Educação Superior, em especial, nas universidades federais, durante o Governo Lula (2003-2010)? Partiu-se da perspectiva de que a compreensão desse processo pressupõe considerarmos o contexto de crise estrutural do capital, momento em que emerge, no plano político, o neoliberalismo e, no econômico, a reestruturação produtiva, com a redefinição do papel do Estado e das políticas sociais (entre as quais, a de assistência estudantil). A metodologia da pesquisa adotada foi bibliográfica e documental, sob o corte teórico do materialismo histórico. Neste sentido, analisou-se leis e decretos afetos ao objetivo delimitado, além de dados estatísticos e orçamentários da expansão do ensino superior (cursos de graduação), particularmente, na UFPA. Trabalhou-se com as categorias de análise contradição e mediação tal como abordadas no seio do materialismo histórico, como mediações para a compreensão da política de Assistência Estudantil subsumida nas políticas sociais e como as mesmas se relacionam com os dispositivos jurídicos que normatizam a assistência estudantil. Utilizou-se, ainda, como categoria relacionada à política de assistência a permanência, que constitui elemento central desse processo. Concluiu-se, dentre outros aspectos – do interior da metodologia adotada – que a Assistência Estudantil, como instaurada e institucionalizada no governo Lula (2003- 2010), por meio do PNAES (Programa Nacional de Assistência Estudantil), apresenta uma concepção limitada, fragmentada e focalizada nos segmentos sociais mais empobrecidos da população, haja vista a referida política adotar a lógica do menor recurso orçamentário para o maior quantitativo de atendimento. Essa lógica repercute, de modo negativo, relativamente à permanência dos estudantes na UFPA e, consequentemente, no insucesso referente à conclusão dos cursos, o que subtrai da Assistência Estudantil seu caráter de direito social universal.

La crisis restructral del capitalismo y sus repercusiones

This article analyzes the structural crisis of capitalism that began when the speculative home mortgage bubble burst in the United States in 2007, and the repercussions of that phenome- non. The current crisis is the outcome of a series of processes unleashed as a result of the crisis of overaccumulation of capital in the 1970s, which generated, on the one hand, the conditions for financial capital’s dominance and, on the other, a new frontier for the accumulation of cap- ital in East Asia, especially in China. The crisis calls into question the centrality of the North American economy, but that does not necessarily mean the shift of capitalism’s hegemonic cen- ter to Asia. Here we will argue that we are headed toward a multipolar world.

Emerging powers, humanitarian assistance and foreign policy: the case of Brazil during the earthquake crisis in Haiti

During the management of the crisis after the earthquake occurred in Haiti in 12 January 2010, Brazil played an important role on the efforts of humanitarian assistance. Based on bibliography and documents the paper presents the role played by Brazil with the focus on the humanitarian assistance as part of country’ foreign policy as an emerging power to increase the presence into the international system. To achieve this goal the article presents some considerations about emerging powers, foreign policy and theoretical concepts about humanitarian assistance and international relations, the extension of the earthquake in Haiti and the actions performed by Brazil during the response phase of the crisis management.

As meninas: entre o universo de Lygia Fagundes Telles e o universo das representações femininas (2010)

This article is devoted to a brief analysis of representations of women in As meninas, by Lygia Fagundes Telles, focusing on the three main characters of the novel and also on some secondary characters. The novel is set within a context that was characterized by a double crisis: the political crisis arising from authoritarianism and violence of the military dictatorship, and the crisis of the patriarchy system, due to the gradual political and social emancipation of women. Our paper aims to understand, in a succinct way, the critical dialogue established in the novel between the representations of women and that context of the dual crisis that constitute the novelistic material of As meninas

Corrupción en el senado brasileño: síntoma de una crisis de larga duración

La crisis del Senado brasileño, iniciada con las acusaciones de corrupción contra su presidente, se propagó al Poder Legislativo e incluso al Ejecutivo. El artículo sostiene que se trata del reflejo de una crisis general de los partidos políticos y de los parlamentos modernos, resultado de las presiones combinadas del decisionismo gubernamental y la espontaneidad social, que limitan la capacidad de acción del Legislativo. En el fondo, esto es una consecuencia de una situación de malestar institucional más amplia, una crisis de subjetividad política, en la que los sistemas políticos se vuelven incapaces de interactuar con la cultura y la sociedad producidas por los nuevos términos de la vida globalizada.

Catastrophic regime shift in water reservoirs and São Paulo water supply crisis

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Identidade e cooperação: os governos Kirchner e Lula e a construção de uma identidade coletiva em defesa (2003-2010)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Metabolic parameters of rats prone to display wild-running of the audiogenic crisis and fighting induced by REM-sleep deprivation

Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

The other Gulf oil crisis - in Southwest Asia

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a rude reminder of the risks inherent in an economy dependent upon petroleum. But there's a quieter crisis in the other gulf - the Persian Gulf - that should call Americans' attention to the even more severe consequences of relying upon imported oil. The costs of using the military to protect the transport of oil from the most turbulent part of the world should convince our country's policymakers to increase investments in researching and developing affordable, American-made clean-burning alternative fuels. But, first, we have to understand the real causes, costs and consequences of importing 12.9 million barrels of oil per day, which make up nearly 60 percent of U.S. oil consumption at a total direct cost of roughly $300 billion per year.