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Diana Cariboni the 50 year old Argentinean associate editor in chief at the IPS New Service and regional editor of IPS Latin America has published an article on IPS News titled ‘Maduro, Capriles and Wayward Democracy’ stating “When the left was in opposition in Latin America, it never tired of repeating that true democracy was not limited to electing governments at the ballot box. Democracy was also needed in the distribution of rights and riches. Now that self-described leftwing governments predominate in the region, the catch is to make that maxim their political practice. They must fulfill the formality of celebrating clean, fair and transparent elections that produce governments of the majority that do not trample on the minority, nor prevent them from exercising their role of social control. …But the country’s democracy is far from being perfect, and further still from being predictable. …although Maduro and Capriles have both called repeatedly for “peace,” violence has taken over the streets. There have been fatalities, and dozens of people have been injured. Amid the commotion, something has been lost from view: Venezuelan society has long wanted to put an end to decades of apparent democracy, and oil profits for only a few. In the last 15 years, the country has made strides in poverty reduction, and many marginalised people were able to learn to read and write, and gained access to education and health care. They were also empowered to speak up, and to feel that one of their own, someone close to them, represented them in the presidency. But it cannot be forgotten that Venezuela today has serious problems, such as a high crime rate, a weak economy and excessive dependence on oil. If they do not understand the electoral snapshot represented by Sunday’s results, Maduro and Capriles risk riding the roller coaster of setting at odds the two halves of their nation, instead of leading them to a mirror and showing them the need to coexist and understand each other.”  Inspired by Diana Cariboni, IPS News ow.ly/kuDnM Image source Twitter ow.ly/kuDva Venezuela today has serious problems (May 19 2013)

 

Diana Cariboni the 50 year old Argentinean associate editor in chief at the IPS New Service and regional editor of IPS Latin America has published an article on IPS News titled ‘Maduro, Capriles and Wayward Democracy’ stating “When the left was in opposition in Latin America, it never tired of repeating that true democracy was not limited to electing governments at the ballot box. Democracy was also needed in the distribution of rights and riches. Now that self-described leftwing governments predominate in the region, the catch is to make that maxim their political practice. They must fulfill the formality of celebrating clean, fair and transparent elections that produce governments of the majority that do not trample on the minority, nor prevent them from exercising their role of social control. …But the country’s democracy is far from being perfect, and further still from being predictable. …although Maduro and Capriles have both called repeatedly for “peace,” violence has taken over the streets. There have been fatalities, and dozens of people have been injured. Amid the commotion, something has been lost from view: Venezuelan society has long wanted to put an end to decades of apparent democracy, and oil profits for only a few. In the last 15 years, the country has made strides in poverty reduction, and many marginalised people were able to learn to read and write, and gained access to education and health care. They were also empowered to speak up, and to feel that one of their own, someone close to them, represented them in the presidency. But it cannot be forgotten that Venezuela today has serious problems, such as a high crime rate, a weak economy and excessive dependence on oil. If they do not understand the electoral snapshot represented by Sunday’s results, Maduro and Capriles risk riding the roller coaster of setting at odds the two halves of their nation, instead of leading them to a mirror and showing them the need to coexist and understand each other.”

 

Inspired by Diana Cariboni, IPS News ow.ly/kuDnM Image source Twitter ow.ly/kuDva

Rachel M McCleary the American Senior Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, conducts research on the political economy of religion, focusing on how religion interacts with economic performance and the political and social behavior of individuals and institutions across societies. McCleary along with her husband Robert Barro have published an article on Project Syndicate titled ‘Popes, Saints, and Religious Competition’ in which they state “The election of the first non-European pope is long overdue. After all, Pope Francis’s native region, Latin America, is currently home to nearly half (44%) of the world’s Catholics. But the Catholic Church is increasingly losing out to Protestant competition there and elsewhere. …The Catholic Church understands this competition, but it confronts a chronic shortage of priests. As a result, the creation of saints is becoming an important way of retaining the faithful. Indeed, the choice of a Latin American pope echoes a prior shift in the geographical distribution of new saints. …The rationale for this shift is to use national saints to inspire Catholics – and thereby counter the competition from Protestants, especially Evangelicals. This phenomenon is most clear in Latin America, but it applies to North America, Asia, and Africa as well. …The idea of using saints to compete with evangelicals in Latin America goes back a long way – the friars accompanying conquering Spanish troops introduced patron saints in every nucleated community. Coupled with persistent shortages of priests, the worship of saints in Latin America became more embedded in the region’s culture than in that of Europe. …The combination of the highest share of Catholics in the world with a decline in the share of religious adherents leaves Francis facing a strategic dilemma. Either he can focus on regaining Latin America for the Catholic Church, or he can place longer-term bets on Sub-Saharan Africa, where both the population and Catholicism are now growing faster than anywhere else in the world. Where will the next saints come from?”  Inspired by Rachel McCleary & Robert Barro, Project Syndicate ow.ly/k2RKa Image source LinkedIn ow.ly/k2RF9 Where will the next saints come from? (May 1 2013)

 

Rachel M McCleary the American Senior Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, conducts research on the political economy of religion, focusing on how religion interacts with economic performance and the political and social behavior of individuals and institutions across societies. McCleary along with her husband Robert Barro have published an article on Project Syndicate titled ‘Popes, Saints, and Religious Competition’ in which they state “The election of the first non-European pope is long overdue. After all, Pope Francis’s native region, Latin America, is currently home to nearly half (44%) of the world’s Catholics. But the Catholic Church is increasingly losing out to Protestant competition there and elsewhere. …The Catholic Church understands this competition, but it confronts a chronic shortage of priests. As a result, the creation of saints is becoming an important way of retaining the faithful. Indeed, the choice of a Latin American pope echoes a prior shift in the geographical distribution of new saints. …The rationale for this shift is to use national saints to inspire Catholics – and thereby counter the competition from Protestants, especially Evangelicals. This phenomenon is most clear in Latin America, but it applies to North America, Asia, and Africa as well. …The idea of using saints to compete with evangelicals in Latin America goes back a long way – the friars accompanying conquering Spanish troops introduced patron saints in every nucleated community. Coupled with persistent shortages of priests, the worship of saints in Latin America became more embedded in the region’s culture than in that of Europe. …The combination of the highest share of Catholics in the world with a decline in the share of religious adherents leaves Francis facing a strategic dilemma. Either he can focus on regaining Latin America for the Catholic Church, or he can place longer-term bets on Sub-Saharan Africa, where both the population and Catholicism are now growing faster than anywhere else in the world. Where will the next saints come from?”

 

Inspired by Rachel McCleary & Robert Barro, Project Syndicate ow.ly/k2RKa Image source LinkedIn ow.ly/k2RF9

Elisabeth Rosenthal the American medical doctor specializing in epidemic disease, scientific and environmental matters has published an article in the New York Times titled ‘As Biofuel Demand Grows, So Do Guatemala’s Hunger Pangs’. Rosenthal states “In the tiny tortillerias of this city [Guatemala City], people complain ceaselessly about the high price of corn. Just three years ago, one quetzal — about 15 cents — bought eight tortillas; today it buys only four. And eggs have tripled in price because chickens eat corn feed. …Recent laws in the United States and Europe that mandate the increasing use of biofuel in cars have had far-flung ripple effects, economists say, as land once devoted to growing food for humans is now sometimes more profitably used for churning out vehicle fuel. In a globalized world, the expansion of the biofuels industry has contributed to spikes in food prices and a shortage of land for food-based agriculture in poor corners of Asia, Africa and Latin America because the raw material is grown wherever it is cheapest. …With its corn-based diet and proximity to the United States, Central America has long been vulnerable to economic riptides related to the United States’ corn policy. Now that the United States is using 40 percent of its crop to make biofuel, it is not surprising that tortilla prices have doubled in Guatemala, which imports nearly half of its corn. At the same time, Guatemala’s lush land, owned by a handful of families, has proved ideal for producing raw materials for biofuels. Suchitepéquez Province, a major corn-producing region five years ago, is now carpeted with sugar cane and African palm. …Roughly 50 percent of the nation’s children are chronically malnourished, the fourth-highest rate in the world, according to the United Nations.”   Inspired by Elisabeth Rosenthal, New York Times ow.ly/gKkg3 Image source Twitter ow.ly/gKkeF As biofuel demand grows so do hunger pangs (January 17 2013)Elisabeth Rosenthal the American medical doctor specializing in epidemic disease, scientific and environmental matters has published an article in the New York Times titled ‘As Biofuel Demand Grows, So Do Guatemala’s Hunger Pangs’. Rosenthal states “In the tiny tortillerias of this city [Guatemala City], people complain ceaselessly about the high price of corn. Just three years ago, one quetzal — about 15 cents — bought eight tortillas; today it buys only four. And eggs have tripled in price because chickens eat corn feed. …Recent laws in the United States and Europe that mandate the increasing use of biofuel in cars have had far-flung ripple effects, economists say, as land once devoted to growing food for humans is now sometimes more profitably used for churning out vehicle fuel. In a globalized world, the expansion of the biofuels industry has contributed to spikes in food prices and a shortage of land for food-based agriculture in poor corners of Asia, Africa and Latin America because the raw material is grown wherever it is cheapest. …With its corn-based diet and proximity to the United States, Central America has long been vulnerable to economic riptides related to the United States’ corn policy. Now that the United States is using 40 percent of its crop to make biofuel, it is not surprising that tortilla prices have doubled in Guatemala, which imports nearly half of its corn. At the same time, Guatemala’s lush land, owned by a handful of families, has proved ideal for producing raw materials for biofuels. Suchitepéquez Province, a major corn-producing region five years ago, is now carpeted with sugar cane and African palm. …Roughly 50 percent of the nation’s children are chronically malnourished, the fourth-highest rate in the world, according to the United Nations.”

 

Inspired by Elisabeth Rosenthal, New York Times ow.ly/gKkg3 Image source Twitter ow.ly/gKkeF

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