York, United Kingdom - June 30, 2009.
As part of their developmental aid project, launched in 2001 to help children in developing countries, Gaïa Assoc. will be visiting Peru and Guatemala in August 2009. Gaïa Assoc. is currently traveling around the world in order to provide local schools with educational supplies and to foster cultural exchanges among various countries.
The first project carried out by what was to become Gaïa Assoc. took place in Vanuatu, Oceania, in 2003. Through this (…)
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Latin America and the Caribbean
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LATIN AMERICA - Region is Next destination for Gaïa Assoc., a Non-Profit aiming at providing educational supplies and fostering cultural exchanges
Julie Verbert
2 July 2009, by Julie Verbert -
CUBA-UNITED STATES - The Slow Thaw
Immanuel Wallerstein
1 May 2009, by DialMay 1, 2009 - After nearly 50 years of unremitting hostility to Cuba’s revolutionary government, the United States has taken its first steps towards a thaw in relations. The Cuban government has responded cautiously and skeptically, but has kept the door open to this possibility.
Some commentators have attributed this new situation to a change in leadership in both countries. The real explanation lies much more in the changed geopolitical situation - in the world-system as a whole and in (…) -
Opinion
LATIN AMERICA - How Far Left Has Latin America Moved?Immanuel Wallerstein
27 May 2008, by DialMay 15, 2008 - Everyone seems to agree that Latin America has moved leftward in the period after 2000. But what does this mean?
If one looks at the elections throughout Latin America, parties to the left of center have won them in a large number of countries since 2000 - most notably in Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and most recently Paraguay. There are of course important differences between the situations in these countries. Some of these governments (…) -
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - “It’s the Institutions, Stupid!” The Lack of Independent Political Institutions
Edward D. Gonzalez-Acosta
25 February 2008, by Edward D. Gonzalez-AcostaWhy is there so much corruption in Dominican Politics? Why do people drive down the wrong lanes, don’t pay their electricity bill, and a hundred other things? I propose that these phenomena are the result of the lack or weakness of proper institutions. In previous articles I tried to stress the importance of institutions in shaping our behavior, and now I’m more convinced of this than ever before. That’s why I told myself the other day, “It’s the institutions, stupid!”
Here’s a simple (…) -
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Political clientelism and poverty
Edward D. Gonzalez-Acosta
13 February 2008, by Edward D. Gonzalez-AcostaIn May 2006, after voting in the congressional elections, my family and I went up to visit some relatives up in the mountains just south of Rio San Juan. There we played dominoes and were preparing a sancocho, when my cousin walked in very proudly telling us that she had just gotten RD$500 for voting for the PLD. I was shocked, to say the least, but my relatives went on to tell me that it was not uncommon for all the parties to give out money and other material benefits for votes or joining (…)
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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Discrimination, Oppression, and Identity in Dominican Society
Edward D. Gonzalez-Acosta
11 February 2008, by Edward D. Gonzalez-AcostaI have been meaning to write an article about identity and oppression for a while, because I think that by exploring these concepts we can identify some aspects of our political system that maintain the public divided, uneducated, and complacent. When the word “discrimination” is mentioned in the DR, most people REACT by shifting the issue to anti-Haitian movements. Let me start by saying, even if Haitian immigration were not vilify as THE MAJOR problem in the DR, or even if we didn’t have (…)
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Opinion
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Santo Domingo: not Paris, not even La Vega!Edward D. Gonzalez-Acosta
6 February 2008, by Edward D. Gonzalez-AcostaI just got back from a trip to Paris, where I spent a week in meetings about a research project I am conducting on Migration and Political Transnationalism. But mostly, the trip was an excuse to tour around this majestic city. I walked and enjoyed all the public amenities that Paris and cities like it have to offer. Despite this not being my first time in Paris, I found myself amazed at the importance politicians give to the public sphere.
The Parisian and French governments have invested (…) -
Opinion
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Political Culture, Institutions and PoliticsEdward D. Gonzalez-Acosta
4 February 2008, by Edward D. Gonzalez-AcostaMy father is one of the best drivers I know. He is very observant of driving rules in our home town of Cabrera and when he goes to NY; but in Santo Domingo, all bets are off! He drives like a maniac. This anecdote shows the power of both political culture and institutions on our behavior. My dad behaves differently in Santo Domingo because there is, seemingly, a different culture and set of institutions than in our small town or NY.
Many theorists claim that culture and political systems (…) -
Opinion
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Criticism is Easy: Political Discourse in the 2008 Dominican Presidential ElectionEdward D. Gonzalez-Acosta
31 January 2008, by Edward D. Gonzalez-AcostaThis past weekend, I invested some time in trying to figure out if any of the three leading presidential candidates had a coherent list of political positions and/or policy program that they would support, if elected. I could only find a 2004 PLD document which excellently detailed the PLD’s policy goals for 2004 to 2008. In that document the PLD outlined a whole slate of economic, social, environmental, infrastructure industrial policies. I congratulate the PLD for such a wonderful (…)
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MEXICO - Standing Up to NAFTA
Laura Carlsen, IRC-Americas
8 January 2008, by Manuela Garza AscencioIRC - Every hour, Mexico imports $1.5 million dollars worth of agricultural and food products, almost all from the United States.
In that same hour, 30 people—men, women, and children—leave their homes in the Mexican countryside to take up the most dangerous journey of their lives—as migrants to the United States.
No matter what one’s stance on these two fundamental phenomena of our age—economic integration and immigration—one thing is absolutely clear: they are related.
As the final (…)