Latin American Studies Commons^™

Strong Church, Weak Catholicism: Transformations In Brazilian Catholicism, Carlos Alberto Steil, Rodrigo Toniol

Journal of Global Catholicism

In this paper we explore data on Catholicism from the 2010 census in Brazil, as well as other data from the Center for Religious Statistics and Social Investigation. Using these statistics, we question those arguments that explain the reduction in the number of Catholics in Brazilian society as a problem in the institution’s adaptation in response to the challenges of evangelization, or as a lack of ministerial vocations to meet the religious demands of the people. Pursuing an alternative argument, we consider the weakening of the relationship between the Catholic institution and traditional popular Catholicism to be a fundamental aspect …

Editor's Introduction, Marc Roscoe Loustau

Journal of Global Catholicism

No abstract provided.

A Treacherous Journey Through Latin America: The Plight Of Black African And Haitian Migrants Forced To Remain In Mexico, Zefitret A. Molla

Master's Theses

The growing presence of Black African and Haitian migrants in Mexico poses a new set of challenges to a country that is already struggling to recognize the presence of Afro-Mexicans and where mestizaje still dominates the national discourse on race. Due to restrictive U.S. and Mexican immigration policies since 2016, many of these migrants have found themselves forced to remain in a country they had only intended to transit through on their journey northward to the U.S. Mexico has only recently taken the necessary steps to recognize its Afro-Mexican population which had been marginalized and erased from history. This paper …

Improving Pre-Departure Training For English Teacher Volunteers In Costa Rica: An Examination Of Aliarse And Recommendations, Derek Schwartz

Capstone Collection

Volunteering outside of one’s country and culture is a challenging endeavor. While abroad, international volunteers generally encounter a new language, culture, and lifestyle which can create challenges for volunteers. Pre-departure training can buffer and lend nuance to the difficulties that volunteers face. In Costa Rica, the organization Aliarse manages a volunteer project that experiences high volunteer attrition and incorporates minimal pre-departure training. This case study draws on quantitative and qualitative data collected from questionnaires and semi-structured interviews of former Aliarse volunteers over two months. Results from the data found that ninety-four percent of the interviewees said interacting either directly or …

The Great Equalizer Or A Modern Iteration Of Historical Inequality: Artificial Intelligence In Latin America, Santana Amaker

Honors Theses

In recent years, governments across Latin America have taken steps to foster the development and implementation of artificial intelligence causing an expansion of the use of AI in the region. For instance, countries like Colombia and Argentina are using AI in their judicial systems. Superficially, the allure of AI in the judicial system stems from the thought that AI is an impartial entity that will pass fair and unbiased judgement. However, just like the programmers responsible for creating AI, algorithms used in AI system can be biased. The reason being AI is often trained to make predictions or decisions based …

Seeking Asylum In A Modern Society: Global Responses To Latin American Migration, Rebecca Dickinson

Senior Honors Projects

The United States is no stranger to asylum seekers and refugees. The most famous seaport in the country houses a 305-foot-tall statue of a woman bearing a torch with words from the poem The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus etched at her feet: “‘Give me your tired, your poor, /Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.’”^[1] The Statue of Liberty is a symbolic representation of open arms to immigrants from all walks of life. But if everyone is welcome, why do so few actually gain entrance?

US interventionism policies in the 20th century have defined the lives of millions …

Latino Voter Registration And Participation Rates In The 2020 Presidential Election, Laird W. Bergad, Luis A. Miranda Jr.

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This report examines voter registration and participation rates among Latinos in every presidential election since 1992.

Methods:

All data on registration and voting found in this report were derived from the Voting and Registration Tables issued by the U.S. Census Bureau at https://www.census.gov/topics/public-sector/voting/data/tables.html.

Discussion:

Latino voter registration rates reached an all-time high in the 2020 presidential election: 61.1% of all Latino citizens 18 years of age and older, rising from 57.3% in 2016. Latino voting rates (the percentage of Latinos eligible to vote who actually voted) also rose to a historic high of 53.7% in November 2020, increasing from …

Fine Particulate Matter And Low Weight Births In Mexico City, Mexico, Kennedy Cohn

Honors Theses

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure has been associated with several negative health consequences, and recent studies suggest a potential relationship between PM2.5 exposure and adverse birth outcomes, including low birth weight (LBW). This thesis investigated a potential relationship between fine particulate matter concentration and low birth weight in Mexico City, Mexico between 2008-2016. Maternal pollution exposure was estimated at the city-wide level by averaging PM2.5 measurements from various monitoring stations. Birth weight was collected from the SINAC database. Logistic regression models were run for different temporal scales (by trimester, and 10-month periods); however, there were no significant relationships found between …

What Makes A Country Environmentally Friendly?, Sophie Plantamura

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

No abstract provided.

Community And Idolatry: San Francisco Cajonos, Yalalag, And Betaza Through The Criminal Court Of Villa Alta, 1700-1704, Jessica Mitchell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The trials of San Francisco Cajonos and Betaza and Yalálag heard in Villa Alta’s criminal court depict many important facets of life in Colonial Oaxaca, and they especially paint the picture of community, how it was defined and how it operated in reality. Looking specifically at these two rich examples in Villa Alta’s criminal court, at the time, idolatry – native religion, rituals, and devotions defined by Catholics as idolatrous -- helped shape the lines of community and defined who belonged in which space. It also highlights how betrayal and revenge were construed by a community and the response for …

‘Con Los Brazos Abiertos’: Venezuelan Migration And The Humanitarian State Under Ecuador's Moreno Administration, Madeline Cook

Honors Theses

In its 2008 Constitution, Ecuador enshrined radically inclusive principles of universal citizenship and legal protections for migrants, written in a moment of historic Ecuadorian emigration. Yet in the wake of the Venezuelan migrant crisis and President Lenin Moreno’s shift towards austerity, how has his administration (2017-2021) responded to the Venezuelan migration in policy and in political discourse? Through an analysis of legal documents including ministerial agreements, legislation, executive decrees, and the VERHU visa, this paper outlines a pattern of legal restrictions levied on Venezuelan migrants. Additionally, this paper employs a qualitative content analysis of the Moreno administration’s political discourse, including …

Latinos In Brooklyn: Demographic And Socioeconomic Transformations In Sunset Park/Windsor Terrace And Bushwick, 1990-2017, Sejung Sage Yim

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This report examines the key demographic and socioeconomic trends in Brooklyn, New York between 1990 and 2017. The report focuses on the two community districts that have the first- and second- largest Latino populations in the borough: Bushwick (community district 4) and Sunset Park/Windsor Terrace (community district 7).

Methods:

This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, …

"If We Run Out Of Water, What Then?" Individual And Shared Agricultural Perspectives On Water Futures In The Middle Rio Grande River Basin, Rebeka Isaac

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the construction and reproduction of rhetoric concerning water futures amongst the agricultural community of the Middle Rio Grande River Basin. It discusses the reification of potential alternative futures as envisioned through interviews with regional agricultural producers. These interviews center on facilitating the connection between their current decisions and practices as they align with their vision of the future. Also, the interviews will serve to provide the descriptive material needed to construct foresight narratives. Analysis of the foresight narratives collected will be dependent on how farmers perceive uncertain water futures as it affects the building elements of the …

Nos/Otrxs Que Fuimos Separados: Recovering Testimonios Of Separation And Resistance, Marcela Rodriguez-Campo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In the U.S. xenophobia has been on the rise and current immigration policies have increased the occurrence of family separation. Experiences with family separation profoundly impact children and have a detrimental effect on their development and educational outcomes. However, limited research has been conducted exploring the long-term impacts of family separation on education, particularly as it relates to Latinx tender-age children (below the age of twelve). In the current political climate, Latinx children are precariously positioned to live under the constant threat of family separation due to anti-immigrant policies and xenophobic school climates. This hostile environment can have devastating effects …

The Ceibalitas In Uruguay: How Digital Educational Technology Affects Social Cohesion, William Bradford

Honors Theses

Digital Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have become a focal point in improving worldwide education. There have been many studies on the effects of ICT in schools on grades and careers after graduation, but not many have studied the social impact. This study focuses on the Plan Ceibal in Uruguay to see the impact of ICT in schools on social cohesion. The Plan Ceibal was the first Nation-wide one-laptop-per-child (OLPC) program in the world. For this reason, Uruguay can provide a look into the future for other nations as they implement OLPC programs of their own. This study uses data …

Still Dreaming Of You: Selena's Discourse With And Continuing Impact On American Musical Culture, Hannah Lastra

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Selena Quintanilla Perez continues to circulate in popular culture, including MAC cosmetic lines, a Netflix series, and podcasts. As a result, her cultural influence continues to be passed on and shared with future generations. This thesis focuses on three aspects of Selena and Selena y Los Dinos: Selena’s music, Selena’s performance aesthetic, and Selena’s fandom today. Chapter 1 focuses on Selena y Los Dinos’ American musical influences, particularly studying the songs “Enamorada de ti,” “Missing my Baby,” and “Fotos y Recuerdos” and the presence of American genres of new jack swing, R&B, and rock within them. Chapter 2 focuses on …

Soda, Water, And Convenience: An Evaluation Of The Mexican Soda Tax, Benjamin Hager

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to evaluate the Mexican soda tax of 2014 by exploring the reasons for the tax and the underlying factors that the tax seems to ignore. This soda tax, in particular, was implemented to address obesity by curbing the consumption of sugary soft drinks due to the large quantities consumed by the Mexican populous. However, as this thesis shows there are some potential pitfalls in this type of obesity prevention policy. By exploring potable water data from the World Bank, the rural and urban noncommunicable disease rates of two Mexican states, and the penetration of levels of the …

Mortalidad Por Accidente Cerebrovascular En Guatemala 2018: Patrones E Inequidades, Alejandro Cerón, Gila Goldstein

Anthropology: Faculty Scholarship

El presente estudio busca analizar la mortalidad por accidente cerebrovascular (ACV) en Guatemala con el propósito de identificar posibles criterios epidemiológicos que orienten la priorización de acciones de salud pública. El riesgo de morir de ACV en Guatemala muestra marcadas desigualdades por departamento, las que son aún más marcadas al comparar por municipio. El riesgo de morir es también más alto en personas mestizas o ladinas, en niveles educativos bajos, y en personas que se dedican a ocupaciones elementales. Deberían implementarse medidas de salud pública orientadas a los municipios y grupos en mayor riesgo de morir de ACV. Este estudio …

Terrorism And Counter-Terrorism In Latin America: A Comparative Study Of Peru And Colombia, Reagan Shane

Global Tides

This paper investigates the counter-terrorism strategies employed against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Colombia and the Shining Path (SL) in Peru and analyzes the effectiveness of those strategies. It begins by exploring the foundation of each organization and its respective goals, organization and tactics. Using this information, it then explores the counter-terrorism strategies employed by the government of each country in which the organizations were operating to determine the effectiveness of those strategies and how the structure of the terrorist organization might change that effectiveness. The paper concludes that military strategies have only been somewhat effective in …

Factors In Disaster Response In Mexico, Central America, And The Caribbean, Ashleigh Daugherty

Honors Theses

This research examines the impacts that existing factors can have on the outcome of natural disasters. In order to study this question more thoroughly than previous research, this paper conducts a small n study on the Middle America region through case studies in Mexico, El Salvador, and Haiti. Each of these case studies are evaluated by their outcomes of severe earthquakes and the conditions in which these earthquakes occurred. These conditions being: their economies, governances, and pre-existing natural disaster plans. The analysis of these indicators attempts to understand why certain countries perform better in natural disasters compared to others. In …

Political Influences By The Catholic Church And Spanish Government In Colonial Mexico, Dorian Barboza

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

The land of Mexico prior to colonization was composed of various large cities that upon colonization much of the land became New Spain. During this pre independence era of Mexico’s history the Indians were subjected to many changes in their culture through the Catholic Church and the Spanish Government. Religious conversion was accepted by the Indians as means to stop directed violence to the unconverted. The multidialectal cultures embraced Castilian as a common language that facilitated communication with the Spanish colonizers and between villages. The desire to integrate into the new Catholic and Spanish system gave rise to Indian litigation …

Human Trafficking At The U.S.-Mexico Border, Reilly Boales, Clayton Mccarl, Sarah Mattice

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

“Human Trafficking at the U.S.-Mexico Border,” Reilly Boales. The lack of enforcement of existing laws and improper procedure at the U.S.-Mexico Border are directly correlated with rising human trafficking rates, especially for sex trafficking and forced labor. Human trafficking leads to non-consensual sex work, forced labor, exploitation, illness and death. For my project, I examined how corruption in the U.S. and Mexican governments, demand for cheap labor, improper Customs and Border Patrol screening and American bias correspond with rising human trafficking rates. I utilized a wide range of peer reviewed sources to formulate a thesis as to why undocumented migrant …

Data Collection In The Field: Lessons From Two Case Studies Conducted In Belize, Rico Kongsager

The Qualitative Report

There is a vast load of literature concerning how data collection can be conducted. This literature provides guidelines and recommendations on how data collection might be done, however, only a very limited part of this literature describes in detail how data actually are collected in the field. This paper is intended to be an example, where the methodology is explained in detail to assist and inspire other researchers, on their way to conduct interesting and important research. The data collection and fieldwork described in this paper were conducted to complete two case studies in Belize, Central America. The core of …

Toward Successful Coin: Shining Path's Decline, Darren Colby

Independent Student Projects and Publications

The rapid decline of the Peruvian left-wing insurgent organization Sendero Luminoso was not only the result of the arrest of its leader. An analysis of the precipitous weakening of the organization using two social movement theories finds other factors were involved in the demise of the organization as well. These factors—participatory politics, support for the military among the rural population, and alienation of the population by Sendero Luminoso—provide insights to effective counterinsurgency tactics.

The Dominican Population Of The New York Metropolitan Region, 1970 - 2019, Laird W. Bergad

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This study focuses on the demographic and socioeconomic changes occurring within the Dominican population of the New York metropolitan area between 1970 and 2019. By 2019 Dominicans had become the largest Latino nationality in New York City having surpassed Puerto Ricans a decade earlier in sheer numbers.

Methods:

This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew …

La Voz Spring 2021, El Instituto: Institute Of Latina/O, Caribbean, And Latin American Studies

La Voz

In this issue:

• Conference Brings Cuba Scholars to UConn
• Performance Art in the Crossfire
• An Evening with Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
• Jesús Ramos-Kittrell Wins AAUP Teaching Innovation Award
• Alumni Contribute to State Latinx History Curriculum Initiative
• New Study: School Employees Help Farmworker Families Access Health Care

Employment Trends And Poverty Status: Men And Women In The New York City Metro Area Between 2000 And 2017, Sarah Kostecki

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This report examines employment trends and poverty status among men and women aged 25-54 in the New York City metropolitan area. The report assesses the characteristics of these persons, while examining trends and differences in poverty status by sex, race/ethnicity, and across the five largest Latino nationalities.

Methods:

This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew …

Central Americans In Las Vegas, Emily Salazar

Undergraduate Research Symposium Podium Presentations

The Las Vegas Valley has become home to a large Salvadoran and Guatemalan population with no clear understanding of the reason for its growth. Upon arrival to the United States, many Latin American immigrants will often struggle with the language barrier and the lack of resources at their disposal. This study aims to uncover what factors and advantages made the Guatemalan and Salvadoran communities choose to stay in Las Vegas Valley, as well as the contribution these populations have made to this metropolitan area. I will first examine published scholarship that uncovers the reasons on what initiatives made central Americans …

Bipolaridad De Las Políticas De Movilidad Del Valle De Aburrá: Análisis Desde Los Instrumentos De Gestión De La Demanda Implementados Entre 1999 Y 2019, Viviana Tobón Jaramillo

Gobernar: The Journal of Latin American Public Policy and Governance

Medellín and the Aburrá Valley are internationally recognized for their capacity to design bold projects regarding transportation and sustainability. However, the city's mobility dynamics show a different reality: the number of vehicles has grown steadily over the last 20 years. The metropolitan inhabitants spend 44% more time mobilizing in the city than 12 years ago and air quality has become the main challenge on the city's environmental agenda. The purpose of this article is to understand, from the analysis of public policies, the reasons why no progress has been made in the implementation of policies that effectively discourage the use …

Las Fundaciones Empresariales Y La Agendación De Políticas Públicas Mediante La Gestión De Redes De Actores: El Caso De Niñezya En Colombia, Natalia Garay, Santiago Leyva, Carolina Turriago

Gobernar: The Journal of Latin American Public Policy and Governance

This article explores the possibilities of network management to increase the capacity of business foundations to exert influence on the process of agenda-setting in public policies. This case illustrates how three foundations (Éxito Foundation, Alpina Foundation and ALAS Foundation) helped to coordinate one hundred civil society organizations to influence the Colombian National Development Plan (2018-2022). The case shows that business foundations can play an important role in setting the policy agenda by working as articulators of multiple fragmented actors of civil society. The article details the specific mechanisms used to pursue this articulation through the creation of a policy network …