This thesis examines women’s participation in community-based organizing within the barrios (slums) of Caracas, Venezuela specifically in regards to their involvement as voceras (spokeswomen) for local water management committees entitled the mesas técnicas de agua (MTAs or technical water committees) in the popular parish of Antímano. Through the Bolivarian Process—a state-led effort to promote participatory democracy within Venezuela that emphasizes the importance of women’s involvement in citizen-led development strategies—the voceras have engaged in a number of social programs that tackle salient problems in their respective communities. Moreover, their struggle for water services—in addition to their participation in other forms of social activism—provides a clear illustration of how women relate to the discourse of “revolutionary motherhood” as their motivation for community-based organizing. This thesis will argue that while this process has been an empowering experience that has allowed the voceras to develop political consciousness and agency in an ongoing dialogue with the state, it has also resulted in myriad challenges and gendered consequences including the creation of a triple burden of labour.

This thesis assesses the potential of Venezuela’s technical water committees (mesas técnicas de agua, MTAs) to address governance and logistical challenges for improving sanitation in the barrios (low income settlements) of Caracas. The MTAs are a radical experiment in urban planning whereby beneficiary communities map their own water and sanitation needs and help to plan infrastructure development, which is financed by the state. In addition to improving services, the MTAs aim to promote “popular” or “citizen power” as part of a broader political transformation, the Bolivarian Process (1999-present). Based on Hickey and Mohan’s (2005) four criteria for “transformative participation,” the paper argues that the MTAs have opened spaces for citizen empowerment and improved services in the barrios; however, participation at the local scale cannot resolve many of the challenges for improving sanitation such as institutional overlap and the financing gap, especially given that sanitation is the least profitable form of service provision in terms of economic and political payoffs.

Almost daily emotional worship pours from a warehouse-sized evangelical church in the small rural community of Santa Cruz, Costa Rica. Within twenty years an evangelical presence has gone from virtually non-existent to standing alongside the Catholic Church in the area’s religious landscape. Scenarios like this are going on throughout Latin America as evangelical faith has become firmly rooted in the region. In this thesis I provide another ethnographic research context to the growing body of literature focused on Pentecostalism/evangelicalism in Latin America. Like others addressing this dynamic, I explore the factors and motivations that lead people to become evangelical. I approach these questions with particular emphasis on the characteristics of evangelical faith as it is constructed and practiced during church services. Through participant observation during church services and interviews with practicing evangelicals in and around Santa Cruz, I highlight the relationship between the characteristics of an evangelical faith and the factors and motivations that lead people to seek it. To be religiously active in the manner of my informants requires deep commitment and is not a faith adopted and practiced lightly. Those who become evangelical and sustain the demanding practice are likely to seek it for spiritual solutions to difficult life situations.

The objective of this thesis is to analyze the concept of autonomy, taking as the case study Brazil under the Workers Party Government (2003-2016). Approach that will be taken aims at combining perspectives of Latin-American structuralism with those of realism and interdependency. Thesis essentially concentrates on two specific issue areas: global economy and international politics. By constructing a theoretical framework, I aspire to identify and analyze various factors considered to have a direct impact on the study matter. In doing so, I consider the behavior of distinct variables and their effect on the degree of autonomy. Finally, thesis addresses problems of international insertion for peripheral countries, considering possibilities and limits of truly autonomous action.

This graduation theses is concerned with the economic development of the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean and economic relations of the Czech republic with these latinoamerican countries, especially trade and business relatins with Chile, Argentina, Brasil and Mexico. The purpose of the gradution theses was to analyse and mutual compare the progress of trade and business relations of these four selected countries and the possibility of czech enterprises to succeed on trade market of these countries.

The goal of the thesis "The EU-MERCOSUR: specific position of Argentina?" is the analysis of relations between the EU and MERCOSUR. The first part of the thesis deals with the characteristics of the selected territory. The second part of the thesis elaborates the relations between the EU and MERCOSUR. It includes historical development of cooperation, law basis of relations and business exchange. The crucial part of this chapter focuses on development of negotiation of inter-regional association agreement and its benefits for both parties. The thesis elaborates current progress of the negotiation especially in the context of the upcoming May 2010 EU and Latin America summit, where the association agreement could be signed. The agreement, however, will probably not include all the originally planned areas. The third part of the thesis analyzes the role of Argentina in MERCOSUR and relations of the EU and Argentina. The first hypothesis, claiming that Argentina is more oriented towards inter-regional MERCOSUR trade than the other member states, was not proved. The second hypothesis, claiming that signing the association agreement with EU will be very important for Argentina due to its strong ties to the European continent, was proved. The question, what the benefits for Argentina would be, if the Association Agreements would be signed without the chapter concerning the liberalization of the Agricultural products trade, still remains.

This master thesis deals with the theme of microfinance as a modern form of development aid in the world and analyzes the microfinance sector in Latin America, with a sharper focus on country Mexico. The work is divided into four chapters, which tries to answer two predetermined hypotheses. The first chapter is devoted to the question of poverty and the definition of microfinance and microfinance institutions. The second chapter focuses on microfinance as an investment opportunity for investor and describes the typical recipient of microloans. Another section is specifically focused on the analysis of the microfinance sector in LA and Mexico from year 2007 to 2012. At the end of the work are presented selected MFI in Mexico: the MFI FINCA and MFI Pro Mujer.

The aim of this thesis is to analyze the change in response of Latin American governments to the economic crisis and thus the change in the character of protectionist measures applied. How do the means of the protection of domestic market change? How does the financial globalization reflect in the Latin American protectionism? What are the further perspectives of the development of Latin American countries? The thesis is divided into three chapters. The first chapter examines the forms of protectionism in the reaction to economic crisis of the 20th century. Firstly, it presents Latin America as a traditionally protectionist region in the period of the import substitution industrialization, secondly it focuses on governments' reactions to the cyclic crises of the 80s and 90s that were caused by the liberalization of the capital accounts and high sensitivity of Latin American economies to the sudden stop on financial markets. The second chapter is devoted to the current global economic crisis. It analyses the means of trade and financial protectionism. Simultaneously, it compares the protectionist measures used to the ones employed in previous periods. The final part of the thesis explores further perspectives of Latin American regionalism and improved macroeconomic stability of Latin American economies.

This thesis deals with consumer behavior of a certain segment in tourism. The selected segment are Argentines and this thesis describes their consumer specifics together with analysis of external factors that enter into the buying decision process. There is also indicated their relationship to Europe destination and the Czech Republic and overview of marketing activities of CzechTourism agency on the market. The goal is to approach this market to Czech entities focusing on tourism.

The main goal of this thesis is to evaluate and compare the efficiency of cultural and creative industries in Latin America and Venezuela in particular, hence its growing potential. The introductory part refers to the geographic and socio-economic definition of Venezuela, on which the work is more focused. The following part is a quick overview of the theory of cultural and creative industries, so that this concept could be subsequently adapted to the Latin American region. The next section is devoted to selected examples of countries and projects that significantly transformed the socio-cultural environment of the country. The second half of the thesis focuses on the cultural and creative industries in Venezuela. The various categories of the sector and cultural institutions that are dedicated to them or shielded are specified. The last two chapters of practical part focus on the current situation in the phenomenon of cultural and creative industries and events, which can currently change the whole functioning of the Venezuelan state.