This dissertation focuses on trends in pay inequality in the formal sectors of Argentina, Brazil, and Chile from the early 1990s into the latter part of the first decade of the new millennium. In-depth, single-country studies of inequality of each country of study seek to understand and explain the sources of movement in inequality in each country, relating changes in inequality to shifts in the relative roles of key economic sectors and geographic jurisdictions. In addition to these single-country studies of inequality, this dissertation develops a regional perspective on the dynamics of inequality by synthesizing findings from the three countries of study, identifying both commonalities and differences. This dissertation also evaluates the relationship between trends in inequality and the macroeconomic policies and factors that influence them. By eschewing the inequality of household incomes and focusing instead on measures of inequality in the underlying distribution of pay, this dissertation presents empirical evidence that fluctuations in countries' inequality levels are intrinsically related to macroeconomic factors. This dissertation applies Theil's T statistic, which belongs to the family of generalized entropy inequality measures, to develop new measures of economic inequality. The calculations presented in this dissertation are performed on data obtained from semi-aggregated datasets in which employment and average wage data organized by economic sectors and geographical jurisdictions, as derived from administrative records. Sectoral analysis shows that the changing levels of overall inequality are explained to a great extent by variations in the performance of a reduced number of "key" high-pay sectors, especially finance, extractive industry and civil service. In terms of the dynamics of geographic distribution, the role of these key sectors is observed in the driving role played by key geographic units: those composed of, or containing, the countries' main metropolitan centers, and those with high concentrations of economic activity in extractive industries. / text

This study links both census and religious service data, aggregating them at significant geographical levels. This makes it possible to test (1) if there is empirical evidence of the Catholic Church prioritizing the pastoral service to the poorest population of Mexico, and (2) if the results at different levels of analysis are consistent. To answer these questions, I will introduce the analysis by an overview of the research and the conceptualization of poverty and the way the Catholic Church has faced this social condition, particularly in Latin America and Mexico. Following the overview, the research design is presented specifying research questions, hypotheses, data, and the procedures followed to process and analyze such data. In my analysis I will present the geographical distribution of five dimensions of poverty in Mexico (deprivation of material goods, lack of running water, limited access to health services, illiteracy, and ethnicity) and the main indicator of pastoral services offered by the Catholic Church (number of parishes). Data from different sources will be linked and aggregated at different geographical levels through statistical and GIS platforms. Two main innovative tools to achieve this are the Areas of Direct Pastoral Influence (ADPI) and the Maximum Historically Consistent Geographical Units (MxHCGUs). These resources help to distribute and link socio-demographic and pastoral data. ADPIs facilitate focusing on the detailed relationships whereas MxHCGUs can be re-aggregated to higher-level units of analysis. The analysis includes descriptive geo-statistical tools to identify geographic patterns and test for spatial autocorrelation. Negative binomial regressions test the correlation of poverty and pastoral services at different levels of aggregation of the data. Besides identifying the levels and dimensions of poverty where there is empirical evidence of the priorities of pastoral service, I address the consistency of the different geographical aggregations and explain the differences. I emphasize the analysis of the levels of geographical aggregation directly relevant to the organizational structure of the Catholic Church: the ecclesiastical circumscriptions and the parishes. I will explain in detail the characteristics of both administrative-territorial levels and their importance in order to understand the provision of pastoral care. Although former sociological studies have never considered these levels in the study of poverty, they are the very units of aggregation used by the Catholic Church in pastoral strategies and decisions. Therefore, these are the most pertinent levels of analysis for a study about the priorities of pastoral services. It should be noted that the main limitation of this research is the lack of longitudinal data that would be necessary to test causality. However, this study links these kinds of data for the first time and there is no source of more complete information: the data presented here are actually the basis for the official maps of the Mexican Catholic Church. Therefore this means a major advance in this kind of research. On the one hand, the dataset that I put together sets the basic structure to organize historical censuses and ecclesiastical data; on the other hand, although the results are limited to cross-sectional data, this exploratory step is crucial for my broader research agenda because this study will evaluate basic procedures that will enable the later incorporation and analysis of longitudinal data from more than 120 years. / text

There has been tremendous variation in the development trajectories of Latin America's leftist parties. Whereas some have successfully entrenched roots in society, built their party organization, and become relevant national parties, other leftist parties have languished organizationally, suffered debilitating internecine rivalries, and witnessed a mass defection of followers, at times despite substantial initial electoral success. For instance, Brazil's Workers' Party (PT) abandoned socialism, moderated its program, and built itself up into one of Brazil's two main parties. Venezuela's Radical Cause (LCR) and Peru's United Left (IU), however, did not. While they had similar origins to the PT, both failed to adapt: LCR and IU fractured and became electorally irrelevant, having been unable to adapt to external challenges. What accounts for this puzzling empirical variation in otherwise similar parties in relatively similar contexts? More broadly, this dissertation seeks to answer under what conditions do leftist parties in Latin American democracies transform from undemocratic, radical, weakly institutionalized parties into democratic, moderate, professional parties? Conversely, under what conditions do they fail to adapt, experience organizational stagnation, and succumb to irrelevance? It argues that the political context in which each of these leftist parties emerged had an indelible effect on the parties' later ability to adapt institutionally and ideologically to future endogenous and exogenous shocks. First, where authoritarian repression dismantled preexisting leftist parties, a political vacuum on the left emerged that created the incentive for the rise of a new type of leftist party that intrinsically valued democracy. Second, the implementation of legal requirements by outgoing authoritarian regimes during a party's formative years encouraged parties to institutionalize, ensuring the development of a disciplined, majoritarian party organization. Finally, obstinance on the part of the military's move to extricate itself from politics encouraged leftist parties to participate in democratization and, thus, widen their electoral appeals. Those leftist parties that were formed under such regimes were induced to take certain actions and adopt certain institutions that made them adaptable in the long run. Those that formed afterwards or never experienced life under authoritarian rule had little incentive to change and, thus, proved unable to respond to external challenges down the line that demanded institutional professionalization and ideological moderation. / text

What explains the resilience of formerly nationally dominant parties at the subnational level? This dissertation demonstrates that factionalism is key. When intra-party factions are united, subnational dominant parties retain power even under adverse electoral conditions. By contrast, divisions and conflicts among internal groups lead these parties to lose even in favorable electoral contexts. I test these claims using a variety of quantitative and qualitative evidence from Mexico, focusing on the electoral performance of the Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI) in contemporary gubernatorial elections. Democratization potentially undermines unity in dominant parties because it provides politicians with viable exit options (i.e., joining the opposition) and because authoritarian central party committees no longer control subnational politics. Yet, I argue that factions can cooperate under democracy when they were more autonomous from the center during the authoritarian period. The negotiation skills acquired in the past help them "get along" in the absence of an external enforcer. By contrast, previously subordinated factions never acquired such skills and quickly became antagonistic to each other under democracy. As I show, collaboration had positive electoral consequences in subnational elections whereas antagonism had pernicious ones. / text

Costa Rica has been a popular tourist destination for decades, and is currently the second largest industry in the country. With so many tourists coming into the country, Costa Rica provides a rich environment within which to examine sex tourism. Costa Rica is a known destination for male sex tourists hoping to experience legal prostitution or child prostitution. Although it is lesser known, female sex tourism also occurs in Costa Rica. Female sex tourism occurs in the form of pseudo-romantic relationships between female tourists and Costa Rican men working in the tourist industry. These people spend a great deal of time together on tour, and relationships occur frequently. Men are seeking interesting sexual exploration, while women tend to be looking for the "Latin Lover." These relationships are not characteristic of prostitution, as no goods or services are exchanged for sex. These relationships may best be characterized as romantic.

This paper examines the relationship between Fulgencio Batista and the Communist Party of Cuba. At odds during the first several years of Batista's rule, when strikes and repression were the topics of the day, the two sides eventually saw in each other a means to an end. In efforts to understand the Cuban Revolution of the late 1950's, historians often portray Batista as a dictatorial puppet of American business and policy. Contrary to this image, in his first regime (1934 until 1944), Batista presided over the creation of a nominal constitutional democracy. To do this he needed the support and good conduct of organized labor, in which the Communists could be a powerful force. In 1935 the Communist Party International, based in Moscow, adopted a shift in tactics. So as to combat fascism, the Party turned away from its traditionally isolationist line. It sought to make alliances with like-minded groups and wanted to serve in the government. In mid-1938 an agreement was reached between Batista and Party heads from which sprang a mutually beneficial alliance lasting through the first batistato. The relationship is often overlooked in Cuban historiography and many questions remain.To truly understand its significance we need more information as to origins, conditions, and consequences of the agreements. This paper explores the conditions on both sides, seeking to understand how and why the unlikely bedfellows came together. As well, it traces the relationship until the end of Batista's term in 1944, focusing on the ebb and flow of support concerning major issues of the day, such as organized labor, the constitutional assembly, the election of 1940, and involvement in World War II. Finally, this study shows how the alliance with the Communist Party is a necessary point in a full understanding of Fulgencio Batista and the era.

This project seeks to address issues in cultural politics brought on by difficulties in cross-cultural communication, particularly as these problems manifest themselves in twentieth century Latin American testimonial narratives. By developing a critical line of questioning drawn from Gayatri Spivak's influential article "Can the Subaltern Speak," one aim herein is to analyze and describe the ways in which the narrative, Me Llamo Rigoberta Menchú Me Nació la Conciencia, translated into English as I, Rigoberta Menchú: An Indian Woman in Guatemala, exemplifies the incommensurable nature of cross-cultural discursive attempts. This is done through a twofold method: one, by placing heavy emphasis on the role of the reader as constitutor of meaning in a (textual) discursive transaction between culturally-different agents, and two, by drawing attention to the role of historically-determined interpretive frameworks in the reception and interpretation of Subaltern ennunciative acts. The latter, I argue, is necessary for gaining an adequate understanding of receiving and conveying meaning within cross-cultural paradigms. To this end, as an example of the problems, contextual and methodological, that arise in such communicative attempts between cultures, I take up the academic controversy stirred up by the publication of David Stoll's Rigoberta Menchú and the Story of All Poor Guatemalans. Lastly, I investigate the socio-political implications of such failures in intercultural communication, giving rise to secondary lines of questioning such as finding ways to create favorable conditions for the possibility of genuine cross-cultural dialogue. One possibility, I suggest, is adopting a method of reading/listening which, borrowing from phenomenology, is continually on the way, always unfinished, and lets the life of the subaltern emerge by remaining open, not just to what is said, but to what is left unsaid.

<p>The Global South, and particularly Latin America, experienced a remarkable expansion in conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs in the last fifteen years. Although a large literature examines the effects of CCTs on human development, the political behavioral consequences remain underexplored. In the dissertation, I address this gap by analyzing the effects of CCTs on political participation and policy. I also explore the implications of these effects for human development. </p><p>My central argument is that CCTs increase political participation among beneficiaries, and both program transfers and conditionalities contribute to these positive effects. More specifically, CCTs provide beneficiaries with politically relevant resources, including civic skills and access to state officials and community leaders. These resources reduce the costs of political participation and facilitate more involvement in political activities, particularly in more demanding forms of participation. In addition, I argue that CCTs increase the private provision of local services and influence the outcomes of some non-national elections. </p><p>To test this argument, I use four main sources of data: (1) existing survey data from Latin America in 2012; (2) original survey data from Mexico in 2014; (3) experimental data from Mexico in 1998-2000; and (4) in-depth interviews and focus groups from Mexico in 2012. Multilevel models and linear regression models are used to estimate the effects of CCTs on political behavior and service provision. The in-depth interviews and focus groups help to unravel more of the causal mechanism that connects CCTs to political participation. </p><p>The evidence largely supports my argument. I find that CCTs increase participation in a wide variety of political activities, including electoral and non-electoral activities. In addition, the pathways to increased participation include improved civic skills and increased access to state officials and local leaders. Moreover, CCTs increase the private provision of sewerage services.</p><p>I conclude that CCTs have both desirable and undesirable consequences. On the one hand, CCTs increase democratic political participation, improve civic skills, reduce the distance between beneficiaries and government officials, and increase access to local services. The increased access to sewerage services creates an indirect pathway to improved human development outcomes. On the other hand, CCTs reduce the pressure on local officials to provide local services, and in some contexts contribute to electoral rewards for undeserving incumbent parties.</p> / Dissertation

Since the 1960s, the inhabitants of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda have serially considered and rejected becoming a sovereign nation. This thesis investigates the extent to which the positions taken by politicians and social commentators, who are involved in the debates concerning independence, are informed by their lived experiences and understandings of the island’s past. Grounded in an analysis of the island’s past, this thesis also investigates how Bermudians have historically defined belonging in the political sphere and public spaces according to ‘race’ and class and how this affects the way in which they interact with each other and regard their relationship with the United Kingdom. The study critically engages with postcolonial theory and asks what the existence of this 21st century colony says about the processes of colonialism and post-colonialism. It also considers how this study fits with other research concerning other remaining Overseas Territories to show the value of conducting in-depth studies of specific societies. By surveying archival documents and conducting interviews a fuller understanding of the political and social development of this island is gained, as viewed by colonial administrators, local government officials, and those who publicly challenged the norms that allowed for social and political inequality on the island. These methods are used to engage with questions of how ideas of self and nation were shaped by segregationist formal education and how this was either reinforced or challenged by what was taught around the kitchen table and in the wider society. It explores how Trade Unionist and the fledgling Progressive Labour Party (PLP) saw a move to independence as part of a wider aim to rectify social injustices. The continuity and change in the debate is then reviewed to see how and the extent to which changes both internally and externally interact with narratives of the past to inform how those involved in the debate imagine the island’s future.

This dissertation investigates how the project of abstraction, initiated in interwar Europe, was reconstructed, continued, and transformed in mid-twentieth-century South America. Through an examination of the work and thought of three key artists (Tomás Maldonado of Argentina, Alejandro Otero of Venezuela, and Lygia Clark of Brazil), it posits historical continuity and universality as both central problems of mid-century South American projects of abstraction and potential avenues toward a new understanding of their historical specificity. I identify three key features of interwar abstraction that were consciously continued in the work of Maldonado, Otero, and Clark: the adoption of abstraction not as a style, but as a progressive teleology with a linear history and singular goal; the ambition to reach the end of painting as an autonomous activity and integrate abstraction into the built environment; and the belief in the power of abstraction to forge new subjects and collectivities. In all three cases, the encounter of a universalistic project with particular socio-historical realities had resonances unanticipated by their European predecessors. Whereas abstraction in interwar Europe was intimately tied to struggles against bourgeois subjectivity and for a new form of egalitarian collectivity, artists in mid-century South America were rather faced with accelerated, state-driven developmentalism and the emergence of populist politics. Against this background, I demonstrate how each artist envisioned abstraction as a tool to contribute to or disrupt newly emerging forms of collectivity, contrasting Maldonado's insistence on an international, class-based collective, Otero's efforts to forge a modern national community, and Clark's advocating for a contingent intersubjectivity as a way of resisting top-down projects of collectivity. Finally, I investigate how the engagement with ideas of continuity and universality, as exemplified by these three artists, intersected with broader conceptions of historical progress and development circulating in Latin America between the Second World War and the Cuban Revolution. The rise and fall of abstraction in South America during this period, I conclude, was closely linked to the dream of catching up with "universal history" and its eventual abandonment. / History of Art and Architecture