This thesis uses the historical relationship between Venezuela and petroleum to identify areas of resource rent waste mismanagement in the Venezuelan oil sector. Low oil prices are also more strongly bringing PDVSA’s mismanagement, corruption, and politicized agenda to light because of the high social cost of these inefficiencies. This thesis also explores industry-level best practices and applies them to the distinct case of PDVSA, with the objective of aiding Venezuela in navigating its way back to solid economic ground. The current economic and humanitarian crises in Venezuela elevate the need for conversations centered on reform options. This analysis concludes that the preferred policy option should be partial privatization because it is the most politically palatable option that also brings the most solvency to PDVSA’s inefficiencies. Partial privatization will allow Venezuela to reinsert itself into international financial markets and will open the country to desperately needed foreign investments. The elimination of market-distorting subsidies, the creation of a sovereign wealth fund, and the development of a regulatory structure that promotes transparency, accountability, and participation will also be critical.

As tourism expands across the globe, tourists seek “undeveloped” areas to explore. This influx of visitors has lasting impacts on the natural environment and the socio-economic structures of host communities. Ecotourism has the potential to positively implement tourism that values the natural environment and its’ people. I argue that ecotourism initiatives led by outside agents prioritize natural environment over the indigenous peoples who have lived on the lands for centuries. Indigenous-led tourism inherently is ecotourism, and in Aymara culture ties to Pachamama and their way of live are more sustainable than green tourists traveling to their communities. This thesis draws on the recognized need for local communities to lead tourism initiatives, and examines the difference in outside involvement. An analysis of Isla de la Luna (Coati) and Isla del Sol (Challapampa) in Lake Titicaca, I argue that autonomy and respect of the Aymara people and their cultures should be prioritized as the tourism industry develops in Bolivia. Safeguarding against reproducing and increasing class divisions amongst community members is necessary to preserving sustainable cultural and communal relationships.

abstract: RESUMEN Esta tesis investiga la escritura femenina testimonial de tres obras latinoamericanas. El testimonio de Asunta Quispe Huamán, publicado en Gregorio Condori Mamani. Autobiografía (1977), producido por Ricardo Valderrama y Carmen Escalante; Ese infierno: conversaciones de cinco mujeres sobrevivientes de la ESMA de Munú Actis, Cristina Aldini, Liliana Gardella, Miriam Lewin y Elisa Tokar (2001); y La distancia entre nosotros (2012) escrito por Reyna Grande. Los testimonios han sido analizados a través de diversas premisas teóricas compuestas de las ideas sobre la heterogeneidad latinoamericana de Antonio Cornejo Polar y teorías sobre el territorio, espacio y geografía de Henri Lefebvre, Rogerio Haesbaert, Edward Soya, Gilles Deleuze que nos han servido de plataforma para nuestro estudio. Asimismo se ha recurrido a escritos sobre el cuerpo y la frontera con teoristas feministas como Lucia Guerra, Nelly Richards, Jean Franco, Gloria Anzaldúa y Rosi Braidotti, entre otras. Este estudio se ha propuesto demostrar que estos testimonios Latinoamericanos en su polifonía social y cultural emplean discursos de dimensión multifocal que les permite reterritorializarse desde las márgenes a través de tácticas de resistencia en un proceso de permanente descolonización. Esos cuerpos nómades han sido hablados y programados por el discurso legitimador para desterritorializarlos pero ellos vuelven a reterritorializarse como “líneas de escape” que se transforman creando interconexiones de supervivencia creadora. Consecuentemente, a través del nomadismo de los sujetos analizados se forma una resistencia política que representa nuevos horizontes que son los proyectos en variados ámbitos: de género, raciales, culturales, de justicia del espacio y ambientales. Todos éstos en contrapunteo con el discurso hegemónico. / Dissertation/Thesis / Embargo / Doctoral Dissertation Spanish 2019

Reducing diabetes risk among Hispanic-American adults in the United States is a critical public health need and programs targeting young Hispanic-American adults with prediabetes can reduce the risk for developing diabetes. The purpose of this project was twofold: (a) to examine the literature related to diabetes prevention best practices among young adult Hispanic-Americans with prediabetes and (b) create an intervention program to promote these best practices to delay or reverse the trajectory toward diabetes. The inclusion criteria for the literature review were studies with at least a 12-month follow-up and reported outcomes related to changes in diet, increased exercise, and the effects of psychotherapy as modeled in the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). Studies that met these inclusion criteria for the period 2002 through January 2016 were evaluated and 11 studies supported the development of recommendations for future implementation. Pender's health promotion model provided useful theoretical support for the effectiveness of individual health behavior changes to reduce the risk of developing diabetes. Based on the literature review, proposed interventions included dietary interventions, behavior modifications, and both aerobic and resistance exercise training adapted for the young adult Hispanic-American population. The planned interventions will fill an evidence-to-practice gap in application of the DPP. The program when implemented will promote social change through lifestyle modifications among young adult Hispanic-Americans with prediabetes and is expected to improve dietary intake, weekly exercise, fasting glucose, and glucose tolerance and support weight loss, all of which can delay or stop progression to diabetes.

The present study aimed to investigate a locally-driven action research project to improve connections between Spanish-speaking Latinx parents and the high school that their children attend. Using Participatory Action Research (PAR), the study sought to create a collaborative research agenda that would empower the participants to study their own culture and practices at the school, and how the two combined to create a home-school partnership. Six parents and two members of the school’s bilingual staff comprised the PAR team, with a total of nine members including the principal investigator. The project began with the creation of a public sphere in which all members of the PAR team were encouraged to freely contribute to the design and implementation of the research project. Focus group recordings were reviewed and interpreted by two members of the PAR team in the original language of Spanish, and Spanish documents and resources were made to provide easy access to information requested by the team. In this study, I did not attempt to create generalizable knowledge about any culture. Results indicated that the parent participants’ priorities differed from those initially defined before recruitment, and that parents were comfortable enough to express differing views in the public sphere. The project was reported to be helpful to the parents, and the school administration agreed to incorporate the results of the project into a parent outreach project for the coming year. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Debido a la posición geográfica de Latinoamérica en comparación con Europa, Estados Unidos quiso concentrarse en el desarrollo económico de la región y creó nuevas políticas que ayudarían al crecimiento económico en Latinoamérica. Sin embargo, estas políticas tenían un segundo interés, el cual era prevenir la proliferación del socialismo en Centroamérica, ya que después de la Revolución Cubana, Estados Unidos sintió que era necesario evitar que los países vecinos llegaran a ser una amenaza para sus intereses en la región. No obstante, la intervención del gobierno estadounidense en Guatemala, El Salvador y Honduras se diluyó y los gobiernos nacionales se convirtieron en los nuevos protagonistas de la violación de los derechos civiles y humanos. A consecuencia de esto, surgieron grupos y líderes que decidieron luchar por una nación más justa. Es por esto que he elegido trabajar con textos de testimonio que nos ilustran algunas de las consecuencias de seguir políticas que favorecen a los más privilegiados, tales como también la austeridad, la violencia y la violación de los derechos humanos. Asimismo, pretendo analizar algunos cuentos cortos para ilustrar el sentir de algunos intelectuales en respecto a las condiciones sociopolíticas de sus respectivas naciones. Due to the geographical position of Latin America in comparison to Europe, the United States focused on the economic development of the region and created new policies to help the economic growth in Latin America. However, these policies had a second interest, which was to prevent the spread of socialism in Central America, since after the Cuban revolution, the United States felt it necessary to prevent neighboring countries from becoming a threat to the region. Nevertheless, the U.S. government intervention in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras was diluted and national governments became the new protagonists of the violation of civil and human rights. As a consequence, there were groups and leaders who decided to fight for a more just nation. This is why I have chosen to work with testimonials that illustrate some of the consequences of following policies that favor the privileged, such as austerity, violence and violation of human rights. I have also analyzed some short stories (fiction) to illustrate the feelings of intellectuals in regard to the socio-political conditions of their respective nations.

Argentina, throughout its history, has fallen prey to a unique brand of “exceptionalism.” While it is well-endowed with both the physical and demographic inputs to successful economic growth and development, its story has been defined by a consistent inability to reach its economic potential. This work examines how the nation’s political economy dynamics create an environment that is not conducive to long-term economic development. Through an analysis of both historical factors and the country’s present situation, it focuses on how the primacy of short-term factors has become entrenched in the economic policymaking process. The discussion is comprised of a fusion of economic, political, sociological, and psychological elements, which join together in attempting to explain the duration, magnitude, and repetitive nature of Argentina’s economic woes. This exploration of the past, the present, and their interaction offers insight into the specific factors that continue to keep Argentina from achieving a sustainable development path.

For decades, institutions such as the World Bank, IMF, WTO, OECD, US Congress, and EU have encouraged developing countries to adopt trade liberalization to improve their people's welfare and eventually achieve developed country status. In a comparative analysis to examine trade liberalization's impact on labor, this study found that while Chile and Mexico pursued very similar trade liberalization policies, their outcomes were extraordinarily different. Chile now holds the title as the world's model liberalizer while Mexico continues to struggle to liberalize. Chile's effective use of government intervention to absorb adjustment costs determined its success. This study challenges trade theory's dogma against government intervention and concludes with explicit strategies for hoe developing countries can enact targeted social programs and measures to absorb trade liberalization's painful adjustment costs. Trade liberalization can bring prosperity and opportunities for a country, as long as it is paired with effective government intervention to absorb a degree of adjustment costs.

<p>This dissertation examines the political determinants of government spending across different levels of education. What are the political motivations that drive budgetary decisions on primary, secondary, and tertiary education? Who are the beneficiaries of these appropriations? Why are they capable of influencing the decisions over appropriations?</p><p>I argue that the distribution of education spending across education levels depends on the capacity of organized groups active in this sector to make their demands heard and served by governments. Better organized groups have stronger capacity to take advantage of the electoral concerns of politicians and influence their decisions on educational budgets. I provide evidence to show that, with some exceptions, the teachers' unions in the primary and secondary schools are the most influential organized group in the education sector. By taking their demands out to the streets, by capturing key positions in the education ministries, and by using their mobilization capacity in the electoral arena, teachers have made governments cater to their economic interests, rather than direct resources in ways that would enhance access to and the quality of education.</p><p>I test the theoretical arguments using an original dataset incorporating a comprehensive account of all protests, strikes, and other disruptive actions by teachers, university workers, students, and parents in Mexico between 1992 and 2008. The statistical analysis reveals that 1) states with higher levels of teachers' protests receive larger federal education grants, and that 2) subnational authorities spend more on primary and lower secondary as a consequence of the larger disruptive behavior observed in these education levels. Complementary qualitative evidence shows how the teachers' union has captured the education ministries at the federal and the subnational levels, consolidating its influence over education policy. Finally, this study reveals the teachers' union capacity to leverage their participation in electoral politics in order to defend its economic interests.</p> / Dissertation

Many Latin American countries which underwent democratic regime transformations within the last thirst years have seemingly stalled. Unable to meet the demands of their citizens, which grow increasingly restless and confrontational, they have become subjected to a series of economic and political crises. Contemporary democratic theorists are at a loss to explain why this region has failed to deepen over time. The purpose of this paper is threefold: it questions the analytic utility of contemporary liberal and representative models, it argues for the inclusion of an alternative process-oriented model provided by Charles Tilly (2007), and tests this model through a partial application to Bolivia from 1993-2009 in hopes of elucidating a clearer state of democratization than contemporary models offer. The analysis portion focuses on the incorporation of networks of trust into public politics, and determines what effect(s) this had on Bolivian democracy during the time period under review. It is hypothesized that an increase in the integration of interpersonal trust networks with public politics will result in democratization, which is measured through changes in demand incorporation, protection, equality, and state-society accountability. A diachronic analytical narrative is constructed to identify the mechanisms and signs associated with the emergence and incorporation of trust networks into public politics and then evaluated in terms of state-society transformation. The findings suggest that new trust networks were created following the political restructuring done during the Sánchez de Lozada presidency, deepened over the next four presidencies, and integrated in their fullest capacity during the first part of Evo Morales's term. This process affected the contemporary representative and structural nature of the state itself, and shows positive changes in demand incorporation, protection, equality, and state-society accountability. Finally, it is concluded that when compared with popular measures of democracy, this model has more explanatory power, and Bolivia did democratize within the period of analysis.