Browsing by Subject "Uruguay"
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Item Drawing the line : human rights, state terror, and political culture in Uruguay(2009-08) Woodruff, Christopher Alan; Garrard-Burnett, Virginia, 1957-; Dulitzky, Ariel E.The purpose of this thesis is to examine the role that "political culture" played in differentiating Uruguay's human rights record under its military dictatorship (1973 to 1985), from the records of its Southern Cone neighbors, Argentina and Chile, during their periods of military rule in the 1970s and 1980s. Statistical data clearly shows that although the Uruguayan military regime tortured and imprisoned an extremely high percentage of its population, the country suffered a relatively tiny number of fatalities, per capita, compared to the toll of deaths associated with the actions of the armed forces in Argentina and Chile. To explain this distinction in repressive policies and tactics, I find that each of the three countries under comparison developed distinct cultural assumptions due to their differing historical and political trajectories, which heavily influenced their respective political behaviors. Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile share many structural factors in common, which are all important for explaining the successive plunge of Southern Cone nations into brutal dictatorships and bloody "dirty wars." However, in order to understand why one regime's tactics differed in lethality from the others, I assert that it is necessary to employ political culture as the definitive explanatory variable. Through the analysis of historical trends and statements made by government leaders, I find that Uruguay distinguished itself from Argentina and Chile in three principal areas during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: democratic stability, political inclusion, and human rights promotion. Taken together, I conclude that Uruguay developed a democratic political culture, which assumed that legitimate governance included, among other ingredients, respect for the electoral process and rejection of lethal violence as a political instrument. Ultimately, these two assumptions played a pivotal role in constraining the policy alternatives available for consideration by the Uruguayan dictators, such that the prevalent use of extra-judicial executions and forced disappearances, as seen in Argentina and Chile, was not an option in Uruguay.Item El teatro como guardián y precursor de la memoria colectiva en tres obras de autores uruguayos(Texas Tech University, 2005-08) Alem-Walker, Beatriz; Perez, Alberto J.; Bermudez, Berta; Ladeira, AntonioA popular saying proclaims that those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. Social memory is an integral ingredient to social well being. Since any society’s present reality is shaped by its past, it is impossible to create a sense of social cohesion without recognizing the events that have created and shaped that present. Reflection on this past, then, should be considered a valuable social trait. All societies, whether large or small, possess defining events, customs, and relevant individuals particular to its self-understanding. Response to those important pages of the past rarely remain uniform for all times. Emerging information and value changes affect how a society looks at its past. Different disciplines also review individuals, events, and ideas from different vantage points. All of this comprises an important process of self-reflection. It is my premise that the significant events that took place in Uruguay in the decades of the 1970’s and 1980’s need to be remembered periodically by the next generations so that they don’t happen again. These events occupy a special position in the history of the nation due to two things: their uniqueness and severity. Uruguay has long been an anomaly in Latin America. It possesses a high degree of urbanization, literacy, and ranks high in most indicators of quality of life. It has enjoyed, for most of its history, social stability and orderly governmental processes. Political unrest began to take place in the late 1960’s which led to a coup d’etat in 1973 and a resulting de facto government which ended in elections in 1985. Urban violence and suspension of civil rights that included torture and the dissapearance of hundreds of people who opposed the regime, characterized this experience. For a society long accustomed to peace, these events proved to be extremely traumatic. How can Uruguayan society almost 20 years later appropriate this experience? How can other societies learn from the Uruguayan experience? Certainly a review by disciplines such as history, political science, sociology and psychology come to mind. The contention of this dissertation is that theater can take its legitimate place alongside other important vantage points as a vehicle of social reflection. It possesses unique characteristics that enable it to make a valuable contribution. Included among these is its ability to transport those who experience it in the present to a reality that is fading into the past.Item El teatro como guardián y precursor de la memoria colectiva en tres obras de autores uruguayos(2005-08) Alem-Walker, Beatriz; Perez, Alberto J.; Bermudez, Berta; Ladeira, AntonioA popular saying proclaims that those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. Social memory is an integral ingredient to social well being. Since any society’s present reality is shaped by its past, it is impossible to create a sense of social cohesion without recognizing the events that have created and shaped that present. Reflection on this past, then, should be considered a valuable social trait. All societies, whether large or small, possess defining events, customs, and relevant individuals particular to its self-understanding. Response to those important pages of the past rarely remain uniform for all times. Emerging information and value changes affect how a society looks at its past. Different disciplines also review individuals, events, and ideas from different vantage points. All of this comprises an important process of self-reflection. It is my premise that the significant events that took place in Uruguay in the decades of the 1970’s and 1980’s need to be remembered periodically by the next generations so that they don’t happen again. These events occupy a special position in the history of the nation due to two things: their uniqueness and severity. Uruguay has long been an anomaly in Latin America. It possesses a high degree of urbanization, literacy, and ranks high in most indicators of quality of life. It has enjoyed, for most of its history, social stability and orderly governmental processes. Political unrest began to take place in the late 1960’s which led to a coup d’etat in 1973 and a resulting de facto government which ended in elections in 1985. Urban violence and suspension of civil rights that included torture and the dissapearance of hundreds of people who opposed the regime, characterized this experience. For a society long accustomed to peace, these events proved to be extremely traumatic. How can Uruguayan society almost 20 years later appropriate this experience? How can other societies learn from the Uruguayan experience? Certainly a review by disciplines such as history, political science, sociology and psychology come to mind. The contention of this dissertation is that theater can take its legitimate place alongside other important vantage points as a vehicle of social reflection. It possesses unique characteristics that enable it to make a valuable contribution. Included among these is its ability to transport those who experience it in the present to a reality that is fading into the past. Perhaps no other phrase resonates more with Uruguayans and other Latin Americans who experienced the tumultuous events of those decades than that of "nunca más" (never again). For those who have been born in later years or in other places, privileged not to have lived the experience "en carne propia" (in one’s own flesh) theater makes the past come alive. This dissertation analyzes Mario Benedetti’s Pedro y el Capitán, Mauricio Rosencof’s El hijo que espera, and Carlos Manuel Varela’s La Esperanza S.A., demonstrating the value of these plays in the process of preserving the collective memory of the events which so altered Uruguayan society and which, in turn, can serve as an example to other societies.Item Non governmental public action in adolescent fertility : the cases of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay(2010-05) Pereira Bruno, Javier; Angel, Ronald; Roberts, Bryan; Ward, Peter; Buckley, Cynthia; Hale, CharlesThis dissertation examines the role of nongovernmental public action (NGPA) in the controversial field of adolescent fertility in Buenos Aires (Argentina), Santiago (Chile) and Montevideo (Uruguay). Embracing a comparative perspective the study investigates the modes in which national policy and institutional environments shape the role of civil society organizations and their margins of autonomy vis a vis other powerful actors such as the State and the Catholic church. Forty one organizations whose mission includes the prevention of teenage pregnancy or the support of teenage parents were studied using a multi-method approach to explore cross national similarities and differences. An exhaustive account of national and subnational policies and programs in this field demonstrates the existence of isomorphic trends in the treatment and framing of adolescent reproductive behavior as a critical issue of public policy in each country. Similarly in all three countries women’s rights organizations play a critical role in the legal recognition and enforcement of adolescents’ sexual and reproductive rights while pro-poor organizations are fundamental actors in addressing the specific needs of teenage mothers and their children. However, important cross national differences were found regarding the modes in which NGPA engages with governmental agencies. As distinctive national marks, the study reveals a strong presence of NGOs in the role of rights watchdogs and monitors in Argentina, a strong alliance between central government structures and technical NGOs to confront resistances to reforms in Chile, and the utilization of NGOs as service providers in detriment of their participation in phases of policy design in Uruguay. Although the language of rights has colonized most of the surveyed organizations, adult-centric practices and discourses are still defining the interaction with adolescents. Adolescent’s demands are rarely voiced and only a few organizations favor their engagement in contentious politics and community activism. Nongovernmental autonomy is severely curtailed as a result of the influence of religion, and the lack of state modernization or financial opportunities, in the three countries. On theoretical grounds, the study highlights the importance of public policy as the arena where the potential of civil society can be maximized.Item The surrender of secrecy : explaining the emergence of strong access to information laws in Latin America(2010-05) Michener, Robert Gregory; Madrid, Raúl L.; Alves, Rosental C.; Brinks, Daniel; Greene, Kenneth F.; Weyland, Kurt G.; Edwards, David V.Worldwide, the remarkable diffusion of transparency and access to information laws poses a monumental challenge to the state’s most enduringly undemocratic feature— excessive secrecy. Will recent laws lead to an effective surrender of secrecy? The incipient literature on transparency reform says little about the strength of current legislation or how strong laws emerge. This dissertation addresses these theoretical and empirical gaps. First, it articulates a theory on the political determinants of strong access to information laws. Second, employing an original evaluation, it scores the strength of twelve access to information laws advanced throughout Latin America between 2002 and 2010. Two extreme outcomes are examined in detail: a failed comprehensive reform in Argentina (1999-2005), which resulted in a limited presidential decree (2003), and the adoption of a seminal law in Mexico (2002). These cases are then compared with others across Latin America with special attention placed on Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, and Uruguay. I find considerable variance in the strength of the region’s laws: the average score is “moderately strong,” while the median and mode scores are “moderately weak.” Evidence shows that while civic coalitions and external pressure often help drive reform, they cannot explain observed variation in legal strength. Rather, I find that laws emerge more robust and earlier-on within the electoral cycle (within the first half of a president’s term of office), in countries where 1) presidents lack control over the legislature and 2) news media coverage of access to information laws is strong. By contrast, where news media coverage is weak and presidents possess strong negative agenda setting powers (partisan majorities or constitutional means of denying a vote), I find that laws tend to emerge later-on during the electoral cycle (within the last third), and are considerably weaker. I also find that press advocacy for access to information laws tended to be greater in countries where presidents were weaker and news media ownership concentration was low. The dissertation addresses key institutional preconditions for good governance and transparency reform. More specifically, it speaks to the determinants and power of the news media as an agent of democratic advancement (and stagnation), and the importance of weak leaders and partisan competition in promoting good governance reform.