Potential gains for Bolivia of the subscription of an association Agreement with the European Union

The liberalization trading has become a really important factor to determine both, the economic growth and the level of poverty in a country. It can be observed that in developed countries, international trading is essential, while in most of the developing countries do not get the same benefits. Although commercial openness could not raise the economic welfare in the same proportion in all of the countries where it was applied, it is still a model used in order to achieve development. The following paper looks for determining, theorically and empirically, the impacts of an Association Agreement with the European Union over the economy in general and the poverty levels. Then, a specific case is used, when talking about the impacts on the exports of quinoa and the benefits that the raise in the exports of this product can bring to the rural communities that produce it. The paper concludes that the only way to get the benefits of the Association Agreement with the European Union is to diversify the products that Bolivia exports and use more modern technology that can give the products a higher aggregate value.Economic Growth; Poverty; Export; Bolivia; European Union; Quinua; Added Value; diversification; Technology

College Students Experiencing Food Insecurity at San Jose State University

The purpose of this research was twofold: to learn more about how students at San Jose State University experience food insecurity and to learn how food insecurity is addressed by this public university given the rise and prevalence of neoliberalism in higher education. Three focus groups were conducted gauging how 16 students defined food insecurity and what their experiences with food insecurity at college were like. A total of eight individual interviews took place after the focus groups, delving further into how it feels to experience food insecurity at SJSU and the students’ recommendations for improvement. The overwhelming majority of students experienced stress due to not knowing when their next meal would be. Students also expressed tremendous guilt and shame because of their inability to afford food. The ongoing struggle to fully address and fulfill the needs of students is influenced by neoliberal policies, which promote short-term profit as a primary goal

China-US economic war: opportunities for the Andean Community beyond the decoupling process

Following Xi Jinping’s lead, China is heading towards a new modernization with the ambitious goal of becoming the leader in technological development. This has not gone unnoticed in the West, especially in the US. Tensions have increased, and a bilateral escalation is underway in what has already been dubbed as a return to great power competition. As a result, warnings are being voiced concerning a deepening of the deglobalization process, reinforced by an ongoing decoupling process between the two largest economies. This process is of special significance for the Andean Community, given that the contenders are its two largest trading partners. A first finding is that the Andean nations are far more dependent on trade with them than the other way around. This contradicts any notion that the Andean nations have a strong position in the world commodities trade. Nevertheless, several trade opportunities were found that stem from the trade tensions between China and the US. More importantly, it is shown that possibilities indeed exist to increase exports to both China and the US of non-traditional products over and above the usual commodity sales. Colombia has the largest opportunities in both destination markets, but one unexpected finding is that Ecuador has the second largest, with several such non-traditional products. Plus, Peru and Bolivia have several opportunities for diversification of exports to the US

The growing Chinese presence in Latin America and its (Geo)political manifestations in Bolivia

In recent years, the growing Chinese presence in Latin America has triggered heated academic and policy debates, as well as social and political conflict across countries in the region. Against this background, the present paper explores the specific characteristics taken on by this dynamic in the Bolivian case, by adopting a novel research strategy in which we tested these debates with a combined process-tracing analysis of the evolution of the structural geo-economic relationship between Bolivia and China, and a survey of the state of negative and positive perceptions of the Bolivian population about the growing presence of China in Bolivia. The objective was to attain a complete overview of the political implications of the structural changes in the sources of geopolitical power in the bi-lateral relationship. Empirically, there is room to conclude that the region and Bolivia are geo-economically turning more dependent on China and that relations are not benefiting broad-based development; however, there is less room to talk about a deterministic relationship between the above and a direct geopolitical influence in the region. Bolivian public opinion is divided in a way that mirrors the regional debate on the issue, and the divide has reached high levels of politicization, as it overlaps with an internally polarized political system. The Bolivian case is important because this dynamic could replicate in the region and define the orientation of the region’s foreign policy towards China in the future

Deterioro y conservación de los bosques del Nevado de Toluca y el rol de los actores locales

El Área de Protección de Flora y Fauna Nevado de Toluca presenta una constante fragmentación de sus bosques. El objetivo de la investigación fue identificar los procesos de deterioro de sus bosques y el rol de los actores locales en su conservación. Se utilizaron los sistemas de información geográfica como base para la generación de mapas temáticos, además de la aplicación de un diagrama de flujo que define los problemas del bosque y otro que los describe y analiza para la búsqueda de soluciones. Los resultados muestran que los principales factores que inciden en el deterioro son incendios forestales, tala inmoderada, plagas y enfermedades. Finalmente se plantean estrategias y escenarios de manejo de los bosques a partir de la articulación de los actores locales

IDENTIFICACIÓN DE BROTES DE DESCORTEZADORES EN EL ÁREA DE PROTECCIÓN DE FLORA Y FAUNA DEL NEVADO DE TOLUCA

El presente estudio tuvo por objetivo identificar las zonas en donde existen brotes de descortezador dentro del Área de Protección de Flora y Fauna Nevado de Toluca (APFFNT) e identificar las especies morfológicamente y por medio de la técnica de la genitalia. Se adaptó el muestreo sistemático con el método de transectos, iniciando los transectos en la cota 3000 hasta la cota de los 4000 msnm, con un intervalo de 100 m entre cada curva de nivel, los sitios se establecieron a lo largo de las curvas con una separación de 200 m. En 30 sitios se colectaron insectos de forma manual y se realizó una caracterización del lugar tomando sus mediciones dasométricas (DAP, altura, nivel de infestación de descortezador, densidad de bosque, altitud, presencia de incendio, muérdago y exposición) con el fin de conocer la interacción entre los organismos y el entorno. El muestreo dio como resultado 98 sitios con afectación por descortezador, la mayoría orientados en la cara oeste del APFFNT, siendo Dendroctonus adjunctus (Blandford) el descortezador primario e interactuando en algunos puntos con Ips bonanseai como descortezador secundario. Las categorías diamétricas más afectadas son aquellas que van de los 32.5 a 37.4 y 42.5 a 47.4 cm de DAP. El bosque fragmentado y el estrato superior resultaron ser los más afectados, la altitud donde mayor presencia de insectos es de los 3500 a 3800 m y encontrando que no existe una relación estadística entre los niveles de infestación del muérdago y descortezador

Caracterización de sitios potenciales para reintroducción de Romerolagus diazi en el Área de Protección de Flora y Fauna Nevado de Toluca, México

Se realizó un muestreo intensivo en el APFF Nevado de Toluca (1807 UM), el 2.27% de las UM (41) mostraron evidencia de Romerolagus diazi. Se generó un mapa con sitios georreferenciados de excretas de R. diazi que, junto con las variables bióticas asociadas a la especie, se describió su hábitat: R. diazi se asocia a la comunidad Pinus hartwegii - Festuca spp. - Senecio cinerarioides, entre los 3500 a 3700 m de altitud. Se encontró que el afloramiento rocoso y una cobertura herbácea por encima del 70% favorecen la presencia de R. diazi, en contraste, el pastoreo determina la ausencia de la especie. Los resultados, evidencian un nuevo registro para su área de distribución además, para una posible reintroducción de la especie en dicha área