Rights in the Time of Populism: Land and Institutional Change Amid the Reemergence of Right-Wing Authoritarianism in Colombia

In Colombia, right-wing leadership returned to power after winning the presidential elections in 2018 in a campaign in which they opposed the previous government, primarily because of the negotiations and peacemaking with the FARC-EP (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia—Ejército del Pueblo ‘Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia—People’s Army’), Colombia’s largest guerrilla organization. Globally, there is a vibrant academic debate about how to characterize the current rise of right-wing populism or authoritarianism, but more profound insights from each country’s situation and its political economy implications are needed. The victory in Colombia was due to numerous factors, including the support from some rural elites who have historically obstructed the enforcement of redistributive land policies. However, the populist aspirations of the right-wing government have been persistently frustrated not only by social unrest and political mobilization but also because of the enforcement of institutions previously incorporated into the country’s political scenario. Specifically, in terms of agrarian political economy, two sets of human rights-oriented institutional changes are relevant regarding this matter: (a) the Land Restitution Law enacted in 2011 and (b) the Comprehensive Rural Reform contained in the Agrarian Chapter of the Peace Agreement between the national government and the FARC-EP in 2016. The purpose of this paper is to ground the ongoing theoretical and political debate about the rise of different forms of populism and right-wing authoritarianism in the current Colombian political context, and its implications on the countryside. The analytical contribution of this paper is twofold: On the one hand, I propose an alternative for explaining the nature of the current political regime in Colombia as right-wing authoritarianism; on the other hand, I analyze some features of such regimes in terms of its disputes with the enforcement of human rights-oriented institutions, that are in force as the result of political processes triggered by peasants’ mobilization

Empowering the laity for the work of the ministry: a study about the leadership in the Vida Abundante in Monterrey, Mexico

https://place.asburyseminary.edu/ecommonsatsdissertations/1792/thumbnail.jp

Marcos legales para el acceso a la tierra en América Latina: una mirada comparativa en ocho países de la región

Durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX y la primera década del XXI, la mayoría de países de América Latina experimentaron grandes cambios políticos, sociales y culturales. Muchos de estos cambios implicaron cambios en el acceso a la tierra y el marco jurídic

RatGPT: Turning online LLMs into Proxies for Malware Attacks

The evolution of Generative AI and the capabilities of the newly released Large Language Models (LLMs) open new opportunities in software engineering. However, they also lead to new challenges in cybersecurity. Recently, researchers have shown the possibilities of using LLMs such as ChatGPT to generate malicious content that can directly be exploited or guide inexperienced hackers to weaponize tools and code. Those studies covered scenarios that still require the attacker in the middle of the loop. In this study, we leverage openly available plugins and use an LLM as proxy between the attacker and the victim. We deliver a proof-of-concept where ChatGPT is used for the dissemination of malicious software while evading detection, alongside establishing the communication to a command and control (C2) server to receive commands to interact with a victim's system. Finally, we present the general approach as well as essential elements in order to stay undetected and make the attack a success. This proof-of-concept highlights significant cybersecurity issues with openly available plugins and LLMs, which require the development of security guidelines, controls, and mitigation strategies

Reconstructing a Carboniferous inferred coral–alcyonarian association using a biomineralogical approach

The taxonomic assignation and ecological implications of the genus Syringoalcyon Termier & Termier, 1945 have been a palaeontological problem for a long time. Carboniferous material from Morocco and Spain has been studied using a biomineralogical approach by means of petrographic microscopy, SEM, AFM, EMPA and CIP microscopy analysis. Detailed morphological, structural, chemical composition and crystallographic data enable a deeper understanding of the nature of Syringoalcyon. The coral walls and the so-called epithecal scales exhibit conspicuous differences in microstructure (lamellae and holacanthine fibres in the coral vs. single crystal in scales), nanostructure (pill-shaped vs. granule-shaped nanocrystals), composition (LMC vs. HMC) and crystallographic orientation. The results of these analyses imply that Syringoalcyon is an association between the tabulate coral Syringopora and an epibiont. They also suggest that the epibiont was an alcyonarian (a rare occurrence in the fossil record) that was attached to the syringoporoid. This work highlights the utility of the biomineralizational approaches for solving palaeontological problems, such as systematic affinities, and for advancing knowledge of the evolution of biocrystallization processes.Financial support through the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (research project CGL2012-30922BTE) and Complutense University Research Group (910231). Ismael Coronado acknowledges financial support through a FPI-UCM grant and the Synthesys grant FR-TAF-2397 developed in MNHN (Paris, France).Peer reviewe

Crystallographic orientations of structural elements in skeletons of Syringoporicae (tabulate corals, Carboniferous): Implications for biomineralization processes in Palaeozoic corals

he crystallographic orientation of structural elements in skeletons of representatives of Carboniferous Syringoporicae (Auloporida) has been analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), petrographic microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) on specimens from the Iberian Peninsula. The skeletons of the tabulate corals of the Syringoporicae consist of biogenic calcite crystals, and their microstructure is composed of lamellae, fibres and granules, or of a combination of these. Independent of the microstructure, the c-axis is oriented towards the lumen, quasi-perpendicular to the growth direction of the skeleton (perpendicular to the morphological axis lamellae, parallel to fibres). Most phaceloid taxa have a turbostratic distribution, as a biogenic response to prevent the cleavage of crystals. Cerioid and some phaceloid corals, whose microstructure is conditioned by wall elements, do not exhibit turbostratic distribution. Wall elements are determined by the biology of each taxon. Holacanth septal spines are composed of fibres arranged in a cone-shape structure, sometimes clamped to the external part of the corallite and show a complex crystallography. Monacanth septal spines are spindle shaped and composed of bundles of fibres. Tabulae are composed of lamellae. Their development and crystallographic orientation depends on the position of the epithelium in each case. Shared walls are formed by a combination of the walls of two independent corallites with a median lamina, composed of granules; these have a crystallographic orientation between that of the two corallites. The growth of the microstructure is derived by a coordinated stepping mode of growth, similar to other groups of organisms such as molluscs and scleractinians. The nucleation and formation of packages of co-oriented microcrystals suggest a growth mode similar to mineral bridges with a competitive growth mode between each crystal. The growth pattern of corallites suggests that the growth direction is divided into two main components: a horizontal growth direction towards the lumen and a vertical direction towards the top

Serpukhovian coral assemblages from Idmarrach and Tirhela Formations (Adarouch, Morocco)

The Serpukhovian coral assemblages from Idmarrach and Tirhela formations (Adarouch, Morocco) have been studied. They yielded quite diverse assemblages with a total of 32 rugose and 1 tabulate species. The distribution of corals in the sections Idmarrach 1, 2, 3, and 4 and Tirhela 1 and 2 has been established, which include Serpukhovian and Bashkirian rocks. The Serpukhovian assemblages are composed mostly of species that have their higher abundance in the upper Viséan. However, most of the recorded taxa in Adarouch have been already mentioned in Serpukhovian rocks from Britain, Moscow Basin, Urals, Donets Basin and other North African regions such as Tindouf and Béchar. Thus, their stratigraphic range is not expanded. The coral diversity is mainly concentrated in biostromes from the Idmarrach 1 section. However, the high total diversity is due to the combination of favourable depositional settings and a mixture in different beds of several ecological environments, such as coral shoals, protected lagoons and microbial mounds. Most Serpukhovian species have been recorded in areas from the western Palaeotethys previously mentioned. The total assemblage can be considered as typical for the late Mississippian in the western Palaeotethys. However, a small degree of isolation is registered by the absence in the Serpukhovian from Adarouch of the genera Lonsdaleia, Actinocyathus, Tizraia and Kizilia that have been recorded in other North African basins. That fact may be explained by the incipient rising of some areas as ‘highs’ due to the start of the collision between Gondwana and Laurasia.Research project CGL2012-30922BTE of the Spanish Ministry of Research and InnovationPeer reviewe