Genossen und Investoren: Der ungewisse Übergang Kubas

After serious economic decline at the beginning of the nineties market oriented reforms brought a recovery but produced a fundamental recomposition of social classes and the fragmentation of the popular sectors. Against this the possibilities of a renewed, internationally rooted socialism, which would also needs new political patterns, are discussed

Chile y sus fronteras: notas para una agenda de investigación

Los estudios fronterizos en Chile han estado tradicionalmente permeados por una lógica geopolítica similar a la manera como el estado nacional ha abordado sus fronteras. Ello plantea retos considerables, toda vez que las fronteras chilenas experimentan cambios socioespaciales –particularmente visibles en la franja norte- que exigen a los científicos sociales nuevos enfoques al calor del debate internacional y latinoamericano sobre el tema. Este artículo aborda algunos de estos retos con particular referencia a la formación de regiones transfronterizas y de complejos urbanos de igual signo.Chilean border studies have been permeated traditionally by a geopolitical logic, similar to the way in which the state has addressed its national borders. This poses significant challenges, since Chilean border experiences social and spatial changes. Social scientists require new approaches at the level of international and Latin American debates on the issue. This article discusses some of these challenges with particular reference to the formation of cross-border regions and urban complexes.Os estudos fronteiriços no Chile têm estado tradicionalmente permeados por uma lógica geopolítica similar à forma como o Estado nacional tem abordado suas fronteiras. Isto supõe desafios consideráveis, toda vez que as fronteiras chilenas experimentam mudanças sócio-espaciais –particularmente visíveis na faixa norte- que exigem aos científicos sociais novos enfoques ao calor do debate internacional e latino-americano sobre o tema. Este artigo aborda alguns destes desafios com particular referencia à formação de regiões transfronteiriças e de complexos urbanos de igual cunho

Las regiones transfronterizas en América Latina

El surgimiento de regiones transfronterizas es uno de los signos más importantes de los procesos de articulación fronteriza en el capitalismo neoliberal. Ellas actúan como espacios de valorización del capital y de disciplinarización de los otros en función de la acumulación económica y el poder político. El artículo discute estos presupuestos desde la perspectiva latinoamericana para lo que propone cuatro tipos de regiones transfronterizas a partir de las escalas de relacionamiento económico de ellas. Culmina con algunas consideraciones hipotéticas para un debate más sostenido sobre el tema.The emergence of cross-border regions is one of the most important signs of border articulation processes in neoliberal capitalism. Such regions act as spaces for the valorization of capital and the disciplining of others in terms of economic accumulation and political power. This article discusses these assumptions from the Latin American perspective, proposing four types of cross-border regions based on their scales of economic relations. It culminates with some hypothetical considerations for a more sustained debate on the subject.O surgimento de regiões transfronteiriças é um dos sinais mais importantes dos processos de articulação fronteiriça no capitalismo neoliberal. Eles atuam como espaços para a valorização do capital e o disciplinamento dos demais em termos de acumulação econômica e poder político. O artigo discute essas premissas da perspectiva latino-americana para o que propõe quatro tipos de regiões transfronteiriças a partir das escalas de relacionamento econômico das mesmas. Termina com algumas considerações hipotéticas para um debate mais sustentado sobre o assunto

Alcances y límites de la cooperación internacional subestatal. La experiencia de los corredores bioceánicos

El artículo tiene como objetivo indagar en las relaciones y estrategias internacionales que emprenden los actores subestatales para la promoción de sus regiones a través de corredores bioceánicos. Mediante una metodología cualitativa, centrada en fuentes primarias y entrevistas a los partícipes de este tipo de iniciativas en el norte grande de Chile, son analizadas dichas estrategias y las interacciones que se producen entre estos actores, con el gobierno central y en el nivel internacional. Como resultado, se identifican los alcances y límites de la cooperación internacional subnacional. Se concluye que, a más de veinte años del inicio de proyectos como los corredores bioceánicos, y pese a un amplio y prolongado despliegue de acciones internacionales por dichos actores, todavía no se materializan

El puerto como articulador de situaciones transfronterizas: el caso de Arica (Chile)

The port of Arica, Chile operates in an extensive and extranational hinterland region bordering Bolivia and southern Peru that accounts for 80% of its operations, both cases experiencing geopolitical conditioning. This implies that the city enjoys a diversity of transborder relationships that in the case of southern Peru translate into an intense self-contained region, whereas in the case of Bolivia, the relationship operates as a blurry economic corridor that has been unable to consolidate as a territorial system. The city faces these two relationships in a different manner, producing both conflicts and benefits. However, in general, Arica has been unable to articulate a sustainable urban and regional development strategy. This situation can be foreseen to intensify with the advancement of the bi-oceanic corridors expecting to connect Latin American economies to dynamic Eastern Asia, which will force Arica to wrestle with even greater challengesEl puerto de la ciudad de Arica (Chile) opera sobre una zona de influencia terrestre (lo que se conoce como un hinterland), extendida y extranacional con Bolivia y con el sur de Perú, que absorbe 80% de sus operaciones y que en ambos casos tiene un condicionamiento geopolítico. Ello plantea a la ciudad relaciones transfronterizas diversas, que con el sur de Perú se traducen en una intensa región autocontenida, mientras que con Bolivia la relación opera como un corredor económico, opaco y que no logra madurar como sistema territorial. De esta forma, la ciudad enfrenta ambas relaciones de manera diferente, lo que origina tantos conflictos como beneficios, pero en general no ha conseguido articular una estrategia de desarrollo urbano y regional sostenible. Es previsible que esta situación deba intensificarse según avancen los corredores bioceánicos llamados a conectar las economías latinoamericanas a la dinámica de Asia Oriental, lo que planteará a Arica retos mayores

Comrades and Investors: The Uncertain Transition in Cuba

The process of liberalization and economic adjustment in Cuba differs from other similar processes elsewhere in Latin America not only for the reasons referred to earlier, but because what has happened in Cuba is not simply an adjustment to an existing standard capitalist mode of operation but a radical restructuring of the political economy, the forms of social regulation and cultural-ideological production. This is a qualitative transformation of profound significance; the slow commercial colonization of socialized areas of the economy has posed challenges at many levels to the most central of all political questions - the distribution of power. If we take as axiomatic the fact that a combination of militant anti-imperialism and the provision of free social services does not amount to socialism, we are left with a question as to the real depth of these systemic changes: first, at the social (and more specifically the class) level and, second, at the level of the rearticulation of the whole of political life. It is central to this writer's thinking that the reforms are producing a recomposition of social classes as a consequence of the emergence of a technocratic-entrepreneurial bloc, and that that process is to the detriment of the popular classes. This tendency towards the restoration of capitalism in the country (in the name of socialism and under the direction of the Communist Party) is not inevitable. Therefore a second central idea informing this essay is that alternative paths exist that would permit the maintenance of socialism, and that they are inseparable from the articulation of the Cuban revolutionary agenda with an alternative left project at the international level. This would imply a major renovation of the political system in the direction of genuine popular power