Impacto de la reforma política de 2003 en los partidos y en el sistema de partidos local. El caso de Cali, elecciones 2007

Using a comparative analysis of the results in the 2003 and 2007 local elections in Cali (Colombia), the ar- ticle discusses the impact of the 2003 Political Reform in the 2007 elections in the city, where the mayor and city counsellors were elected. The main goal of the text is to assess the consequences that the new rules for the political game have had on the local political system and on the political parties. It should be emphasised, however, that the- se are only preliminary conclusions, since the 2003 Reform has only been implemented at full extent one time.El artículo presenta el impacto de la Reforma Política de 2003 en las elecciones locales de 2007 en la ciudad de Cali a los comicios de Alcaldía y Concejo municipal. Para ello, se hace un análisis comparado de los resultados a estos comicios en las elecciones de 2003 y 2007. Específicamente se busca evaluar las consecuencias de las nue- vas reglas de juego en el sistema de partidos y en los partidos políticos. Vale la pena resaltar que este es un balance preliminar, ya que la Reforma sólo se ha aplicado en su totalidad una vez, y por ende, no se pueden presentar sino conclusiones tentativas

Farmscape composition and livelihood sustainability in deforested landscapes of Colombian Amazonia

In this article, we operationalized a sustainability framing based on the Sustainable Rural Livelihood Resources Framework (SLF), which consists of five capitals—human, physical, social, financial, and natural. We proposed a sustainability index (SI) for two landscapes dominated by two agricultural systems: cattle ranching and small-scale family agriculture. Farm variables within each capital were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis. Key variables were identified and index values were calculated for each capital. These were combined through a set of simultaneous equations to estimate farm-specific capitals and SI from the observed farm variables. Principal component and cluster analyses were used to group the farms according to their index scores and to further compare their characteristics. Furthermore, with the purpose of comparing the index scoring with an independent metric, a landscape indicator, which comes from a continuous forest, was calculated. From the results, the capitals that contributed to a higher SI score the most were financial and physical. As cattle ranching was associated with higher economic returns and infrastructure investments, this livelihood was identified as the most sustainable. Yet, cattle ranching has been a deforestation driver in the region. These results are attributed to the current conceptual framework design, which gives greater weight to material and economic variables; therefore, it generates a weak sustainability measure. Although the framework allowed us to identify land-use alternatives that could improve SI scores (i.e., silvopastoral systems), corrections to the proposed framework and methodological approach will need to include additional environmental benefits currently unaccounted for. Farmers that use their farms for conservation purposes should be recognized and compensated. An improved environmentally focused SI operational framework could help to endorse and promote sustainable livelihoods and to generate a strong sustainability measure

Incidence of Changes in Electoral Competence Rules on the Nationalization of Party Systems: The Strategies of Political Actors in Antioquia, 1997-2011

RESUMEN: En este artículo se sostiene que la nacionalización vertical del sistema de partidos es afectada por la forma como los partidos y candidatos adoptanestrategias para seguir en competencia bajo un marco normativo dado, pues las reglas electorales ofrecen diferentes incentivos para que estos coordinen (o no) sus esfuerzos entre los diferentes niveles electorales. Para ello, a partir de la información de las elecciones de Concejo, Asamblea y Cámara en Antioquia entre 1997 y 2011 se encuentra que los cambios en las reglas electorales de 2003 y su efecto sobre la forma en que los políticos se organizan para la competencia son un factor que afecta la nacionalización vertical del sistema de partidos, haciendo que la competencia a nivel municipal se aparte de la regional y nacional.ABSTRACT: In this article it is argued that vertical nationalization of the party system is affected by the way in which parties and candidates adopt strategies to remain in competition under a given set of rules, since electoral rules offer different incentives for them to coordinate (or not) their efforts among the different electoral levels. For this purpose, based on information from the elections for Council, Assembly and Chamber in Antioquia between 1997 and 2011, it was found that the changes in electoral rules in 2003 and their effect on the way in which politicians organize themselves for elections are a factor that affects vertical nationalization of the party system, distancing the competition on the municipal level from that which takes place on the regional and national levels

Ambiciones políticas en el Concejo de Cali: Bancada del Partido Conservador 2004 – 2015

La gran mayoría de los sistemas políticos hoy se rigen a través de regímenes democráticos en los cuales mediante del voto se delega la toma de las decisiones. El estudio de las ambiciones políticas y de las carreras de los políticos permite comprender muchas dinámicas presentes en estos sistemas políticos. A partir de un análisis comparado de la evolución de las carreras políticas de los concejales conservadores de Santiago de Cali durante el periodo 2004 – 2015 y de entrevistas a la mitad de ellos, se pretender indagar sobre si el Concejo de Cali como punto de partida para una carrera política permite construir una carrera estable y a largo plazo y en algunos casos brinda la posibilidad de ascender a mejores cargos políticos

Los productos elaborados bajo prácticas de comercio justo ¿realmente inciden las decisiones de compra de los consumidores de hoy?

El comercio justo es una alternativa que pretende mejorar las condiciones de vida, impulsando la igualdad, la justicia y la competitividad en los países más desfavorecidos por las lógicas de la globalización y el comercio mundial. Sin embargo, el poder de las nuevas tecnologías, la especialización y tecnificación en la producción, la imposición del logro económico a toda costa, entre otros factores, aparentemente han debilitado la contundencia de los argumentos en pro de la justicia y han hecho que estos ideales pasen a un segundo plano conduciendo a que el comercio se convierta un ejercicio donde solo unos pocos ganan, en detrimento de una gran mayoría que pierde. Para examinar estas dinámicas y profundizar en su impacto y resultados, el presente escrito plantea de un lado, una reflexión sobre la manera cómo actúan y están orientadas las decisiones de compra de los consumidores actuales frente a los beneficios sociales y económicos que ofrece el comercio justo, y de otro lado, busca conocer con un estudio posterior, a partir del marco teórico que aquí se ofrece, si efectivamente ha perdido vigencia y no suscita el mismo interés entre las organizaciones y el mercado en Colombia, por haber sido desplazado por otros motivadores de consumo.//Abstract: Fair trade is an alternative to improve living conditions, equality, justice and competitiveness in the countries most disadvantaged by the logics of globalization and world trade. However, the power of new technologies, the technification in production, and the imposition of economic achievement over all, among other factors, have apparently weakened the forcefulness of the arguments for justice and have made these ideals to take second place leading to the trade becomes an exercise where only a few win, to the detriment of a large majority that loses. In order to examine these dynamics and to deepen their impact and results, this paper searchs in first place, think about the way of purchasing decisions in the current consumer are oriented towards the social and economic benefits offered by fair trade; in second place and, seeks to know througth a later study, based on this theoretical framework, if it has effectively lost its effectiveness and does not give rise to the same interest among organizations and the market in Colombia because it has been displaced by other motivators of consumption

Farmscape sustainability: a case study using an adaptation of the Sustainable Livelihood Framework in Caquetá, Colombia

A total of 341 households were interviewed, 176 (51.6%) in the Andean foothills (with cattle raising as a dominant activity), and 165 (48.4%) in the hillside area where crop farming is dominant. The sample is representative of the four municipalities, according to the Colombian Census carried out in 2005. We used a stratified optimal random sampling strategy across the number of rural households in the municipalities to account for the number of farms. The information was collected from March 2016 to October 2016. The primary purpose of the household-level survey was to understand and document the current socioeconomic conditions and farming practices and synthesize this information into a sustainability index. The data was collected through Android Devices using the software CsPro 6.2 and 6.3. (Reporte Interno: Linea Base Encuesta Socioeconomica Proyecto SAL, 2018) (2016

Sustainable Amazonian Landcapes, Colombia socioeconomic survey

The household survey was done in the four municipalities that are part of two landscape units from 30 March 2016 to 3 October 2016. A total of 341 households were surveyed, of which 176 (51, 6%) were from UP4 (hill) and 165 (48, 4%) from UP6 (mountainous). All the households that participated in the survey did it freely and under prior informed consent. Sampling was stratify across the two landscape units in order to take into account the different land use that farmers give to the land according to the biophysics conditions of its land. The data was collected through Android Devices using the software CsPro, and the data analysis was done through the statistical software package Stata (Reporte Interno: Linea Base Encuesta Socioeconomica Proyecto SAL, 2018). (2016