Dídimo Castillo Fernández

The New ‘De-globalization’ Environment: A View from Latin America:

There is no unique concept of ‘development’. It simply points out a state of things and a possibility of change, among other things. Wallerstein maintains that development has many dimensions and often simply means ‘more’ (Wallerstein, 1999: 117). Quijano (2000: 38) acknowledges that ‘development’ is a ‘risky’ term. Esteva (2000) considers it a fragile word with faint content, unable to make progress in specific social and economic environments and, much less, the sense of change. A concept applied and applicable to almost everything. Beyond the vagueness of the concept, we should wonder whether it is still possible to think of development as a social project. And, if so, what are the social actors that promote it? Is there any alternative in the context of global society? I propose to tie these questions to the ‘crisis’ of the neoliberal globalizing model, and to the recent pronouncement by Donald Trump about the US’s return to a protectionist model, focused on the development of the national state, promotion of nationalisms, and a revival of its declining industries.

Economic Crisis, Poverty and Social Policy in Mexico

This article describes the structural characteristics and socioeconomic effects of the neoliberal model that was implemented in Mexico at the beginning of the 1980s. Employment conditions, informal and precarious labor, and poverty generated by neoliberalism are analyzed. The article examines how the economic crisis has been dealt with through macroeconomic policies and social development by the Mexican Government. The characteristics of the public welfare system and the social policies that have been used during this neoliberal period are scrutinized. The program Oportunidades (Opportunities) as the primary national effort made by the government to combat extreme poverty is examined in detail. It has a social policy focus and is assistance-based which has yielded public financing at a high cost with limited poverty reduction. It is proposed that there are intrinsic limitations to these kinds of policy, leading to an increase in fragmented and ineffectual programs.This article describes the structural characteristics and socioeconomic effects of the neoliberal model that was implemented in Mexico at the beginning of the 1980s. Employment conditions, informal and precarious labor, and poverty generated by neoliberalism are analyzed. The article examines how the economic crisis has been dealt with through macroeconomic policies and social development by the Mexican Government. The characteristics of the public welfare system and the social policies that have been used during this neoliberal period are scrutinized. The program Oportunidades (Opportunities) as the primary national effort made by the government to combat extreme poverty is examined in detail. It has a social policy focus and is assistance-based which has yielded public financing at a high cost with limited poverty reduction. It is proposed that there are intrinsic limitations to these kinds of policy, leading to an increase in fragmented and ineffectual programs.