The power struggles in Latin America: elites, privileges and inequality

Today, the economic, political, military, and social transformations taking place in the region are accompanied by concerns about the responsibility of elites. Economic growth has not solved the problems of social inequality; on the contrary, as has been observed recently in Chile and Colombia, for example, it has served as a catalyst for protest and social mobility. In this sense, it is worth asking: What role do economic elites play in maintaining inequalities? When do elites become concerned with reducing poverty? Furthermore, historical debates about the domination and political influence of elites over the state have been revived. What mechanisms and strategies do elites use to influence the state? What differences exist in terms of state capture in Latin America? The emergence of new media and the expansion of technological means of news dissemination have democratized access to information, but have the media elites changed? How are business elites and media elites related? In the demilitarization processes in some Latin American countries, what role do elites play? Are Latin American elites transforming from oligarchs into rulers? What will the future of Latin American societies look like in relation to their elites?
In short, this seminar has a dual objective: to critically analyze the different theoretical and methodological perspectives so that students can learn about the multiple approaches with which it is possible to study the phenomenon and, in turn, can construct novel questions anchored in concrete socio-historical processes.
The course is structured around the major thematic axes concerning elites in Latin America. Each of these topics has been extensively studied by researchers throughout the region, and the course aims to bring together these voices and themes in a comparative perspective for a better understanding of the phenomenon of elites in the 21st century.

Objective

This seminar aims to offer a set of theoretical and conceptual tools for the analysis of elites, seeking to anchor these concepts in concrete socio-historical processes in Latin America in the 21st century.

Specific objectives

That the students:

• They can have theoretical tools to reflect on the concepts of elites and inequalities in Latin America and acquire training to historicize the problems.
• They have tools to conduct comparative analyses and develop complex perspectives that integrate economic, social, political, cultural, and historical dimensions.
• Identify problems related to power groups and the State, and potential situations of conflict of interest or capture of state power, as an increasingly pressing phenomenon in the region.
• They manage to formulate novel questions and hypotheses that allow the study of elites and inequalities.

• Main concepts surrounding elites
• Dominant classes, oligarchs or upper bourgeoisie in Latin America
• Latin American elites and business groups
• Elites, wealth and inequalities in Latin America
• Elites, racism and power
• Perceptions about poverty, inequality, and the role of the State
• Elites, taxation and taxes
• Economic elites and new politicians of the 21st century
• Elites and the capture of public policies
• Elites, technocrats, and think tanks

• Atria, Jorge (2023) Economic concentration and tax migration: a sociological approach to fiscal exile in Latin America. In Nercesian, Inés; Robles-Rivera, Francisco and Serna, Miguel (eds.) The plots of power in Latin America. Elites and privileges. Buenos Aires: CLACSO and Mexico City: Ediciones IIS.
• Bolívar Meza, R (2002) “The theory of elites in Pareto, Mosca and Michels”. Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities 52 (23): 386- 407.
• Cárdenas, Julián (2023) The union of business elite networks and their impact on income inequality. In Nercesian, Inés; Robles-Rivera, Francisco and Serna, Miguel (eds.) The plots of power in Latin America. Elites and privileges. Buenos Aires: CLACSO and Mexico City: Ediciones IIS.
• Casaús Arzú, Marta E. (2023) Guatemala: Eugenics, nation and genocide. Interethnic Studies / IDEIPI, No. 34, Year 29, pp. 25-58.
• Castellani A. (2018). Lobbies and revolving doors. In Nueva Sociedad, no. 276, pp 48-61.
• Codato A., Bolognesi, B. and Mattos Roeder, K. (2015). “A new Brazilian direction: an analysis of the party and electoral dynamics of the conservative field” in the Direita, return! : the return of the direction of the Brazilian political cycle, Fundação Perseu Abramo, São Paulo.
• De Swaan, Abram. (1988). In Care of the State: Health Care, Education and Welfare in Europe and the USA in the Modern Era. New York: Oxford University Press, chaps. 1, 2 and 7, pp 13-55 and 218-257
• Durand, F. (2016). When extractive power captures the State, OXFAM, Lima.
• Durand, F. (2017). The twelve apostles of the Peruvian economy. Lima, Peru: Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. Introduction, chapters 1 and 2.
• Estrada, J. (2005). Intellectual elites and the production of economic policy in Colombia, in: J. Estrada, (ed.), Intellectuals, Technocrats and Neoliberal Reforms in Latin America (p. 259-320). National University of Colombia - Andrés Bello Agreement – ​​Colciencias.
• Gedeon Foundation (2016) Looking at ourselves. How business elites think in Guatemala, pp. 12-32.
• Heredia, Mariana (2023). THE 99% AGAINST THE 1%? Mexico: Siglo Veintiuno. Chapter 1, pp. 31-70.
• Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies (2015). "Fiscal Policy: Expression of Central American Elites". UCA, San Salvador. Costa Rica Chapter: 323-392.
• Jiménez, JP and Solimano, A. (2012). “Economic elites, inequality and taxation”. ECLAC.
• Krozer, Alice (2018) What does it mean to be rich in a country of extreme inequality like Mexico? Nexos digital magazine.
• Miliband, Ralph (1971) The State in Capitalist Society. Mexico City: Siglo XXI. Chapters 2 and 3, pp. 24-68.
• Nercesian, Inés (2020) Presidents as entrepreneurs and captured states. Latin America in the 21st century, Buenos Aires: Teseo-IEALC. Introduction, chapters II and III.
• Neves Costa, Paulo R. and Pontes de Campos, Marta (2023) Entrepreneurs, Covid-19 and the Bolsonaro Government. In Nercesian, Inés; Robles-Rivera, Francisco and Serna, Miguel (eds.) The plots of power in Latin America. Elites and privileges. Buenos Aires: CLACSO and Mexico City: Ediciones IIS.
• OXFAM (2016) Privileges that deny rights. Extreme inequality and the hijacking of democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean, Chapters 1 and 2.
• Perissinotto, Renato and Codato Adriano (2009) “Social class, political elite and class elite: for a societal analysis of politics.” Brazilian Journal of Political Science, 2: 243-270.
• Rauld, NAO (2015). Domination and reproduction of elites. Sociological reading of the structuring process of select minorities in classical elitism. RIPS. Journal of Political and Sociological Research, 14(2): 113-130.
• Reis, Elisa and Lopez, Felix (2023). Perceptions of poverty, inequality and the role of the State among Brazilian elites: sectoral cleavages and temporal variation. In Nercesian, Inés; Robles-Rivera, Francisco and Serna, Miguel (eds.) The plots of power in Latin America. Elites and privileges. Buenos Aires: CLACSO and Mexico City: Ediciones IIS.
• Salas Porras, Alejandra (2023) “The social activism of Mexican think tanks aligned with business elites.” In Nercesian, Inés; Robles-Rivera, Francisco and Serna, Miguel (eds.) The plots of power in Latin America. Elites and privileges. Buenos Aires: CLACSO and Mexico City: Ediciones IIS.
• Serna, M.; Bottinelli, E. (2018). The de facto power of business elites in Latin American politics: a comparative study of eight countries, Research Report program Economic Elites, Fiscal Policies and Privileges in Latin America and the Caribbean, CLACSO-OXMAN.
• Souza jessé (2019) A elite do atraso: da escravidão a Bolsonaro (magazine and expanded edition), Estaçao Brasil, Rio de Janeiro (pp.107-128).
• Uña, G., Cogliandro, G., and Labaqui, J. (2004). Public Policies and Decision Making: Think Tanks in Argentina. Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Chapters I and II.
• Waxenecker, H. (2017). Political and economic elites in El Salvador: State capture?, El Salvador: Böll Editions.

The basic requirements for taking a seminar are:

• Availability of at least 4 hours per week to dedicate to the seminar course.
• Internet access.
• Reasonable handling of communication and computer tools.
• Language proficiency in the language in which the course will be taught. The official languages ​​are Spanish and Portuguese.

The seminars last 12 weeks, plus the completion of a final project. A total of 90 hours of dedication will be credited.

A course consists of twelve classes, each accompanied by required reading bibliography, supplementary bibliography, discussion forums and training activities proposed by the teaching team, partial deliveries and a final project.
The course is online and asynchronous. Some instructors may propose synchronous activities. In those cases, the time and date will be agreed upon beforehand between the teaching team and the students to ensure everyone's participation.
To pass the seminar, you must participate in at least 80% of the discussion forums and activities proposed by the teachers, have completed the scheduled partial deliveries, and pass the final work.

The possible payment methods are credit card, bank transfer and bank deposit.