TUCLA
VII Annual
Tulane Undergraduate Conference on
Latin America
Saturday Nov. 21, 2009
Jones Hall 102 and 108
Sponsored by the Stone Center for Latin American Studies
The Stone Center’s annual TUCLA conference is an interdisciplinary undergraduate symposium in
which seniors from the Latin American Studies core seminar present their individual research
projects. TUCLA was formally launched in Fall of 2003 as a means to provide Latin American
Studies undergraduates with an opportunity to present papers in the style and atmosphere of an
academic conference. The conference is designed to enlist all of Tulane’s LAST seniors in a
shared discussion of the region, its society and its cultures.
Schedule
- Coffee and Welcome 8:30-9:00 - Session I 9:00-10:45 PANEL 1: EXCHANGE (JONES 102)
Contact High: Cultural Perspectives on the Global, the Local
and the Spaces In-Between
Jessie Hawkins, “Gringo Shaman: The Commercialization of Shamanism in Peru”
Ashley Coleman, “Puff Daddy les ofrece un million y le dijen que no: Reggaeton as
Resistance to U.S. Political and Cultural Hegemony”
Lana Butner, “Grey Area: The Façade of Racial Homogeneity in Costa Rica”
Aaron Feingold, “Putting the ‘Roots’ in Grassroots: Mizik Rasin and Transnational
Agents for Change in Haiti”
Discussant: Mauro Porto, Department of Communication, Tulane University
PANEL 2: NATION (JONES 108)
Democracy as a Work in Progress:
Rethinking Representation in Latin America
Michael Murray, “Corruption: The Myth and Mystery of the Chilean Exception”
Ashley Rhodes, “The 2009 Democratic Disruption in Honduras: Delegative
Democracy or Dangerous Precedent?”
Allison Bakamjian, “Chile’s ‘Penguin Revolution’: Student Responses to Incomplete
Democracy”
Brenna Horan, “Human Rights Advocacy in Authoritarian Chile: The Critical Role of
the Catholic Church (1976-1990)”
Discussant: Raúl A. Sánchez Urribarrí, Department of Political Science, Tulane
University
- Session II 11:00-12:30 PANEL 3: IDENTITY (JONES 102)
Beyond Tolerance: Gender, Sexuality and Power in Latin American Society
Annie Robinson, “Transvestite Visibility in Buenos Aires: Progressive Port or
Machista Metropolis?”
Ereeni Roulakis, “Intertwining Realities: A Holistic Feminist Vision for Aymara
Rural Migrants”
Kelsey Torres, “Larger than Life: Honor and Shame in the Argentine Tango”
Discussant: Elizabeth Manley, Department of History, Xavier University
PANEL 4: ENCOUNTER (JONES 108)
Entre lo público y lo privado:
Recent Trends in Environmental and Economic Policy
Annalisa Cravens, , "Environmental Injustice: The Mexican Environmental Condition
in Policy Enforcement, Industry and Infrastructure”
John Coffee, “The Role of the State in the Creation and Growth of Brazilian Ethanol
Production”
Robin Baxley, “Microfinance and its Growing Popularity: An Open Door for
Development or a Quick Route to Macro-credit Crisis?”
Discussant: Scott Pentzer, Honors Department, Tulane University
- Lunch (Greenleaf Conference Room) 12:30-1:15(By Invitation Only)
- Session III 1:15-2:30 PANEL 5: CREATIVITY (JONES 102)
Knowledge and Other Dangerous Things:
The Politics of Literacy in Contemporary Latin America
Meredith Soniat du Fossat, “Eyes Wide Shut: Literary Production during Cuba’s
Special Economic Period”
Lauren Elliot, “The Word is our Weapon: Reading the Zapatistas through Paulo Freire
and bell hooks”
Christine Sweeney, “Politics to Pupils: The Role of Government in the Argentine
Classroom”
Discussant: Rebecca Atencio, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Tulane
University
PANEL 6: WELFARE (JONES 108)
Cultural Prescriptions: State Responsibility in Health Care and Human Rights
Chelsea Cipriano, “Wronged: The Government's Role in the Lives of Guatemalan
Street Children”
Amy Brown, “Milagro o Muerte: The Fate of Pregnant Women in Rural Peru”
Phillippa Chadd, “Morality in the Way of Care: The State Response to HIV/AIDS in
Argentina”
Discussant: Laura Murphy, School of Public Health, Tulane University
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Paper Abstracts
Panel 1: Exchange
Contact High: Cultural Perspectives on the Global,
the Local and the Spaces In-Between
Jessie Hawkins, “Gringo Shaman: The Commercialization of Shamanism in Peru” The New
Age movement has led to an increased Western interest in spiritualities from across the globe. In
particular, there has been an interest in native spirituality, called shamanism. Due to this increased
interest in shamanism, tours are now offered in South America in which Westerners can undergo
ceremonies performed by “shamans” and experience the drug ayahuasca that is commonly used by
natives. This commercialization of shamanism has led me to wonder what the effect of these tours is
having on the indigenous people. In my paper, I argue that the commercialization of shamanism
exploits indigenous groups culturally, economically, and environmentally. While the tours may
seemingly offer economic growth to indigenous people and provide legitimacy to alternative
medicine, I contend that these tours do more harm than good. They are yet another example of the
United States and Western Europe acting as cultural imperialists to the developing world.
Ashley Coleman, “Puff Daddy les ofrece un millon y le dijen que no: Reggaeton as Puerto Rican
Resistance to U.S. Political and Cultural Hegemony” In the past decade, reggaeton music has
risen from the genre of Puerto Rico’s marginal classes to the representing country’s “national
cultural export.” Reggaeton’s origins as a derivative genre of U.S. hip-hop are manifested through
the lyrical content that typifies the genre and through its aesthetic representations, both of which
exist as an effort to emulate the international success of American rap and hip-hop. As a result of
these similarities between American hip-hop and reggaeton, the genre has been constructed and as a
symbol of cultural connectedness between the mainland U.S. and the island of Puerto Rico. In its
perpetuation of this imagined liaison between the U.S. and Puerto Rico as nations linked in
transcultural harmony, reggaeton effectively rejects the principal ideologies behind Puerto Rican
political and cultural nationalism and their goals of political sovereignty and the end of U.S.
occupation on the island. This paper examines how the reggaeton duo, Calle 13, while erecting their
music under the structural foundation of contemporary reggaeton, deliberately work within the
conceptualized framework of the genre as a “derivative” form of music inextricably tied to the
United States in order to deliberately work outside the endurance of U.S. political and cultural
hegemony. In analyzing the differences between the lyrical content and aesthetic representation
between Calle 13 and their contemporaries, I demonstrate how the group’s music represents a postcolonial form of cultural production designed to reintegrate values of Puerto Rican nationalism
otherwise masked by the popular discourse of mainstream reggaeton.
Lana Butner, “Grey Area: The Façade of Racial Homogeneity in Costa Rica”
Throughout its history, Costa Rica has been regarded the most socially advanced Central American
country due to strong correlations with its European roots. Yet there is an entirely different side to
Costa Rica that has been kept subdued and separate from the dominant Hispanic culture: that is of
the predominately black population inhabiting the Limon Province on the Caribbean coast. For
generations there has been reluctance to integrate between both ethnicities. I argue that this has
hindered the fusing on a national Costa Rican identity via various tactics and legislation, and
therefore real integration has not yet occurred. By close examination of key historical events and
cultural measures, I contend that the legacy of non-assimilation of West Indian immigrants to the
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topographically isolated Costa Rican Province of Limon is what shapes the present day distressed
race relations throughout the country. The historical journey of the West Indians demonstrates why
they remain a separate subculture ostracized from mainstream Costa Rican society.
Aaron Feingold, “Putting the ‘Roots’ in Grassroots: Mizik Rasin and Transnational Agents for
Change in Haiti” The persistence of Haiti’s authoritarian legacy throughout its seemingly endless
transition toward democracy has fueled a Haitian diaspora and constrained grassroots political
participation. Oppositional expatriates engaged in transnational grassroots movements constitute
agents for change. They reshape and reposition the state and the Haitian, pushing for a common
good, challenging the socio-economic status quo, and presenting an alternative foreign policy to
international politicians representative of the popular masses. Putting popular voice into action,
transnational grassroots organizations significantly contribute to further Haitian democratization.
While the tradition of rara music and its performance had functioned as an outlet of marronage, or
resistance, through a “hidden transcript,” the political anraje genre mizik rasin broke from this
model, openly critiquing the polity. In this paper I argue that, by adopting transnational cultural
amalgamations, mizik rasin’s commodification and mass performance in the Dizyèm Depatman,
Haiti’s tenth department, is representative of transmigrant culture, social and political realities.
Moreover, it moves the discourse on the margins to the core and acts as a transnational grassroots
movement. Tterefore, I contend, mizik rasin has the potential to create change in the
deterritorialized zones of diasporic residency and at home. In support of these claims, I examine
Boukman Eksperyans’ songs lyrically and in political context—from La Revolte des Zombies (2009)
in particular—album sales and performance to argue that consumption facilitates the flow of popular
voice to foreign policy making.
Panel 2: Creativity
Democracy as a Work in Progress:
Rethinking Representation in Latin America
Michael Murray, “Corruption: The myth and mystery of the Chilean exception” Scholarship suggests
that Chile has long had a reputation of relatively non-corrupt governance, especially compared to the rampant
corruption that plagues many Latin American nations. This applies to both the pre and post-authoritarian
democratic regimes. According to various indexes Chile consistently ranks as the least corrupt country in the
region, and the most commonly referenced corruption index, published by Transparency International, places
Chile among stable, industrialized democracies. The reason for the relative lack of corruption in Chile in
comparison to the rest of Latin America, despite many common historical, political, social, and cultural
similarities is a mystery. I propose a more nuanced picture of corruption in Chile than that depicted in most
indexes, including Transparency International’s. While overt bribery is rare compared to the rest of Latin
America, there is evidence of significant clientelist relationships in Chilean politics, which may distance Chile
from the levels of corruption in developed nations. Still, however, the reason for the infrequency of bribery
remains unclear, and I tentatively suggest this is due to effective institutional mechanisms that strongly
discourage overt graft.
Ashley Rhodes, “The 2009 Democratic Disruption in Honduras: Delegative Democracy or
Dangerous Precedent?” The June 2009 democratic disruption in Honduras took the international
community by surprise as Latin American coup d’états had begun to fade into a more distant chapter
in Latin American politics. After weeks of tension between President Manuel Zelaya and the
Honduran judicial and legislative branches over his proposed referendum to alter presidential term
limits Zelaya was placed, at gunpoint in his pajamas, on a plane to Costa Rica. Vigorous debate
surrounding the events and decisions made in both the lead-up and aftermath of the deposed
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president’s ouster reveals the international relevance of this issue in the broader context of
Latin/Central American democracy. Examination of a broad variety of perspectives is useful in
contextualizing these events and their significance to the region and its people, as well as the
international community’s gauge on the progress and conditions of global democracy. In this paper I
examine Argentine political scientist Guillermo O’Donnell’s theory of delegative democracy in the
context of former President Zelaya’s actions regarding usurpation of power, disregard for state
institutions, and the measures taken by the Honduran Supreme Court and Congress to combat these
efforts. I argue that although several tenets of delegative democracy are visible in Zelaya’s
presidential term, the Honduran case study cannot be considered a definitive case of delegative
democratic theory due to Zelaya’s inability to, in effect, successfully implement his contested
agenda. This paper aims to broaden the dialog between democratic theory and the events in
Honduras and in this way contribute to the intellectual effort to assess governance and democracy in
the region.
Allison Bakamjian, “Chile’s ‘Penguin Revolution’: Student Responses to Incomplete
Democracy” In the fall of 2006, more than one million high school students throughout Chile arose
in protest to contest the current system of education. Nicknamed the Penguin Revolution for their
black and white school uniforms, the students demonstrated in the street, took over their school
buildings, and eventually garnered support from much of the country’s population. Since the final
years of Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship nearly two decades before, Chile had witnessed a
drastic demobilization of civil society, making the Penguin Revolution the first of its size and
structure since the beginning of the democratic transition. The students were disturbed by the poor
quality and injustices present in the privatized education system, which was based on policies
leftover from the former regime. Though many attempts at education reform had been made during
that time, none had successfully resulted in a significant change in the existing system. This inability
was due to the obstacles to reform and policy-making in the legislature, which was largely caused by
remaining authoritarian enclaves in governmental policies and procedures. I argue that the Penguin
Revolution demonstrates the tension between the expectations and insufficiencies of Chilean
democratization, as demonstrated in both the cause of the movement and the method they chose to
express their stance. The Penguin Revolution demonstrates both the lack of reforms made since the
authoritarian regime and he ineffectiveness of legislative representation, resulting in the
incompleteness of Chilean democratization.
Brenna Horan, “Human Rights Advocacy in Authoritarian Chile: The Critical Role of the
Catholic Church in the Survival of the Vicaría de la Solidaridad (1976-1990)” is a study of the
prestigious Human Rights Nongovernmental Organization (HRNGO) Vicaría de la Solidaridad,
which protested the human rights violations perpetrated by the Pinochet regime. This study focuses
on the survival and effectiveness of Vicaría in denouncing the human rights violations in relation to
its parent organization, the Catholic Church. This presentation demonstrates, through an analysis of
both the resources derived by the Vicaría from the Catholic Church and the constraints placed upon
the Vicaría by the Catholic Church, and lastly, a comparison with the religious HRNGO the
Committee for Peace, that the success and survival of the Vicaría is due to its relationship with the
Catholic Church.
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Panel 3: Encounter
Entre lo público y lo privado:
Recent Trends in Environmental and Economic Policy
Annalisa Cravens, "Environmental Injustice: The Mexican Environmental Condition in Policy
Enforcement, Industry and Infrastructure” With the implementation of NAFTA in 1994 came
the promise of environmental policy improvements in Mexico’s industry-ridden northern border
region. Mexico has had strong environmental laws for decades, but enforcement has been a problem
since the creation of such laws. The nature of the Mexican bureaucratic system and the priority of
profit over environmentalism inhibited the enforcement of these strict environmental regulations.
However, the free trade agreement included environmental side agreements and set the stage for the
creation of transnational environmental protection agencies, signifying a real opportunity for a
change in the environmental landscape of the region. Unfortunately, environmental degradation and
pollution remain serious issues. I argue that despite the official rhetoric of complacency, the
environmental condition of the border region has not improved since NAFTA and that the added
presence of industries in Mexico because of the neoliberal trade policies has worsened pollution
problems. My study focuses on the issue of water contamination in the border cities of Ambos
Nogales, showing the two sides of the story surrounding pollution through interviews I conducted in
July 2009. Testimonies from governmental officials and activist residents show the gap between
official rhetoric and the reality of the consequences of pollution. I am hopeful that my study will
serve to bring some attention back to the issue of environmental degradation along the border.
Fifteen years after the passage of NAFTA and as other border concerns like violence, drug
trafficking and illegal crossings take precedence, environmental issues including water
contamination are receiving less attention despite the disastrous effects pollution has on the natural
landscape and on the residents of the region.
John Coffee, “The Role of the State in the Creation and Growth of Brazilian Ethanol
Production” The Brazilian military government of 1974 responded to the OPEC-induced oil
shortages and high global prices of oil by looking to their enormous sugar cane fields for their
energy needs and not the Middle East. Ever since the 1950’s, Brazil’s newly modernized economy
had relied on oil. The problem was that Petrobras could not produce enough oil to meet its nation’s
demands so a trade deficit ensued that raised inflation and took government funds from job creation.
In this paper, I argue that no private firm would have taken an aggregate $10 billion loss to break the
nation’s dependence on oil. In addition, Proalcool created jobs. When the military government
ended with the creation of the civilian government in 1988, there were severe layoffs that enlarged
the landless class. To support my argument, I explore the “super harvest” of 1998-1999 when the
market vastly overproduced and placed the sugar and ethanol industry back at 1985 levels of
production. I compare the state and private sector, showing that the state laid off many people in
1988 and the free market again brought layoffs in 1999 with “super harvest.” My paper
demonstrates that a) the state was critical in the creation of Proalcool and b) that the private sector
can and does do the same thing in a less stable way and more profitable way.
Robin Baxley, “Microfinance and its Growing Popularity: An Open Door for Development or
a Quick Route to Macro-credit Crisis?” Microcredit is currently in a state of transformation. As
its popularity increases, the non-governmental organizations that provide micro-financing
opportunities to countries in Latin America are now becoming more sophisticated and are facing
new questions in regards to sustainability and advancing into regulated entities, while commercial
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banks throughout Latin America are increasingly adding micro-credit options to their list of services.
With the rapid expansion of the microcredit industry, many questions arise as to how microfinance
can continue to be a successful form of development. This paper explores the characteristics of
microfinance that separate it from the larger credit market in order to determine what makes
microcredit sustainable in weak economies, especially in times of financial crisis. In the wake of the
collapse of the credit system in the United States in 2008, questions regarding credit as a viable form
of currency and investment have been a debated constantly. In this work, I argue that there are
certain key factors, such as accountability measures, smaller loans and closer regulation that separate
microfinance from the problems of the greater credit market. This allows microfinance institutions
in impoverished countries to have a stronger structure than the free capitalist market, one that can
survive even in times of financial trouble. By establishing the factors that make microfinance a
sustainable form of financial development in comparison to the macro-credit, we can better
understand the implications of the growing popularity of microcredit. This will help us determine
what factors must stay constant for microcredit to continue to be successful as it becomes more
commonplace throughout the world.
Panel 4: Nation
Knowledge and Other Dangerous Things:
The Politics of Literacy in Contemporary Latin America
Meredith Soniat du Fossat, “Eyes Wide Shut: Literary Production during Cuba’s Special
Economic Period” Faced with unprecedented economic and social problems, in 1991 the Cuban
government launched the "Special Period in Peacetime", which meant reorienting its economy
towards the world market, including a drive to attract foreign investment. During this period on the
island, especially after 1994, in which use of the U.S. dollar was legalized, Cuban literary activity
flourished despite severely handicapped conditions, in part due to the support and collaboration of
foreign publishers. The rising literary flourishing was called el nuevo boom cubano as a reference to
the Boom of the 1960s, which saw the worldwide ascension of Latin American literature. In this
paper I situate Cuba’s Special Period in the wavering trajectory of revolutionary cultural policy.
Literary policy of the revolutionary regime has vacillated between relatively permissive and
categorically oppressive, depending largely upon the economic and political climate. While the
revolution continued to see itself as the complete creator and guardian of cultural production, I
propose that in the 1990s Cuban literature acquired a distinct aesthetic quality, devoid of moral
judgments that invariably surrounded any reference to the Revolution. The relationship between
readers, writers, and text has continually fluctuated within Cuba; while the Special Period saw a new
space for public expression, in part due to the state’s weakening and partly due to new commercial
opportunity.
Lauren Elliot, “The Word is our Weapon: Reading the Zapatistas through Paulo Freire and
bell hooks” When the indigenous of southern Mexico declared war on the government in 1994,
they knew they had no chance of survival unless they could build a strong network of support among
civil society. In order to place their distinctly local and non-western movement into a global context,
the Zapatistas and their named spokesperson, Subcomandante Marcos, crafted a revolutionary
political discourse – a vernacular dialogue fashioned out of poetry – that spread around the world via
the internet. They have released hundred of communiqués over the last fifteen years which condemn
repression in the Zapatista territories and around the world, that present alternatives, and tell stories
that are rich with allegory and wit. These stories are clever yet simple, using fictional characters,
such as a beetle who carries a sword and fights neoliberalism, to mock the empty rhetoric of the
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politicians and dismantle the machinery of neoliberal globalization into a simple language accessible
across class, race, and language. This paper uses Paulo Freire’s theory of conscientization, or
conscious raising, and bell hooks’ theory of decolonizing the mind to analyze Subcomandante
Marcos’ stories of Don Durito and Old Antonio. I argue that the characters of Don Durito and Old
Antonio provide their global audience the basic conceptual tools necessary for a liberation struggle. I
base my argument off bell hooks and Paulo Freire’s shared assumption that any liberation movement
must begin with an intentional process of reflection that leads to a change in consciousness.
Christine Sweeney, “Pupils to Citizens: The Role of the State in the Argentine Classroom” The
Argentine government has long played a strong role in controlling school curricula. From the proPeronist textbooks distributed by Juan D. Perón’s regime through the return of democracy in 1983
when education reform laws set out to form democratically educated and engaged citizens in the
wake of military control., the history of the Argentine education system has reflected changing
political ideals – particularly those resulting from the “interruptions of democracy” throughout the
second half of the twentieth-century. In this paper, I argue that the stringent control of course
material, textbooks and teacher training was not only a tool used by dictators but can be seen today
under the Justicialist government of Cristina Kirchner. Just as students in the 1950s learned of
Peronist nationalism, students today are exposed to a learning environment that focuses on the
democratic responsibilities of all Argentines. In learning the importance of democracy at a young
age, Argentines are each made responsible for maintaining this order. I contend that this strategic,
democratic-themed curriculum within Argentine primary and secondary education underscores the
intent by the government to prevent another “interruption of democracy” from happening ever again.
Panel 5: Identity
Beyond Tolerance:
Gender, Sexuality and Power in Latin American Society
Annie Robinson, “Transvestite Visibility in Buenos Aires: Progressive Port or Machista
Metropolis?” Since the Federal Capital became autonomous in 1994, Buenos Aires has made large
strides in passing progressive legislation to protect sexual minorities. In search of civil liberties,
thousands of transvestites from more repressive provinces have migrated to the capital city. Yet
upon arrival, transvestites quickly realize their limited roles in society; over ninety-percent of
transvestites depend on prostitution as their main form of income, and those that manage to avoid
this line of work remain confined to the beauty and entertainment industries. This work analyzes the
societal implications of the media popularity and the legal protections of transvestites in Buenos
Aires. I argue that porteña society conditionally tolerates transvestites based on their conformity to
machista notions of femininity. I will display transvestites’ conditional tolerance through the onedimensional roles that the majority of transvestites fit into, the oppression and invisibility of those
straying from these roles, and the lack of space for those that desire representation outside of
society’s given framework. My paper proposes that this conditional tolerance places transvestites on
the periphery of society and thus prevents their full societal integration and self-realization.
Therefore, I contend that influences of machismo on porteña society are still strong despite the
progression of women and the protection of sexual minorities.
Ereeni Roulakis, “Intertwining Realities: A Holistic Feminist Vision for Aymara Rural
Migrants” Over the past generation, rural to urban migration has exploded in Bolivia, perhaps most
notably in the city of El Alto. Aymara women migrants have been the subjects of attention from
many different sectors. While they face many difficulties such as poverty and culture shock, they
are the main focus of attention of different sectors such as non-profits, non-governmental
9
organizations, and indigenous political parties due to their position as both indigenous and women.
Their position often means that they face discrimination for their ethnicity and gender. However,
many feminists, researchers, non-profits, and indigenous groups have yet to fully address how these
two systems of oppression are intertwined. In many cases, this has created tensions between those
working with gender and those working with ethnicity. This is further complicated, as many see the
antagonism as part of a larger tension between the imperialist West and indigenous groups working
to maintain their identity and traditions. As a result, many indigenous women distrust the very
organizations that seek to empower and improve their lives. In this paper I argue that in Bolivia,
gender based non-governmental organizations have failed to create, as one executive director of a
NGO described, “an empathic language that permeates Andean society.” For many gender-based
NGOs, this would require addressing the needs of Aymara migrant women through the intertwining
lens of race, class and gender. My research ultimately suggests that for feminism to remain relevant
in Bolivia, and to a larger context, the world, a holistic dialogue is needed.
Kelsey Torres, “Larger than Life: Honor and Shame in the Argentine Tango” Buenos Aires
underwent a drastic transformation at the turn of the century with rapid modernization and an influx
of largely male immigrants from Europe and the Pampas. The newcomers settled on the outskirts of
the city, where prostitution flourished and lower-class women were able to earn a living in the sex
trade. Many natives to Buenos Aires viewed this changing atmosphere as a threat to traditional
family values, reacting by clinging to idealized notions of family more fervently than ever before. I
argue that society emphasized the importance of upholding male honor and appropriate female
shame in order to enforce established gender roles. The tango was a way of addressing fears of a
breakdown in societal order through the vilification of characters that have lost these essential
constraints. Tango lyrics are populated by pitiful men and shameless women in an extreme reversal
of “ideal” Argentine gender relations. Old and new Buenos Aires found their extreme
representations in the tango’s faithful mother and treacherous whore. My paper explores the
contradictions between life and lyric and the ways in which Argentine society used art to explore
social anxieties.
Panel 6: Welfare
Cultural Prescriptions:
State Responsibility in Health Care and Human Rights
Chelsea Cipriano, “Wronged: The Government's Role in the Lives of Guatemalan Street
Children” Children living in poverty in Guatemala City suffer from human rights violations daily,
such as abuse, exploitation, and wrongful incarceration. Many of the children living in poverty in the
city live or work on the streets, earning them the name of “street children.” Why has the government
continued to ignore these violations as well as the stipulations laid out in the Guatemalan
Constitution and the Peace Accords of 1996 regarding the rights of children? This paper aims to
answer this question through the evaluation and interpretation of human rights violations including
lack of sufficient health and educational services, evidence of physical abuse, and examples of failed
government interventions and the nongovernmental or foreign successes. It will also explore the
history of human rights abuses of those Guatemalans living in poverty and the attitudes surrounding
these people. The paper argues that the state is not stepping in because of the precedent for human
rights abuses set during the Thirty Six Year War based on attitudes that dehumanize those living in
poverty. Understanding why the Guatemalan government has ceased to act on such a pressing matter
may lead to the understanding of other governments’ lack of action for similar problems, as well as
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why Nongovernmental Organizations and foreign entities have stepped in elsewhere as well as in
Guatemala to develop the successful programs to counter the issue.
Amy Brown, “Milagro o Muerte: The Fate of Pregnant Women in Rural Peru” Maternal
mortality is a worldwide issue that organizations, such as the United Nations, has been striving to
reduce over the past twenty years. As evidence of this, one of the eight Millennium Development
Goals established by the UN is to reduce to maternal mortality ratio in the 192 member states by the
year 2015. However despite this agreement, some member states have been unable to achieve this
objective; Peru is one of these member states. The maternal mortality rate in Peru continues to be
one of the highest in the Americas with an estimated 240 maternal deaths per every 100,000 live
births, with even higher rates in indigenous communities. The Peruvian government attributes these
high rates to issues such as a large rural population and language barriers. I argue that the maternal
mortality rate remains high due to cultural insensitivity on the part of the Peruvian government. My
paper proposes that if the government acknowledged the cultural traditions of indigenous women
and provided appropriate assistance, the maternal rate in this country would be greatly reduced.
Although the government claims that indigenous women do no utilize the services provided to them,
I contend that indigenous women would greatly benefit if there were services specifically created to
meet their wants and needs.
Phillippa Chadd, “Morality in the Way of Care: The State Response to HIV/AIDS in
Argentina” The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Argentina has changed dramatically since the first case was
discovered in 1982, emerging first within the homosexual population and injecting drug users (IDU),
and has since spread to heterosexual transmission as the main route. The initial government response
to the epidemic was slow, especially in establishing programs to address the specific needs of these
marginalized populations. Non-governmental organizations (NGO) were quick to respond to the
need for care for the drug using population, filling in the void left by the Argentine state, which
considered them criminals. The gap between the two sectors was significant early on, in part due to
the influence of the Catholic Church and its policy to only support abstinence programs, the
criminalizing drug laws, and also the worsening context of the economic reforms during the 1990s.
This paper argues that morality issues prevented the government from responding immediately to
provide adequate care for the people that needed it the most: the homosexual and IDU population.
Non-governmental organizations in Argentina have constantly been a step ahead of the government
in terms of the research and subsequent program and policy recommendations concerning the
HIV/AIDS epidemic, especially in relation to treatment of the injecting drug user population. The
conservative nature of the government stood in the way of innovative programs in the initial stages
of the epidemic, such as needle-exchange programs, to try and promote successful harm reduction
strategies.
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Participant Biographies
Allison Bakamjian, originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, will graduate this spring with a double major
in Latin American Studies and International Relations, and a minor in Spanish. Her interest in Latin
America began at her Spanish-immersion elementary school, where her native-speaking teachers
instilled a genuine curiosity for diverse cultural traditions. Allison has spent significant time in
Santiago, Chile and Oaxaca, Mexico. During her time in New Orleans, she has worked as an intern
and a volunteer with Puentes New Orleans, Inc., a Latino community development organization, and
as an English as a Second Language co-teacher. Allison will expand on her study of the pingüinos
for her honors thesis, which will focus on the development of political society in the era of
democratization in Chile. Although still unsure about her plans after graduation, Allison intends to
spend time traveling and working in the non-profit sector before returning to graduate school.
Hailing from Alexandria in the Commonwealth of Virginia, Robin Baxley is pursuing a double
major in Finance and Latin American Studies with a minor in Spanish. While growing up, her
family hosted over 45 exchange students from all over the globe. The exposure to new people and
cultures ignited her interest all things international, and lead her to pursue her interest in Latin
America. During the fall of 2008, Robin was the only Tulane student to study abroad in Buenos
Aires, Argentina through the A.B. Freeman School of Business and parlayed that experience into an
internship with the Latino Federation of Greater Washington in the summer of 2009 where she
honed her research and financial skills. When not writing bibliographical annotations, Robin is also
enrolled in the Burkenroad Reports program through which she has done in-depth research and
extensive financial forecasting in order to learn the practical skills of a financial analyst, an
occupation that she hopes to continue on an international scale in the future.
Amy Brown is senior from Erie, Pennsylvania pursuing a double major in Latin American Studies
and Anthropology, along with a Spanish minor. During the 2008-2009 academic year, she studied at
Universidad de la Republica in Montevideo, Uruguay while completing an internship at CAIF
(Centro de Atención Integral a la Infancia y la Familia) Arcoiris. Between terms in Uruguay, Amy
spent time volunteering with Wawa Wasi caring for underprivileged children in the Peruvian jungle.
She has an ongoing interest in the increasing Latin American community in New Orleans and has
volunteered as an ESL teacher through the Hispanic Apostolate for several semesters. Amy plans to
enter a Masters International Program with the Peace Corps studying Global Reproductive Health,
focusing on international family planning, in Latin America.
Lana Butner is a senior majoring in Latin American Studies, with a double minor in Political
Science and Exercise Science. Lana developed a passion for Latin America and the Caribbean
regions in high school and soon confirmed her major within the Latin American curriculum. She
took a year off between her junior and senior year to travel around Central America to visualize and
better understand the topics presented within her university courses. While there, her curiosity and
affinity for Latin culture grew as she observed and lived among Guatemaltecans, Costa Ricans and
Panamanians. She has worked with English as a Second Language (ESL) program through Loyola
and Tulane and is an intern at the non-profit organization known as Puentes New Orleans, where she
translates between the financial advisor and clientele during private credit counseling sessions. Postgraduation, Lana hopes to travel more extensively around Latin America and the Caribbean, learn
Portuguese and put her Latin American Studies degree to good use wherever that may be, hopefully
south of the border.
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Phillippa Chadd is a senior majoring in Latin American Studies with a minor in Spanish from
Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her love for Latin America began in high school during summer trips to Oaxaca,
Mexico. She spent a semester in Buenos Aires, Argentina during her junior year and held an
internship at Intercambios Asociación Civil, a NGO whose mission is to study and expose problems
related to drug use. Being an immigrant herself, she is especially interested in immigration issues as
well as health-related issues. She is currently pursuing an internship in the Hazard Mitigation Branch
of New Orleans at City Hall, working on applications for FEMA grants to provide financial aid to
help citizens of New Orleans better prepare for flooding and hurricanes. Phillippa’s career goals are
to pursue a Masters in Public Health in International Health and hopefully to one day work for an
international humanitarian organization promoting health in Latin America.
Chelsea Cipriano is a senior from small-town Connecticut studying Latin American Studies,
Political Science, and Spanish. She has traveled extensively within Latin America and the
Caribbean, and has spent summers studying in both Brazil and Mexico. Her interest in Latin
America began at a young age because of family travels, and she was hooked on the subject after
taking just a few classes her freshman year. Her academic interests have revolved mainly around
human rights and other social movements throughout Latin America, and she has volunteered in
New Orleans with both youth and adult Latino community members. Chelsea’s future plans include
pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Health, and working in inner-city communities constructing
health education programs and policy. She plans to adopt a dog, travel as much as possible while she
can, and continue to both give to and receive from this amazing city for many more years to come.
John Coffee was born to Tom and Susan Coffee in Atlanta, GA in 1982 and lived in Fortsmith, AK
until he was five. He attended Catholic School in Phoenix where we moved when I was eleven or
twelve. He went to Tulane after several years of college prep in Catholic School where he swam for
a smaller school, wrestled for my Senior year and would go backpacking every month. He started
Tulane in the fall of 2000 and left with his girlfriend to work in Alaska canning fish. He was fired
for suggesting a strike and was impoverished for much of his adult life after that until he came back
to Tulane in the Spring of 2009. He will graduate in the Spring of 2010 with a BA in Latin
American Studies with a minor in Spanish.
Ashley Coleman is a senior from Grayson, Georgia, majoring in Latin American Studies and
Political Science. Ashley’s interest in Latin America emerged from her involvement in her high
school’s Spanish Club and was further cultivated through her LAST 101 class and involvement with
the New Orleans Latino community. Ashley traveled to Nicaragua in summer 2008 as an Oscar Lee
Putnam grant recipient as a volunteer teacher in elementary schools and again in 2009 as a
Newcomb Traveling Scholar where she conducted research on the decentralization of the
Nicaraguan feminist movement. Her major interests relate to how politics shape forms of cultural
production and she intends to pursue these interests by earning a Masters and PhD in Latin American
Studies. In an effort to expand her knowledge of the region, Ashley plans to travel throughout Brazil
following graduation where she will take Portuguese classes and hopefully live out her current
dream of seeing Caetano Veloso in concert.
Annalisa Cravens is a graduating senior from Madison, WI, with majors in Latin American Studies
and Spanish and minors in Brazilian Studies and Portuguese. Her interests center on international
Latin American politics, but certainly are not limited to this field. Having been exposed to Romance
linguistics through her father’s work in Italian linguistics, the languages of the region are also of
special interest. For more experience, in the summer of 2007 she traveled to Guadalajara, Mexico,
on the Stone Center’s program. She then spent her junior year abroad in Salvador, Brazil, and
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Buenos Aires, Argentina, focusing on the study of Brazilian history and culture in Salvador and
Latin American politics in Buenos Aires. She is currently writing an honors thesis concerning the
nature of environmental policy and enforcement in the U.S.-Mexico border region since the
implementation of NAFTA. Next year she plans to attend law school to study international and
comparative law.
Lauren Elliott was born and raised in Atlanta, Ga. In 2006 she moved to New Orleans for college
and will graduate in spring 2010 with a BA in Latin American Studies. Last fall she left for southern
Mexico to participate in anti-capitalist and indigenous movements of Chiapas and Oaxaca. In
Chiapas, she enrolled as a student in the Universidad de la Tierra, an autonomous indigenous
university aligned with the Zapatista movement, where she learned urban agricultural methods. In
April, she returned to the United States excited about the possibility of creating more self-sustaining
communities at home in Atlanta and New Orleans. She spent several months in Atlanta, first
working on an urban farm and then as a teacher at a Bosnian community center, where she learned
as much from the children as they did from her. Lauren is excited to see where she will be next
summer.
Aaron Feingold is a senior from New Jersey, majoring in Latin American Studies and Political
Science. An avid adventurer, he has backpacked through Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle
East; he has hiked the Appalachian Trail, and intends to complete the entire Oazark Highlands Trail
after graduating. He has studied in Guadalajara, Mexico and in Aix-En-Provence and Grenoble,
France. In Aix, he worked as a music instructor for the Barat Foundation, a non-profit providing
language and arts instruction to impoverished high school students. He is classically trained in guitar
and voice and DJs on the side; influences include John Coltrane, Trent Reznor, Frank Zappa and
Shabba Ranks. His interest in the Caribbean, in particular Haiti and Cuba, focuses on globalization,
political economy and transmigration. After college, he will produce Reggaeton, Dancehall and
Dubstep music by Caribbean artists residing in New York City; if that fails, he’ll follow his father’s
example: “when you’re smart, Jewish and out of money, you go to law school.”
Jessie Hawkins is a senior Latin American Studies and International Development double major
from Raleigh, North Carolina. Her interest in Spanish and Latin American studies developed during
high school after spending a summer in Chimaltenango, Guatemala working in a children’s
orphanage. She was finally able to go back to Latin America in Fall 2008 where she studied abroad
in Buenos Aires, Argentina and was able to travel across the Southern Cone. Her academic interests
include environmental justice at the U.S./Mexico border, gender issues in Latin America, and
indigenous identity and welfare. She hopes to spend time traveling and working in the non profit
sector before pursuing graduate school.
Brenna Horan is a double major in Latin American Studies and Spanish, with a minor in history.
Her interests lie in public policy and human rights. She has studied abroad in South America for a
cumulativetwo years, in Ecuador, Argentina and Chile. She also participated in a summer program
through the Stone Center in Guadalajara, Mexico. Through her volunteer work with Tulane
University’s Service Learning programs, such as ESL and La Escuelita she became interested in
Education. Her most interesting work experience to date was working in a hostel run by expatriates
of Oregon in Patagonia, Chile, in the small town of Puerto Natales. Next year she will be a member
of the 2010 Los Angeles Teach For America Corps, possibly teaching Spanish.
Michael Murray is a senior from Portland, Oregon, majoring in Economics and Latin American
Studies with a minor in Spanish. He has studied abroad in Costa Rica, Argentina, and Chile, where
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he has extended family. He is proficient in Spanish and has a strong interest in economic
development issues throughout Latin America. These issues include sustainable development, social
justice, and poverty reduction. He would like to find work in the region related to any or all of these
fields. His interest in development extends beyond Latin America, however, and he would like to
study the languages and cultures of other developing regions, and possibly do policy-related work
with multilateral institutions, such as the Inter-American Development Bank or the United Nations.
To attain these goals he hopes to eventually further his studies with a masters or other advanced
degree.
Ashley Rhodes is an International Relations and Latin American Studies double major with a minor
in Spanish. Her family attributes Ashley’s interest in Latin America to hearing Spanish spoken
during childhood trips to the Colorado State Fair; this may well be true as her interest in the region
has been a lifelong passion. Ashley has been fortunate to travel throughout Argentina, Spain,
Honduras, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. She has enjoyed volunteer teaching English to the
Hispanic immigrant population of New Orleans. Ashley was twice selected to serve as a member of
Tulane’s delegation to the Model Organization of American States in Washington DC. She also
interned with the OAS’ Inter-American Commission against Terrorism (CICTE) in Washington DC.
After graduation Ashley plans to pursue a career in International Relations, ideally combining her
interest and passion for Latin America with the diplomatic needs of the US Department of State.
Annie Robinson will be graduating next May with a degree in Latin American Studies and a double
minor in Spanish and International Development. Growing up in Denver, Colorado, Annie’s interest
in Latin America was sparked by the local Mexican population along with her dad’s elaborate tales
about working in Mexico as a gold geologist. When Annie arrived at Tulane, her interest expanded
as she began to tutor Hispanic immigrants at a local ESL program. Through this, she discovered her
passion for teaching, Latin American culture, and immigrant rights. She has worked with the ESL
program since her freshman year, and is currently teaching a class of pre-beginners and is loving it!
She spent a semester in Buenos Aires and had the time of her life dancing tango, navigating the city,
and travelling to beach towns in Uruguay and Chile. Her interests in Latin America include (but are
not limited to) gender and sex roles in Argentina, magical realism, Mexican immigration and drugtrade, and creativity as a means for social change. After graduation, Annie plans to return to South
America to travel and teach ESL with the eventual goal of joining the Peace Corps.
Ereeni Roulakis is a native Californian from Pasadena and is in her fourth year at Tulane. She is
studying Latin American Studies and History, with a supposed concentration in the Middle East as
an attempt to expand her knowledge of different regions. During her four years at Tulane, she has
had the opportunity to study in Costa Rica with the Stone Center for Latin American Studies and
studied abroad for a semester in Argentina. This summer she was also fortunate enough to receive a
grant to go to Bolivia to conduct research and bike down EL CAMINO MAS PELIGROSO EN EL
MUNDO. She survived and currently is planning her next adventure.
A native Louisianan, Meredith Soniat du Fossat transferred to Tulane from Sarah Lawrence
College in New York. She developed an interest in Latin America after reading El amor en los
tiempos del cólera by Gabriel Garcia Márquez and Veinte poemas de amor y una canción
desesperada by Pablo Neruda. She speaks French and is perfecting her Spanish. Focusing on the
Caribbean, her academic interests include documentary film, postcolonial literature, and cultural
studies.
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Christine Sweeney is in the process of completing a Latin American Studies and International
Development double major with a minor in Spanish. Given the opportunity to travel from a very
young age, Christine developed an interest in learning about the way in which people live within
different cultures. An avid travel journalism reader, she was enchanted by the lure of diverse
cultures within Latin America throughout high school and decided she must study abroad in Buenos
Aires, Argentina. From the start of her college career, Christine took advantage of as many
opportunities as possible to learn about the language, music, food and history of this intoxicating
region. She has volunteered with the Hispanic Apostolate ESL program and interned with Poder
Ciudadano, an NGO promoting political involvement in Argentina. Upon graduating, Christine
hopes to work for the United States Government utilizing her knowledge of Latin America and
Spanish language skills.
Kelsey Torres is a junior from Melbourne, Florida currently double majoring in Latin American
Studies and International Relations. Her interest in the Spanish language and Latin America began
with childhood trips to Mexico City to visit family and to Spain, where her family is originally from.
Last fall she tutored ESL classes at Delgado Community College and continues to study Spanish.
Kelsey’s interest lies primarily in gender and cultural studies, particularly in Argentina, where she
hopes to study abroad next fall.
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