60th Anniversary of Amnesty International

               This month the world's largest NGO for human rights, Amnesty International completed 60 years. So this post is a tribute to them. We all must to work to strengthen the human rights, democracy and justice and I hope all human rights defenders understand the importance to share each other work, messages and stories, creating a large net of information about violations happening and possible risks to human rights defenders. If we all want a fairer and more democratic world, we all should become a human rights defender. Professionals defenders like those from Amnesty should have more power to make their claims. And I think everybody want a better world. This post is a summary of three articles. The first was published at https://northeastbylines.co.uk/amnesty-international-is-sixty-years-old/. The second was published at   https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU2105/S00248/amnesty-international-turns-60.htm. The third was published at https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/05/60-years-of-humanity-in-action/

               "Open your newspaper any day of the week and you will find a story from somewhere of someone being imprisoned, tortured or executed because his opinions or religion are unacceptable to his government...." These words are taken from an article by the late British lawyer Peter Benenson entitled "The Forgotten Prisoners" which was published in The Observer on 29 May 1961 yet they could have been written today. Beneson put pen to paper 60 years ago after learning of the imprisonment of two Portuguese students for raising a toast to freedom. (At that time the dictator Salazar ruled Portugal). Peter Benenson's article launched the "Appeal for Amnesty 1961", a worldwide campaign that provoked a huge response. Reprinted in newspaper across the world, his call to action resonated with the values and aspirations of decent people everywhere. This became the genesis of Amnesty International, the world's largest grassroots human rights organization. On 28 May representatives from North East England Amnesty International attended a 60th anniversary commemoration event. Glasses were raised in a toast to freedom in front of a stained glass window depicting the iconic Amnesty candle. This symbolic act is important not only as a mark of recognition for all cases that Amnesty has worked on over the decades, but also as a means of raising awareness of the ongoing violations that need our attention today. Steve Newman, Chair of Amnesty International's Wearside Group and one of the organisers behind the event, first got involved with the charity after travelling around the Asia in the 1980s. He learnt about a wide range of human rights abuses. Amnesty International works to protect people wherever justice, truth and dignity are denied, whether that is in the south or here in the U.K. Benenson's call to action was a heartfelt response to appalling abuse of power by state apparatus. He intended a simple year long campaign focused on 'prisoners of conscience'. 60 years later the work of Amnesty continues to be just as important. Sustained pressure has changed laws in dozens of countries on issues such as refugees, reproductive rights, LGBT equality, and free speech.                                                           A stunning film with Amnesty activists in five iconic global landmarks and dramatic celestial drone art is released to day to celebrate Amnesty International's 60th anniversary. An orchestral version of Peter Gabriel's human rights anthem 'Biko' provides the soundtrack with vocals from The Spirituals choir in London. Peter Gabriel, an Amnesty International Ambassador of conscience, said: "It was a race against time but definitely worth it. Now more than ever, we need as many people as possible to start taking injustice personally and to get involved in any way they can. Amnesty has been doing extraordinary work around the world which I believe is really important and supported for forty years." Bill Shipsey, Founder of Art for Amnesty, who conceived the idea of the film said: "This film combining art, music, poetry and technology is a thank you and testament to the contributions of the millions of Amnesty members present and past who have worked tirelessly for human rights over the past 60 years. We hope the film will inspire a new generation of activists to take action for human rights."                                                                                                                                                                 Amnesty International was founded in 1961 on the idea that together ordinary people can change the world. Today is a worldwide movement for human rights, calling on the collective power of 10 million people, each one committed to fighting for justice, equality and freedom everywhere. Change has not happened overnight. It's taken persistence and a belief in the power of humanity to make a difference. And the result? The release of tens of thousands of people imprisoned for their beliefs or their way of life. Previously untouchable leaders brought to account. Amended laws and changed lives. How do we measure 60 years of collective action? It's there in the accused who is given a fair trial. It's there in the activists freed to continue their defence of human rights. It's there in the marginalised communities who defended their homes from destruction. Sixty years on, we are still battling for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all. And we won't stop until it's achieved. In 1973, Amnesty issues its first full urgent action, encouraging the public to act on behalf of Luiz Basilio Rossi, a Brazilian professor arrested for political reasons. "I knew that my case had become public, I knew they could no longer kill me. Then the pressure on me decreased and conditions improved." Since then, Amnesty supporters across the world have campaigned on behalf of thousands of individuals, families and communities. In the 1970s, Chile's regime under General Pinochet agrees to admit a Amnesty International mission to investigate allegations of massive human rights violations. More than 20 years later, Amnesty is a party to legal proceedings that lead to Pinochet's arrest in the U.K. for crimes committed in Chile. In 1979, Amnesty International publishes a list of 2,665 cases of people known to have "disappeared" in Argentina after the military coup. In 2017, the Kenya High Court blocks the government's decision to shut Dadaab refugee camp. the world's largest refugee camp. The ruling comes in response to a petition by two Kenyan human rights organizations, which was supported by Amnesty. In 2018, an European Court of Human Rights ruling finds that the U.K. intelligence services bulk interception of millions of private communications breached human rights laws. The landmark judgment was further expanded by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in 2021, marking clear that unfettered surveillance, violates people's rights to privacy and to free expression and requiring the establishment of robust safeguards against abuse.

The Global State of Democracy 2019

                 This post is the summary of the book published with the incomplete title above in November 2019 at https://www.idea.int/sites/default/files/publications/the-global-state-of-democracy-2019.pdf

                    Democracy is ill and its promise needs revival. While the idea of democracy continues to mobilize people around the world, the practice of existing democracies has disappointed and disillusioned many citizens and democracy advocates. Democratic erosion is occurring in different settings and contexts. New democracies are often weak and fragile. Older democracies are struggling to guarantee equitable and sustainable economic and social development. The rise of populist politics is linked to a variety of context-specific factors, but some common drivers include a disenchantment with traditional political actors; the perceived inability of political systems to address core societal and economic problems; and a clash between expectations of what democracy should provide. Populists tap into citizen discontent about rising inequalities, corruption, increasing mass migration, unemployment, and increased digitalization and its impact on labour markets. At the same time, a number of large countries with political and economic clout seem immune to democracy. These political regimes not only persist as non-democracies (e.g. China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia), but have also begun to export their model of governance. Despite this gloomy picture, there are also reasons for optimism. Democratic transitions continue to occur in regimes that seemed staunchly undemocratic or stuck in the hybrid grey zone between democracy and non-democracy. Examples include: Gambia, Ethiopia, Armenia and Malaysia. Popular demands for democratic reforms backed by intense social mobilization have been witnessed across the world in places such as Algeria, Hong Kong, Russia and Sudan. New democracies such as Timor-Leste and Tunisia have also consolidated their democratic gains. The data shows that democracies are more likely to create the conditions for sustainable development. Levels of gender equality are higher in democracies, access to political power is more equal, and there is less corruption. The world needs more and better democracy, to revive the democratic promise. A total of 10 countries are currently experiencing democratic backsliding. The most severe cases are Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Turkey. Venezuela represents the most severe democratic backsliding case in the past four decades. Latin America is the third-most democratic region in the world, after North America and Europe, with all but three countries classified as democracies. Democracies in the region have proven resilient. Latin America has a heterogenous democratic landscape. The best performing aspects of Latin American democracy compared to the rest of the world are Electoral Participation and Freedom of Religion. Latin America and the Caribbean ((LAC) is the region  with most advances in political gender equality in the past decades. Together with Europe, the region has the highest representation of women in parliament, averaging 27% which is above the world average of 24%. Cuba is the only country in the region not to have undergone a democratic transition since 1975 and to have persisted as a non-democratic regime for the past four decades. Political parties in LAC are suffering from a crisis of representation. This crisis derives from their difficulty in adapting to societal transformation and increasing expectations of a population deceived by lack of delivery in reducing corruption and inequalities. In order to continue to advance democratically, LAC need to tackle the societal problems they face, reduce corruption and reinvigorate their political party systems. While the large majority of countries in the region have undergone democratic transition and consolidation in the past decades, two countries stand out from that pattern. Nicaragua and Venezuela are among ten countries in the world that have suffered from severe democratic backsliding. Brazil, while still performing in the high range on representative government, had the highest number of subattribute declines in the region between 2013 and 2018. Bolsonaro's election has been seen as a protest against traditional parties and their perceived inability to stave off corruption, reduce social inequalities, reduce crime and violence, and revive an ailing economy. As in other regions in the world, social media is contributing to a profound change in electoral dynamics. Information and communication tech now play an important role as political tools across the political spectrum, and the dissemination of political messages through social media has been a frequent feature in recent elections. In LAC, the current election cycle reveals increasing levels of political polarization, as well as the depth of frustation with political elites and the 'old style of politics'. These developments suggest that the deeper malaise appears to be with politics as it is practised, rather than with the idea of democracy itself. Recent elections of presidential candidates often described by the media as anti-establishment, including Andrés Lopez Labrador in Mexico and Bolsonaro in Brazil, have largely been driven by a sense of civic anger, often directed at corrupt elites, along with a quest to find a political redeemer. However, it is unclear if the region's newly elected leaders will be able to combat its continuing high levels of corruption or whether they will go down the same path as their predecessors who failed in this task. The judiciary is generally perceived as one of the most problematic branches of the state in LAC and remain weak in many countries. Weak judicial capacity affects the ability of countries to adequately combat corruption, crime and violence. Despite democratic advances, levels of corruption remain high in a number of countries in LAC. This constitutes a serious impediment to strengthening the quality of democracy in the region. After the Middle East and Africa, LAC has the largest share of democracies with high levels of corruption. Efforts to fight corruption in the region have often faced resistance from those with political power. This resistance stems from the fact that corruption in a number of countries is deeply embedded within the political structure. Corruption can undermine democracy as high levels of corruption have been shown to reduce citizens trust in democracy. Public funding of political parties, although constructive, has not been the panacea many had expected. In addition, laws regarding limits on campaign have been difficult to impose. The role of illicit funding sources remains a critical problem, particularly at the local level. In Colombia, for instance, about one-third of the legislators in the congress in  were allegedly linked to paramilitary squads. Similar to other regions, LAC has also seen a recent increase in violence against journalists and activists fighting to protect human rights. Along with the concentration of news media, studies have detected large numbers of 'news deserts'  or towns without local news coverage. In Brazil, more than half of all municipalities have no local news outlets. 64 million Brazilians are deprived of adequate news coverage, and therefore impoverished in terms of the quality of democratic debate. The political empowerment of the middle classes is crucial for democracy. Middle classes have demanding effective solutions to the societal challenges affecting the region. Access to justice is the aspect on which LAC performs the poorest compared to the rest of the world. It is urgent to strength the capacity, autonomy, accountability and transparency of the judiciary. Only two countries, Jamaica e Uruguay, have high levels of judicial independence. LAC is the region in the world with the largest share of countries with both high levels of representative government and high levels of corruption. The fight against corruption requires strong political will, intolerance of impunity and a political impartial and integrated approach. Promoting a culture of integrity must become a core priority for all level of government. This requires the input of multiple state institutions at all levels, as well as the private sector and civil society. Their strategies must combine efforts to identify and minimize corruption risks, prevent and sanction corruption, improve technical capacity to investigate and reward integrity. Modernizing the state and strengthening the capacity of a merit-based civil service and public administration and the implementation of open and transparency strategies are also key to the fight against corruption.

Revenue Statistics in Latin America 2020

                     This post is a summary of the book published with the incomplete title above in 2020 at   https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/taxation/revenue-statistics-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean-2020_68739b9b-en-es#page12

                       Revenue statistics in Latin America provides internationally comparable data on tax levels and tax structures for countries. In this publication, "taxes" are defined as compulsory, unrequited payments to general government. Taxes are unrequited in the sense that benefits provided by government to taxpayers are not normally in proportion to their payments. Compulsory social security contributions, paid to governments are classified as taxes. In 2018, the average tax-to-GDP ratios in the LAC (Latin America and Caribbean) region was 23.1%. Across the region, tax-to-GDP ratios ranged from 12.1% in Guatemala to 42.3% in Cuba in 2018. Between 1990 and 2018, the average tax-to-GDP ration in LAC countries rose continuously, increasing from 15.9% to 23.1%. The main contributors to the increase in tax revenues in the LAC region were Value-added taxes (VAT) and taxes on income and profits. Improving tax systems across LAC region is not just a matter of raising higher revenues: the sources of these revenues also matters in addressing the region's social and economic goals. Fiscal policy is essential to build capacities, address development traps and ensure inclusive and sustainable development in LAC countries. This book represents an invaluable resource for governments as they look to strengthen fiscal policy. By providing harmonised and detailed tax data, it allows for in-depth tax-policy analysis, identifying not only how the level of tax revenues varies by country but also which instruments generate these revenues. Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay show similar tax-to-GDP ratios and levels of income to some OECD countries. Empirical analysis suggest that stronger tax collection, accompanied by better institutions, education and economic diversification allowed many OECD countries to evade the middle income trap, in contrast to LAC countries. Tax morale, the intrinsic motivation to pay taxes, is a key aspect of a tax system, since most tax system rely on the voluntary compliance of taxpayers. This tax morale amongst individuals appears to be falling across LAC, albeit from a high base.The proportion of those who find evading taxes "justifiable" increased from 17% to 27%. The finding highlight the role for taxpayer education in building tax morale. OECD has surveyed taxpayer education initiatives in 50 countries to be presented in a 2020 report "Building Tax Culture, Compliance and Citizenship." International co-operation can play an important role in improving tax morale by supporting countries to strengthen and simplify tax system and improve the efficiency and quality of public spending. A country's tax revenue as a share of GDP is a variable defined as the amount of monetary resources that a given country captures by applying a set of taxes and similar instruments that, in general, comprise the essential basis of State financing. In conventional terms, this indicator is usually expressed in relation to a country's gross domestic product (GDP), so as to ensure a comparable unit of measure. Below the ranking with the highest tax-to-GDP ratio to the lowest. We can see the Brazil has the second highest tax-to-GDP ratio in the Americas.

Tax-to-GDP ratio 2018 in PanAmerican countries                                 Rest of the World

Canada    33.2%                                                                                         France      45.9%          

Brazil     33.1%                                                                                         Sweden      43.9%

Uruguay    29.2%                                                                                        Italy       41.9%

Argentina      28.8%                                                                                   Norway      39.6%                                         

 Guyana      27.4%                                                                                      Germany      38.5%

Bolivia     25.4%                                                                                         Portugal       34.8%

U.S.A.        24.4%                                                                                        Spain       34.6%

Costa Rica      24.0                                                                                        U.K.       32.9%

Nicaragua     23.0%                                                                                   New Zealand     32.9%

Honduras       22.3%                                                                                          Japan      32.0%

Chile        21.1%                                                                                             Australia      28.7%

Ecuador    20.6%                                                                                          South Africa       28.6%

Colombia       19.4%                                                                                        Switzerland        28.0%

Peru         16.4%                                                                                              South Korea       26.8 % 

Mexico      16.1%                                                                                                 Russia       24.2%

Panama      14.6%                                                                                                Ireland      22.7%

Paraguay        14.0%                                                                                            India      18.1%

Guatemala     12.1%                                                                                            China        17.5%

                                                              

8º Anniversary of the Protests of June of 2013

                        Last 20th of June one of the biggest protests in Brazil history completed eight years. The reason why this protest is studied until now and others are not, it was its character totally spontaneous, unexpected and non-partisan. And this movement called by some as "June Revolution," must be always remembered. And it is good also to remember what the protesters were asking for and what has changed after so many years. In 2013 the Brazilian people realized that they deserve a better governance, a better return for so many taxes we pay. Besides, we want respect for our basic human rights and justice when they are violated. We want a country where goodness and integrity are exalted and evil and injustice combated.  We want a more transparent and inclusive electoral and political systems.  We want honesty, efficiency, solidarity and accountability from our politicians and authorities. In short, we want a country that really works for the progress of its citizens. In short, we want a governmental system that make the most of our human and material resources. And so Brazil can reach its true potential and finally stop being known as 'the eternal country of the future' and becomes what its potential can make for its citizens. This post is a summary of the three articles. The first with the title of, "How Fighting Corruption is Also Good for Human Rights: The Legacy of the Office of the Prosecutor in Brazil." Published https://www.academia.edu/29450673/How_fighting_corruption_can_also_be_good_for_human_rights_The_Legacy_of_the_Office_of_the_Prosecutor_Brazil. The second was published at  https://blog.softtek.com/en/decreasing-purchasing-power-and-endemic-corruption-fueling-brazil-protests. The third was published at https://www.france24.com/en/20130622-brazil-rousseff-reforms-protests

                       "Corruption is an enormous obstacle to the realization of all human rights, as well as the right to development. Corruption violates the core human rights principles of transparency, accountability, non-discrimination and meaningful participation in every aspect of life of the community. Conversely, these principles, when upheld and implemented, are the most effective means to fight corruption." said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay. During the month of June of 2013, Brazil experienced an intense wave of public protests that targeted a number of controversial political and socio-economic policies. Among them, one in particular served to catalyze and focus widespread dissatisfaction with corruption: the movement against the PEC 37. It would have limited the investigative powers of the Office of the Prosecutor (ministerio publico)  in criminal cases including corruption. In Brazil, The Office of the Prosecutor has been particularly active in investigations into irregularities and cases of corruption involving high public officials and politicians. The anti-PEC 37 movement was able to win the hearts of protesters on the streets, who rose in defense of the Office of the Prosecutor and Congress vote down PEC 37 guaranteeing investigative powers to the Office of the Prosecutor. The mission of Office of the Prosecutor is to promote social justice by bringing actions against individuals, businesses and governments agents in the defense of civil society in general. Because of these vast responsibilities, it has become common practice in Brazil for  citizens to seek out the Office of the Prosecutor whenever they felt their rights have been violated. Brazilians have protested against corruption many times before. The law relating to administrative improbity that defines administrative corruption was signed into effect on June 1992 amidst intense pressure and accusations of corruption that resulted in an impeachment process and the resignation of President Collor. From 2005 to 2012 there were a number of parliamentary investigations, but the investigations of the Office of the Prosecutor were more successful. A strong Office of the Prosecutor is an important pillar for the consolidation of democracy and promotion of human rights.                                                                                                                                                                       The massive public demonstrations that erupted across Brazil in mid-June were sparked by a regional protest over an increase in public bus fares. These protests were not about the tyranny of a despot as in Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, but rather boiled up from the loss of purchasing power, coupled with huge government expenditures on projects leading up to the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics and a perception that the political elite are taking advantage of the situation to enrich themselves, leading to public discontent. The catchphrase of the protests, "it's not just about 20 cents," emerged after a week of evolving demands from the protesters. Like most of the spontaneous protests, Brazil's movement has no cohesive central leadership, and after their initial demand that the bus hike be rescinded was met, protesters offered a variety of reasons for their protests. Protesters have mentioned a number of grievances beyond bus fares, including inadequate education and health systems, ubiquitous corruption, government spending on events like the World Cup and Olympics as well as an increasing cost of living. The Brazilian government was clearly surprised by the protests and the response to them has been somewhat schizophrenic. When their heavy-handed tactics against the initial protests backfired and the social media enabled protests spread like wildfire, Dilma Rousseff backed off and announced plans to convene a constituent assembly, but then changed her mind and offered a plebiscite to ask Brazilians what political reforms they want. Several bills cracking down on corruption have also been fast-tracked in Brazil's notoriously slow Congress.                                                                                                                                                          Brazilian President Dilma Roussef spoke about her generation's struggles in battling a dictatorship during a prime-time speech. The 10-minute address ended Rousseff's much-criticized silence in the face of the protests. She promised to make improvements in urban transportation and to battle corruption, but offered few details as to how that will happen. She also reiterated her backing for a plan before congress to invest all oil revenue royalties in education and a promises she made earlier to bring in foreign doctors to areas that lack physicians. The National Conference of Brazilian Bishops came out in favor of the protests. "This is a phenomenon involving the Brazilian people and the awakening of a new consciousness," church leaders said in the statement. 

Democracy and Human Rights in Contemporary Latin America (2015-2020)

               This report is a really good text to read. I'd like to congratulate the authors, Vegard Bye and Peder Ostebo for such a good human rights report about the situation in Latin America. And also to thank them for their work and also the Chr. Michelsen Institute for its work for democracy, human rights and justice. We all need to embrace this fight for a fairer, democratic, transparent and inclusive world. This post is a summary of the report with the incomplete title above published in 2020 at   https://www.cmi.no/publications/file/7264-literature-review-democracy-and-human-rights-in-contemporary-latin-america-2015-2020-trends.pdf

               The attitudinal development of Latin America citizens has raised widely discussed set of topics in the region throughout the last decades, namely the issues of citizenship, political participation, and the relationship between citizen and government. Centre-left and left-wing governments promoted different mechanisms to deepen participation beyond electoral channels. The legacy of these efforts survive in citizen understanding of democracy. There are, however, inherent problems with these mechanisms. Participatory democracy has in several countries been misused by authoritarian leaders, a tendency which has likely led to both an erosion of faith in democratic institutions and reduced support for the idea of participatory democracy. Many Latin America countries face a multitude of problems impeding effective governance, including economic decline, political instability, diminishing political trust, and polarization. Lack of effective governance is, however, also a cause underpinning many of these problems. While L.A. countries face an array of different governance challenges, a topic that has proved to be particularly acute is the problem of corruption. More than any other event, the corruption scandals concerning the Brazilian companies Petrobras and Odebrecht have contributed to transforming domestic and regional politics. Moreover, corruption scandals have received public attention as an indirect consequence of the rise of political leaders hostile to democratic governance. The combination of a more potent effort to tackle corruption, combined with increased access to information may for instance prove relevant in revealing corrupt practices. The introduction of human rights discourse was a key element in the L.A. transitions to democratic governance. International human rights standards have been a common framework for political and social claims in L.A. societies. This is as true in L.A. as elsewhere. The transition to democracy opened up a wave of constitutional acknowledgement of human rights, and spurred the creation of both national human rights institutions and judicial mechanisms for compliance with international human rights convention. There is, however, a vast gap, between the legal framework and the capacity, or in some cases willingness, of governments to comply and improve the situation. Like the panorama of causal explanation of violent crime are complex. In scholarly literature, crime is often thought of as a determinant of declining political trust, thereby impeding both democratic and economic development. Combinations of high levels of violence, corruption, delegitimization of political regimes, and the presence of strong illegal economic actors (illicit drugs, mining, illegal logging) with capacity to influence the state apparatus and control populations is an example of such a pattern. In many cases, understanding such patterns is key to understanding attacks against human rights defenders and activists. Since the introduction of contemporary human rights discourse in L.A., protection of political activists and promoters of human rights has been a key issue in the region. Moreover, several scholars have highlighted the connection between the influence of activists and the maintenance and effectiveness of human rights institutions. This is perhaps especially relevant for L.A., where human rights activists have played a vital role in pressuring justice, specifically for the adoption of stronger legal framework for prosecuting human rights violations. Summarizing and presenting an overview of democratic development and human rights in L.A. is a highly difficult task. The authors of this report recognize that any such attempt will lead to an incomplete overview. This is partly because of regional diversity, partly because existing literature is only beginning to grasp the complex societal developments that have been taking place over the last half-decade. Understanding past developments is especially acute during the current coronavirus crisis. While the crisis has thrown the region into turmoil, the dynamics deciding its outcome will be shaped by existing capacities, cleavages and conflicts. Protests against corruption and broader protests waves against the functioning of democratic regimes tap into two overarching and connected topics that L.A. political leaders must address to change political dynamics. Firstly, that of performance, transparency, and lacking delivery of welfare policies. Secondly, a more open and including political system. Human rights and the nature of democratic rule are intimately connected. While the human rights agenda has expanded, and continues to expand still, many human rights actors see political rights as threatened. This must be seen in light of weakened regional mechanisms and decreased international presence and pressure by international actors truly committed to human rights work. The current complex political landscape, economic conjunctures, and the sudden and unexpected outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic makes it difficult to make reasonable and credible projections for the coming five-years. It is, however, possible to suggest some key factors that will greatly influence the development of democracy and human rights in the region. 1) Basic human rights are under serious threats, including right to food and right to health. But also security and right to life. Political rights, may again be threatened if authoritarian trends continue, with Brazil as the most worrisome case. 2) When it comes to a more effective promotion of human rights, a key factor will be civil society's capacity to create a climate in which rights discussions thrive and political polarization is prevented from overtaking rights. 3) On an international level, the geopolitical rivalry between the U.S.A. and China and Russia, will have an important effect on political development. In this situation, European countries may have to take a vital role in facilitating conflict resolution and the promotion of human rights and democracy.  

The Human Capital Index 2020

                 This post is a summary of the book with the title above published in 2021 at   https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/34432

                        The Human Capital Index (HCI) is an international metric that benchmarks key components of human capital across economies. The HCI was launched in 2018 as part of the Human Capital Project, a global effort to accelerate progress toward a world where all children can achieve their full potential. Over the past decade, many economies have made important progress in improving human capital. Today, however, COVID-19 pandemic threatens to reverse many of those gains. Urgent action is needed to protect hard-won advances in human capital, particularly among the poor. Human capital consists of the knowledge, skills and health that people accumulate over their lives. Human capital also enables people to realize their potential. The five components of the HCI do not cover all the important aspects of the accumulation and productive use of human capital. In particular, the index is silent on the opportunities to use accumulated human capital in adulthood through meaningful work. In many economies, a sizable fraction of today's young people may not find employment in jobs in which they can use their skills and cognitive abilities to increase their productivity. By bringing salience to the productivity implications of shorfalls in health and education, the HCI has not only clarified the importance of investing in human capital but also highlighted the role that measurement can play in catalyzing consensus for reform. What explain these variations in human capital outcomes? Despite a strong correlation between the HCI and GDP per capita, human capital does not always move in lockstep with economic development. Economies like Burundi, Estonia, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam have HC outcomes that are higher than predicted by their GDP per capita. Conversely, in a number of economies HC is lower than per capita income would suggest. Among these are several  resource-rich countries in which HC has not yet matched the potential that one would anticipate, given these economies' wealth. The HCI is based on outcomes that typically change slowly from year to year. Some of them, such as stunting and educational tests scores, are measured every three years. Health, education, social protection, and other complementary policies informed by rigorous measurement can take countries' human capital beyond the levels previously achieved, opening the way to a more prosperous and inclusive future. The Human Capital Project is a global effort to support human development as a core element of countries' overall strategies to increase growth. The main objective is progress towarda world in which all children can achieve their full potential. For that to happen, children need to reach school well-nourished and ready to learn, attain real learning in the classroom, and enter the job market as healthy, skilled and productive adults. The resulting HCI quantitatively illustrates the key stages in a child's human capital trajectory and their consequences for the productivity of the next generation of workers, with three components: 1) survival from birth to school age, measured using under-5 mortality rates.   2) Expected years of learning-adjusted school, combining information on the quantity and quality of education.   3) health.  Ceará is a northeastern state in Brazil that improved its education outcomes much faster than the rest of Brazil. Almost all of Ceará 184 municipalities had low levels of quality in teaching and had very limited resources, spending about one-third less in per-student education than wealthier states such as São Paulo. Among these municipalities is Sobral (with 200,000 inhabitants), which in the late 1990s suffered from a highly fragmented school system, with many poorly maintained small school, most in rural areas and with multigrade classes. Despite a reorganization of the school system, a 2005 diagnostic found that 40% of grade 3 children were not able to read. and 21% of lower-secondary school students dropped out. Between 2005 and 2015, Sobral managed ro achieve remarkable progress in educational outcomes. It ranked first among 5,570 municipalities in the country in both primary and lower-secondary education. Ceará's approach was driven by a mix of the following elements, whose effectiveness is supported by international evidence: the provision of fiscal and nonmonetary incentives for municipalities to achieve education outcomes; technical assistance to municipal school networks to enhance teacher effectiveness and achieve age-appropriate learning; the regular use of a robust monitoring and evaluation system, following by adequate action; and giving municipalities autonomy and accountability to achieve learning. Sobral organized its education policy under four pillars: continuous use of student assessment, a focused curriculum with a clear learning sequence and prioritization of foundational skills, a pool of well-prepared and motivated teachers, and a system of autonomous and accountable school management with school principals appointed through a meritocratic technical selection process. Continuity of commitment and effort over successive governments is key to reaching any long-term goals, but especially in growing human capital, which can take decades. HCI 2020 arrives at a time when policy makers across the world face urgent choices. Strategic decisions made now have the power to protect and strengthen countries' human capital and, with it, their economic future. Below the HCI 2020 from the highest score to the lowest, the list in the left is for PanAmerican countries and in the right for the rest of the world. Again, for no reason my post is being messed up. The letter became smaller and the two vertical lists that I did as I did on the GDP growth post is totally mixed. 

PanAmerican Countries                                         Rest of the world

Canada   0.80                                                                Japan   0.80                                                              U.S.A.    0.70                                                                 South Korea   0.80                                                   Chile   0.65                                                                   Sweden   0.80                                                          Costa Rica   0.63                                                            Ireland   0.79                                                          Mexico   0.61                                                                  U.K.   0.78                                                             Peru   0.61                                                                      Norway   0.77                                                       Argentina   0.60                                                              Australia   0.77                                                       Uruguay   0.60                                                              Portugal   0.77                                                        Colombia   0.60                                                               France   0.76                                                          Ecuador   0.59                                                                Germany   0.75                                                      Brazil    0.55                                                                    Italy   0.73                                                          Paraguay   0.53                                                              Spain   0.73                                                        Nicaragua   0.51                                                          Vietnam   0.69                                                  Panama   0.50                                                             Russia   0.68                                                   Guyana   0.50                                                                Turkey   0.65                                                    Dominican Republic   0.50                                                      China   0.65                                                   Honduras   0.48                                                               India   0.49                                                    Guatemala   0.46                                                              South Africa   0.43 

140th Birthday of Lima Barreto - Part II

      The tribute to Lima Barreto carries on. This post is a summary of three article. The first was published at   https://repositorio.ufsc.br/xmlui/handle/123456789/95708. The second was published at   https://repositorio.unesp.br/handle/11449/204384. The third was published at https://www.revistas.usp.br/linguaeliteratura/article/view/115700/113228

                 This thesis aims at questioning the possible relations between Lima Barreto personal writings and chronicles with Vida e Morte de Gonzaga de Sá, (1919) his last published novel. Though widely considered as minor genres, the private writings and chronicles are here seen as points of connections and development of his fictional work, but they also can sometimes be seen as potential works of fiction. The social micro reading, which is typical of Lima Barreto is clearly seen in his personal writings and chronicle. In Vida e Morte de Gonzaga de Sá it determines the novel structure with its uneventful plot, composed of insights into everyday life and of memory recollections. It is not a denunciatory novel as Recordações do Escrivão Isaías Caminha (1909) and neither a realist novel as Triste Fim de Policarpo Quaresma (1015). Thus, the train, the cars, the stamps, and fashion are trails of the modernization process that Brazil was going through and they become the subject of the aleatory conversation between Gonzaga de Sá and Augusto Machado.                                                                                                                                                                                                     Lima Barreto points out in his literary production problems faced by the vulnerable population in the new social conformation that appeared in the period called First Republica (1890-1930).Dedicating himself to reporting dramas of the excluded, the writer becomes an important source to understand dilemmas occurred during Belle Époque age. In a simple language, acquired as a journalist, he will assume a combative role against remaining and deep injustices, creating an engaged and criticism literature. We approach how Lima Barreto saw these problems and how his engagement in literature was formed and intensified over the years in different works and chronicles. Discussing countless subjects happening in a country with intense transformation, we will try to address, in addition to the influences Lima Barreto received and shaped him as a writer, themes such as women, racism, disorderly growth throughout the city and people exclusion. City of Rio de Janeiro is important in his works, which show us how poor people were taken to the city outskirts, detailing a difficult social drama to solve.                                                                                                                      Lima Barreto's attitude toward the inclusion and balance of environmental factors and individual tendencies is a kind of thesis of the literary tradition, which preceded him. He favored a return to the sensitivity, idealism, and to the importance of human values, which had been lost in Realism and Naturalism, which had attached excessive attention to the outside world. Lima Barreto was attracted and dreamed of writing a naturalistic novel, but it would be a more psychological one, that is, one which granted more attention and dignity to the individual. He also thought that the excesses of fantasy which were observed in Romanticism should be avoided, that the work of art should be plausible, and reflect reality. Another explanation accounting for Lima Barreto's moralistic attitude toward society was the influence he suffered from the positivistic philosophy of Auguste Comte. He accepted the necessity of a moral transformation before a social reorganization for the better could take place. The latter would be carried out with the help of science.Lima Barreto places literature at the service of sociology. This would help bring about the eventual change in society that he longed for so much. In reference to the moral reformation that must precede any social upheaval, however, Lima Barreto seems to have faith in literature as a self-sufficient force. For him the mission of literature was to break down the barriers of incomprehension between men of different races, epochs, beliefs, social classes by explaining one to the other and showing them the bond they all have in common: sorrow and suffering. Lima Barreto anticipates the movement in world literature called "literatura comprometida" which Guilhermo de Torre states began after World War I. He believed that every writer should be committed to resolving the outstanding social problems of his time. Much of what Lima Barreto says with regard to the moral purpose of literature, the concern for contemporary problems, had been said more than thirty-five years earlier by Eça de Queiroz who in turn took most of his ideas from Proudhon, the French philosopher. Lima Barreto believed that an author must not allow the pressure of professional groups to determine his own opinion. He must constantly struggle against those suppressive elements in his environment, in order to be outspoken and personal in what he writes. Though the society which surrounds him will necessarily be reflected in his works, his attitude towards that society must be original, a result of his own experiences and independent meditation. Lima Barreto hoped to reform society in a moral sense. He wanted all classes, all races, all nationalities to understand and love each another in the humanitarian sense. He wished also to reveal the evils by making his public aware that they exist. Lima Barreto thought that all individual, having become aware of the bad things and in themselves and of the things they had in common with all human beings, would perhaps act to improve society.