Some thoughts on social cohesion in Latin America

Eugenio Tironi Santiago, 13 de mayo 2008

Portadas 3 libros

SOMETHOUGHTSONSOCIALCOHESIONINLATINAMERICA Eugenio Tironi Conference New Challenges for Democracy and Development in Latin America, January 21, 2010, University of California, San Diego Sponsored by the Center on Pacific Economies (CPE) and the Corporación de Estudios para Latinoamérica (CIEPLAN)

What is SC?

• Anglo-Saxon Tradition: management of multiculturalism to avoid violence.

• Continental European Tradition: expansion of social rights trough state intervention.

AN “HYBRID” DEFINITION: The capacity of a democratic society to foster a legitimate structure for distributing socioeconomic resources (wellbeing), sociopolitical resources (rights) and socio - cultural resources (recognition), through the combined action of the state, the market, families, and community networks.

www.ecosocialsurvey.org 7 países, grandes ciudades, presencial, march – april 2007

1.400 casos

Gran Santiago, Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Antofagasta,

Concepción, Talcahuano, Temuco, La Serena, Coquimbo

Mar-Abr 2007

1.400 casos

Gran Buenos Aires, Gran Rosario, Gran Córdoba, Gran Mendoza

Mar-Abr 2007

1.700 casos

Sao Paulo, Río de Janeiro, Salvador, Porto Alegre

Mar-Abr 2007 1.400 casos

Lima, Callao, Arequipa, Trujillo, Chiclayo

Mar-Abr 2007

1.200 casos

Ciudad de Guatemala, Alta Verapaz, Chiimaltenango, Escuintla,

Huehuetenango, Quetzaltenango, Sacatepequez, San Marcos,

Suchitepequez

Mar-Abr 2007

1.500 casos

Ciudad de México, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Puebla

Mar-Abr 2007

1.400 casos

Bogotá, Cali, Medellín, Barranquilla

Mar-Abr 2007

I.  FIVE PILLARS OF LATIN AMERICAN

SOCIAL COHESTION (LASC)

1. Moderate perception of social discrimination and polarization.

 16% for being poor

 11% for race or ethnicity

 11% for political alignment

 10% for religion beliefs

Degrees of polarization: identification with a group + aversion

toward a contrary group

SOCIOECON. POLITICAL RELIGIOUS ETHNIC

21 12 38 8

2. Legitimacy of inequality • Poverty and wealth are attributed to (acquired) factors related to individual achievement rather than to (assigned) factors related to the system itself

• Culture of individual achievement is being imposed on all social levels.

Total 52 Peru 67 Mexico 62 Guatemala 57 Chile 53 Colombia 50 Brazil 41 Argentina 34

Acquisitional reasons to explain wealth and poverty

3. The “(Latin) American dream”

• Positive experience and high expectations of social mobility.

• Future hopes compensate current inequality.

The “Latin American Dream?”

High levels of inequality mitigated by high expectations of mobility.

4. Strong primary bonds and common beliefs

• Family attachment: 77%

• Number of friends: 5,7

• Known neighbors: 8,4

• National loyalty: 76%

• Religious identification: 87%

4. Strong primary bonds and common beliefs

LASC depends more on family ties, religion and the neighborhood than it does

on the State, civil society or the market.

5.”Golden Years”

Drop in fertility, especially among lower income groups.

Favorable ratio between economically active and passive populations.

Greater availability of goods and services per inhabitant.

Increase in the resources that homes and social policies can allocate to the education of children, especially for the middle and lower income segments.

Demographic bonus

LASC PILLARS

SENSE OF SOCIAL

INTEGRATION

INDIVIDUALISTIC APROACH

STRONG PRIMARY BONDS

DEMOGRAPHIC BONUS

II. Five threats to LASC

1. End of the “female subsidy” to LASC

• Reduction in traditional extended and nuclear families.

• Greater participation by women in the workforce.

• The women’s “subsidy” of LASC by taking care of children and the elderly could be coming to an end.

2. Virus of mistrust

• Mistrust of people from outside one’s intimate circle. • High levels of homogamy • “Binding” vs. “bridging” social capital.

2. Virus of mistrust

• Low levels of institutional integration. • Low levels of unconditional support for democracy.

3. Legitimization of violence

Over one third justify the use of force or violence to further social, environmental, ethnic, or political

causes.

4. Specter of disorganization

•  30% declare that they live in a neighborhood with drug dealing, robberies, muggings and street violence.

•  40% declare feeling victimized and afraid.

•  The poorest people are the most vulnerable to fear.

• 35% justify having firearms to defend themselves from crime.

• 42% believe that “criminals should not have the same rights” as other citizens.

• 35% of those who value democracy declare that criminals’ rights should not be respected.

The threat of authoritarianism could emerge, not from ideologized political elites (as before), but

rather from the population’s fear of crime.

5. Frustrated Hopes Erosion of traditional ties and

beliefs as an result of modernization.

System’s inability to satisfy hopes for progress and social

mobility.

Social disorder, mistrust, and scant institutional legitimacy.

LASC THREATS

END OF “FEMALE SUBSIDY”

MISTRUST

LEGITIMATION OF INDIVIDUAL VIOLENCE

FRUSTRATION

III. WHAT CAN BE DONE TO STRENGTH SOCIAL COHESION IN LATIN

AMERICA?

1. Social cohesion is a public good that public policy can and should

promote

2. Reinforce the gender issue when devising pro-cohesion public policies.

3. Revalue families: public social policies cannot be sustained exclusively in the state and the market.

4. Education contents matters to social cohesion.

• Latin American schools:

– From “citizenship” education to “human capital”.

– From “The Nation” to global citizenship (human rights, gender, environment concern…)

–  From “Republic” to “identities” (ethnicity, communities…)

• SC as a guiding principle of educational contents and practices:

1. To make the Nation the anchors of communities that schools are trying to create

2. To correct the absence or weaknesses of public arena.

3.  To balance anti-political trends of the market culture and the effects of individualization.

5. Politics matters

• Public policy and policymakers must respond to politics and politicians.

Eugenio Tironi Santiago, 13 de mayo 2008

Portadas 3 libros

SOMETHOUGHTSONSOCIALCOHESIONINLATINAMERICA Eugenio Tironi Conference New Challenges for Democracy and Development in Latin America, January 21, 2010, University of California, San Diego Sponsored by the Center on Pacific Economies (CPE) and the Corporación de Estudios para Latinoamérica (CIEPLAN)