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The left has returned to power in Chile and Brazil, but in each country, it pursues a different project. While Lula da Silva's programme was grounded in the achievements of his previous presidencies, Gabriel Boric offered a vision which promised to transform Chile's political and economic order. But while Lula's inclusive, pragmatic, approach has led to some initial successes, a combination of political defeats and unexpected challenges have forced Boric to moderate his agenda and accept that political and economic transformations will require both pragmatism and vision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Echinodorus australis Rataj, a species from southern Brazil and northern Argentina, is here synonymized under Helanthium bolivianum (Rusby) Lehtonen & Myllys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Truck drivers represent a group that is susceptible to the use of stimulant substances to reduce the symptoms of fatigue, which may be caused by a stressful and exhausting work environment. The use of psychoactive substances may increase the risk for involvement in road traffic crashes. Previous studies have demonstrated that amphetamine, cocaine, and cannabis are the 3 main drugs used by Brazilian truck drivers. We studied the prevalence of amphetamine, benzoylecgonine (indicating use of cocaine), and Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid (THC-COOH; indicating use of cannabis) in urine samples from truck drivers in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, using the same methodology during 8 years (2009-2016).Methods: Samples were collected during a health program supported by the Federal Highway Police. Toxicological analyses were performed using immunoassays and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.Results: The total prevalence of illicit drugs was 7.8%. Benzoylecgonine was the most prevalent substance (3.6%), followed by amphetamine (3.4%) and THC-COOH (1.6%). We found the highest drug prevalence in 2010 (11.3%) and the lowest in 2011 (6.1%). We could detect a slight change in the pattern of stimulant use: until 2010, amphetamine was the most prevalent substance; however, in 2011 benzoylecgonine became the most frequently detected substance. This lasted until 2015, probably due to changes in Brazilian legislation regarding appetite suppressants; the most common one is metabolized to amphetamine.Conclusion: These data show that the use of psychoactive substances by truck drivers in Brazil did not decrease during the study period. This reinforces the need for further preventive measures to reduce drug use among drivers, which could lead to a decrease in traffic crashes in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article seeks to add to the growing contribution of discursive approaches to the study of political institutions by analysing the possibilities for cross-fertilisation between discursive institutionalism and post-structuralist discourse theory. Analysing Vivien Schmidt's version of discursive institutionalism, it argues that Schmidt's concept of discourse results in a model of explanation of institutional change that overlooks questions about the relations between power, politics and discourse. It further argues that while post-structural discourse theory has made important contributions to the understanding of the discursive nature of social practices, it has so far failed fully to take on board the institutional dimension of politics. It concludes that an integration of Schmidt's insights on discursive institutionalism with post-structuralist discourse theory allows a more rounded analysis of the political dimension of institutions and of the institutional dimension of politics, as well as a better understanding of institutional change. To illustrate our arguments we draw on our own research to analyse the relations between discourse and institutions in the 2002 presidential electoral campaign in Brazil and in Argentina's poverty reduction policies in the 1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meadows of the seagrass Halodule wrightii occur on shallow subtidal sandy bottoms of euhaline high-energy sites in Paranaguá Bay, Brazil. Close to their southernmost limit in the South Atlantic, local populations are patchy, unstable and most often do not reproduce sexually. We describe morphological and biomass variations of a local H. wrightii meadow off Rasa da Cotinga Island, which deteriorated from a healthy state to subsequently decline and die-off. Leaf width and length, number of leaves per shoot, leaf sheath length, rhizome width, internodal length and biomass, sediment grain size, CaCO3 and POM contents were measured on six sampling dates between November 2004 and October 2005. Compared to other Halodule meadows along the southwestern Atlantic coastline, local plants had shorter and narrower leaves, shorter leaf sheaths, thinner rhizomes, fewer leaves per shoot, a larger internodal distance, and lower biomass. Local variations in morphology and plant biomass followed a seasonal pattern, but were affected by stressor, such as the lowering of temperature, precipitation, and high turbidity associated with southwesterly winds that increased meadow vulnerability. Life history traits of H. wrightii, a short-lived species with rapid growth and ability to reproduce vegetatively under stress conditions, promote resilience and rapid recovery of local meadows, which exhibit a typically fugitive behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines arguments that electoral volatility, political fragmentation and weak institutionalization have produced an unstable political system unsuitable for policy-making and processing change in Brazil. Overview of the political context of the 1985 electoral results; Information on the change in the political system during the 1998 presidential elections; Implications for democracy and the governance of the country.

Presents a study that explored the conditions of the emergence of Brazilian President Fernando Collor de Mello's neopopulist project, the nature of his appeal and the causes of his downfall. Election of Collor in 1989; Similarities and differences between populism and neopopulism; Limitations of neopopulism.

In spite of the important democratic advances registered since Brazil returned to democracy in 1985, widespread human rights violations associated with the right to life continue to be reported. This article examines the nature of human rights violations and the government's attitude to them. Since 1985 there has been a fundamental shift in the relationship between the perpetrators of violations and the state authorities, in the identity of the victims, the motives behind the crimes and the political context in which they take place. During the same period the governments' response to human rights violations has evolved from a reactive to a pro-active strategy, culminating in the launching of the country's first National Plan for the Protection of Human Rights, in May 1996. The article concludes that despite some positive developments, the underlying causes, pattern and intensity of human rights violations continue essentially unabated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the changes in the transmission mechanism of international business cycles between China and Latin America, the impact of an enhancing program in the education system of Brazil and the micro-pricing dynamics in Uruguay using a unique data set by the department of commerce.

Abstract: In this work, a real effluent discharged by Brazilian textile industry, has been electrochemically treated using boron doped diamond (BDD) anode for removing chemical oxygen demand (COD) and colour. Preliminary experiments were performed under real discharged effluent conditions (pH and conductivity) in order to verify the applicability of this treatment process. However, a partial elimination of COD and colour effluent were achieved, depending on applied current density (20, 40 and 60mAcm−2), respectively. Therefore, different set of experiments were carried out where an amount Na2SO4 was added in the real effluent; then, COD of textile effluent was satisfactorily reduced by employing different operational conditions (current density, temperature, Na2SO4 concentration, flow rate), reducing the time of depuration and consequently, the costs, confirming the potential efficiency of this textile effluent treatment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]