Caribbean States Research Articles

Nomenclatural revision of Celtis (Cannabaceae) described for northern South America, Central America, the Caribbean and the southern United States

In preparation for a taxonomic review and a global phylogeny focusing on the Neotropical lineages of Celtis, the names described to northern South America, the Caribbean, Central America and southern United States were revised. For the northern axis, 87 names were identified, 60 of which have been reviewed in this contribution. Lectotypes are designated for Celtis berlandieri, C. dichotoma, C. jamaicensis, C. litoralis, C. pavonii, C. pubescens, C. riparia, C. rufescens, C. schiedeana, C. swartzii, C. tikalana, C. triflora, C. velutina and Sponia chichilea. Neotypes were assigned to C. berteroana and C. lamarckiana. Thirty-three names did not undergo changes in their typological status and five were excluded. Among the results, we highlight the (unpublished) location of the holotype of Celtis laevigata, as well as the designation of an epitype for this same species.

Interviews with guerrilla leaders and military commanders in Latin America, 1959 to the 2000s

ABSTRACT In Latin America and the Caribbean, the period of the Cold War was characterized by coups d’état, revolts by competing military juntas, and anti-communist dictatorships. It was also a time of revolutionaries and insurgents, students taking up arms, churchgoers converted into radical rebels, Catholic priests and nuns transformed into guerrilleros, slum dwellers becoming members of underground leftist movements, and peasant associations joining insurrectional movements. Young people became radicalized, youth wings of political parties joined the underground resistance, and liberation movements appeared in nearly all of the countries in Latin American and in several Caribbean island states. Rather than provide any hypothesis about this insurgency and military counter-insurgency, this article draws attention to an additional layer of oral history by reviewing older, original documents and recording extensive interviews with key figures, giving voice to several operatives who hold direct insights into the workings of these movements over a long period of time.

Identifying opportunities for blue economy exports in caribbean small states

ABSTRACT The blue economy balances oceanic economic activity with sustainable development. It includes harvesting and extractive industries, such as fishing, resource generation (energy and water), trade and health. Existing literature has linked the blue economy to positive economic growth when its potential is maximised. Despite the importance of the subject, there are few studies on the economic benefits and opportunities that Small States can derive from the blue economy. This paper uses the case of the CARICOM region, whose combined exclusive economic zones is 4.5 times larger than the land area. This study analysed the potential economic benefits of the blue economy in CARICOM by investigating the comparative advantages of blue exports in ocean goods traded for the region and the individual member states. The results suggest that CARICOM countries have a comparative advantage in their traditional industries and opportunities to exploit many other blue industries.

«Putting it all back where it belongs»: Repatriation of Cultural Objects in the Relations between the UK and Latin American and Caribbean States

«Putting it all back where it belongs»: Repatriation of Cultural Objects in the Relations between the UK and Latin American and Caribbean States

Latin American regionalism and integration in the ongoing process of hegemonic transition

When observing the critical balance of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in the 21st century, caught between the withdrawal of the United States and the rise of China in the global and regional political and economic stage, one cannot but wonder on what course the processes of regional integration and regionalism will follow in Latin America and the Caribbean in this context. Our hypothesis is that regionalism and the processes of regional integration cannot be understood as “autonomist” processes—that is, as mere processes of facilitating consensus between different regional political actors—but must rather be perceived as a convergence with extraregional hegemonic powers, even amidst an absolute ideological diversity. Therefore, this work looks into the changes taking place within regionalism and the schemes of regional integration led by the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in the face of the ongoing anomalous and interstitial process of hegemonic transition from the United States to China that appears to be taking place; these are, undoubtedly, the extraregional references shaping LAC regionalism in the 21st century.

China-Mexico Economic Relationship in the Context of China’s Penetration in Latin America

China’s relationship with Latin America countries experienced a process of significant expansion over the past two decades. Even though Latin America was not considered as part of the BRI when it was first established, China designed its economic strategy toward the region by emphasizing investment, financial and industrial capacity cooperation, besides trade. Afterwards, China invited Latin American countries to participate in the BRI at the China–Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Ministerial Forum in Santiago in January 2018. Twenty-one Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries have signed up to the BRI. However, there are few LAC countries that have not done so, among them the region’s largest economies such as Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, although Brazil is with full AIIB membership. This paper focuses on the specific economic relations between China and Mexico, as far as Mexico is the less involved LA country into the BRI, and Mexico’s position toward China is more aligned with that of its North American partners than to the Latin American countries. This article analyzes the specific situation of Mexico, characterized by its deep integration and dependency on the US market and examines the current economic relations of China and Mexico, considering the impact of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement on the bilateral economic relations. The structure of bilateral trade between Mexico and China is also examined, using the Grubel-Lloyd Index (GLI).

Assessment of barriers to cancer screening and interventions implemented to overcome these barriers in 27 Latin American and Caribbean countries.

There is a gap in the understanding of the barriers to cancer screening participation and complying with downstream management in the Community of Latin American and Caribbean states (CELAC). Our study aimed to assess barriers across the cancer screening pathway from the health system perspective, and interventions in place to improve screening in CELAC. A standardized tool was used to collect information on the barriers across the screening pathway through engagement with the health authorities of 27 member states of CELAC. Barriers were organized in a framework adapted from the Tanahashi conceptual model and consisted of the following dimensions: availability of services, access (covering accessibility and affordability), acceptability, user-provider interaction, and effectiveness of services (which includes governance, protocols and guidelines, information system, and quality assurance). The tool also collected information of interventions in place, categorized in user-directed interventions to increase demand, user-directed interventions to increase access, provider-directed interventions, and policy and system-level interventions. All countries prioritized barriers related to the information systems, such as the population register not being accurate or complete (N = 19; 70.4%). All countries implemented some kind of intervention to improve cancer screening, group education being the most reported (N = 23; 85.2%). Training on screening delivery was the most referred provider-directed intervention (N = 19; 70.4%). The study has identified several barriers to the implementation of cancer screening in the region and interventions in place to overcome some of the barriers. Further analysis is required to evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions in achieving their objectives.

La CELAC y su interacción con diferentes actores globales para promover el multilateralismo

This research examines the relationship of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) with other global actors. Specifically, it focuses on CELAC's interactions with key actors such as the European Union, and analyzes the impact of these relationships on geopolitics and international dynamics. This article aims to shed light on the nature and significance of the interaction between the EU and CELAC, exploring the underlying motivations, objectives and out-comes, also taking into account the global context and the formation of allies around the conflict in Ukraine. The study of these relations will provide a more complete vision of CELAC's participation in the global arena, providing valuable information for political decision-making and the construction of regional strategies for the benefit of the countries that make up the community.

Exploring transdiagnostic stress and trauma-related symptoms across the world: a latent class analysis

ABSTRACT Background: Although trauma exposure is universally prevalent, the ways in which individuals respond to potentially traumatic events vary. Between-country differences have been identified as affecting the development and manifestation of transdiagnostic psychological symptoms, but it remains unclear how stress and trauma-related transdiagnostic symptoms and risk patterns differ based on geographic region. Objective: To explore whether there are distinct classes of stress and trauma-related transdiagnostic symptoms and to determine predictors of class membership in a global sample. Method: Participants (N = 8675) from 115 different countries were recruited online between 2020–2022 and completed the Global Psychotrauma Screen, which assesses stress and trauma exposure, related symptoms, and risk factors. A latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify classes of stress and trauma-related symptoms per world region (African States, Asia-Pacific States, Eastern European States, Latin American and Caribbean States, Western European and Other States, and North America) and the total sample. Likelihood of class membership was assessed based on demographics, characteristics of the potentially traumatic event, and potential risk factors across the world regions. Results: Similar class compositions were observed across regions. A joint latent class analysis identified three classes that differed by symptom severity (i.e. high, moderate, low). Multinomial logistic regression analyses revealed several factors that conferred greater risk for experiencing higher levels of symptoms, including geographic region, gender, and lack of social support, among others. Conclusions: Stress and trauma-related symptoms seem to be similarly transdiagnostic across the world, supporting the value of a transdiagnostic assessment.

Climatic and soil characteristics account for the genetic structure of the invasive cactus moth Cactoblastis cactorum, in its native range in Argentina.

Knowledge of the physical and environmental conditions that may limit the migration of invasive species is crucial to assess the potential for expansion outside their native ranges. The cactus moth, Cactoblastis cactorum, is native to South America (Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil) and has been introduced and invaded the Caribbean and southern United States, among other regions. In North America there is an ongoing process of range expansion threatening cacti biodiversity of the genus Opuntia and the commercial profits of domesticated Opuntia ficus-indica. To further understand what influences the distribution and genetic structure of this otherwise important threat to native and managed ecosystems, in the present study we combined ecological niche modeling and population genetic analyses to identify potential environmental barriers in the native region of Argentina. Samples were collected on the host with the wider distribution range, O. ficus-indica. Significant genetic structure was detected using 10 nuclear microsatellites and 24 sampling sites. At least six genetic groups delimited by mountain ranges, salt flats and wetlands were mainly located to the west of the Dry Chaco ecoregion. Niche modeling supports that this region has high environmental suitability where the upper soil temperature and humidity, soil carbon content and precipitation were the main environmental factors that explain the presence of the moth. Environmental filters such as the upper soil layer may be critical for pupal survival and consequently for the establishment of populations in new habitats, whereas the presence of available hosts is a necessary conditions for insect survival, upper soil and climatic characteristics will determine the opportunities for a successful establishment.

The management of the Covid-19 pandemic and its potential for the relaunch of Latin American and Caribbean regionalism

Covid-19 became a global public health problem of enormous dimensions. Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) governments reacted to prevent the spread of the virus unilaterally in most cases, but some responses were proposed at the regional and subregional levels. The region saw the pandemic emerge in a context of ideological polarization between governments, as a bad omen for its numerous and overlapping regional groupings, which already showed weaknesses and limitations. However, the broad impact of a public health crisis could give regional organizations the opportunity to push for the achieving of a collective agreement that might drive the process further. This paper focuses on the response of Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and Central American Integration System (SICA) in the face of the pandemic and beyond. Our main argument is that the public health crisis of Covid-19 entailed a potential for the relaunch of regionalism improving cooperation, unity and other advanced forms of regionalism. Case studies indicate that the active regional response to the coronavirus owed much to previously installed institutional and political capacity. In CARICOM and SICA, the political will of the presidents coincided with a semi-autonomous activation of the institutional response, leading to optimal results. Still, political leadership may compensate for institutional weakness. The experience of CELAC revealed that leadership in agenda-setting with a technical focus can help promote dialogue and cooperation in a context of ideological polarization.

Smart Agriculture of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States

Smart Agriculture of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States

Indirect Expropriation Clause Clarified in Recent Colombian BITs

Over the past two decades, Caribbean states have been faced with a significant number of investment arbitration proceedings in which investors have claimed that public interest regulatory measures constitute indirect expropriations of foreign investment. As a result, arbitral tribunals have ordered host states to pay heavy compensation to foreign investors. To preserve its right to regulate in the public interest, Colombia has clarified the indirect expropriation clause in most of its recent international investment agreements, clarifying the extent to which a public interest regulation that affects foreign investment constitutes an indirect expropriation. This article seeks to determine to what extent the new clauses of the Colombian agreements contribute to preserving the state’s right to regulate in the public interest.

The common black-eared opossum in the symbolic and iconographic universe. From the effigy ornaments in the lesser Antilles to the European graphics of Simivulpa and its variants in the 16th – 17th centuries

This study focuses on the aesthetic analysis, iconographic variants, and symbolism of the common black-eared opossum (Didelphis marsupialis Linnaeus 1758) in ceramic ornaments of agro-ceramic origin of the Saladoid tradition with Barrancoid influence, located in the south of the Lesser Antilles arc and Venezuela, currently held in different collections, scientific academies, and museums around the world, particularly in the Caribbean and United States. Likewise, it will study an entire corpus of prints with descriptions and illustrations of the marsupial, the latter being elaborated by European artists through wood engravings or etchings. For this purpose, chroniclers and artists often relied on the analogical outline of Aristotle, disarticulating the didelphidae into anatomic parts to later compare them with those of other animals according to their degree of similarity, usually being with species of the so-called Old World, in order to create a ‘new’ concept, in reality, an anomalous creature, resulting from the juxtaposition of images of the ‘old’ over the ‘new’, in order to show the intelligible and unknown of the Caribbean world in a way that is comprehensible and accessible to the human mind, with the objective of providing zoological continuity and closing the gaps that once separated both ‘worlds’, in other words, the semiosis of Charles Sanders Peirce.

Dust Storms as Global Disseminators of Plant Pathogens

This contemporary mycological inquiry investigates into the escalating threat to global food security posed by the dispersal of plant pathogens through airborne dust, exemplified by the simulation of a colossal dust storm, named “Godzilla”. Employing advanced computational models, researchers trace the route of Fusarium oxysporum spores from North Africa across the Atlantic, settling in the Caribbean and southeastern United States. The study estimates the conveyance of over 13,000 viable spores, raising concerns about their impact on agricultural regions, particularly southeastern Louisiana, Mexico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba. While ultraviolet radiation typically neutralizes airborne spores within three days, the focus shifts to spore viability upon landing in vulnerable agricultural zones. Proximity to the dust source in intercontinental regions intensifies the risk, emphasizing the need to understand fungal disease dynamics and identify susceptible agricultural areas. Global prevalence of F. oxysporum and its capacity to infect over 100 crops highlight the potential for significant crop losses and economic consequences. The research underscores the urgency of comprehending disease dissemination dynamics and protecting global food security, emphasizing regions like sub-Saharan Africa as critical sources of viable spores. The study’s preliminary nature prompts a future focus on observational data acquisition, including comprehensive dust storm mapping and genetic comparisons of F. oxysporum, to validate the model’s findings. This research work calls for proactive measures to address the escalating threat of disease, laying the ground work for forthcoming mycological endeavors

Does structural form matter? A comparative analysis of pooled procurement mechanisms for health commodities

IntroductionPooled procurement can be seen as a collaboration initiative of buyers. Such mechanisms have received increased attention during the Covid-19 pandemic to improve access to affordable and quality-assured health commodities. The structural form of pooled procurement mechanisms ranges from a third-party organization that procures on behalf of its buyers to a buyer’s owned mechanism in which buyers operate more collaboratively. However, little is known about how these types of pooled procurement mechanisms differ in terms of characteristics, implementation and developmental process. To fill this gap, we compared four pooled procurement mechanisms. Two buyer’s owned mechanisms: the Organisation of the Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the Pacific Island Countries (PIC). And two third-party mechanisms: the Global Drug Facility (GDF) and the Asthma Drug Facility (ADF).MethodsFor this qualitative study, we used a multiple case-study design. The cases were purposefully selected, based on a most-similar case study design. We used the Pooled Procurement Guidance to collect data on individual cases and compared our findings between the case studies. For our analysis, we drew upon peer-reviewed academic articles, grey literature documents and 9 semi-structured interviews with procurement experts.ResultsBuyers within a buyer’s owned mechanisms differ in procurement systems, financing structures, product needs and regulatory and legal frameworks. Therefore, buyers within such mechanisms require relative alignment on motivations, goals and operations of the mechanism. Our study showed that buyers’ relative homogeneity of characteristics and their perceived urgency of the problems was particularly relevant for achieving that alignment.Third-party organization mechanisms require less alignment and consensus-building between buyers. To participate, buyers need to align with the operations of the third-party organization, instead of other buyers. Elements that were essential for the successful implementation and operation of such mechanisms included the procurement secretariat’s ability to create local and global awareness around the problem, to induce political will to act upon the problem, to mobilize sufficient funding and to attract qualified staff.ConclusionTo successfully sustain pooled procurement mechanisms over time, key actors should drive the mechanism through continuous and reflexive work on stakeholder engagement, mobilization of funding and alignment of interests and needs.

Dementia Attributable Healthcare Utilizations in the Caribbean versus United States.

Despite the high burden of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias among the Hispanic population worldwide, little is known about how dementia affects healthcare utilizations among this population outside of the US, in particular among those in the Caribbean region. This study examines healthcare utilization associated with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias among older adults in the Caribbean as compared to the US. We conducted harmonized analyses of two population-based surveys, the 10/66 Dementia Group Research data collected in Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, and the US-based Health and Retirement Study. We examined changes in hospital nights and physician visits in response to incident and ongoing dementias. Incident dementia significantly increased the risk of hospitalization and number of hospital nights in both populations. Ongoing dementia increased the risk of hospitalization and hospital nights in the US, with imprecise estimates for the Caribbean. The number of physician visits was elevated in the US but not in the Caribbean. The concentration of increased healthcare utilization on hospital care and among patients with incident dementia suggests an opportunity for improved outpatient management of new and existing dementia patients in the Caribbean.

Assessment of organization of cervical and breast cancer screening programmes in the Latin American and the Caribbean states: The CanScreen5 framework.

In the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), breast cancer and cervical cancer are the first and third causes of cancer death among females. The objectives are to assess the characteristics of the cervical and breast cancer screening programmes in CELAC, their level of organization, and the association of screening organization and coverage of essential health services. Representatives of the Ministries of Health of 33 countries were invited to the CanScreen5 project. Twenty-seven countries participated in a "Train The Trainers" programme on cancer screening, and 26 submitted data using standardized questionnaires. Data were discussed and validated. The level of organization of the screening programmes was examined adapting the list of essential elements of organized screening programmes identified in a recently published IARC study. Twenty-one countries reported a screening programme for cervical cancer and 15 for breast cancer. For cervical cancer, 14 countries dedicated budget for screening (66.7%), and women had to pay in 3 countries for screening (14.3%), 9 for diagnosis (42.9%) and 8 for treatment (38.1%). Only 4 countries had a system to invite women individually (19.0%). For breast cancer, 8 countries dedicated budget for screening (53.3%), and women had to pay for screening in 3 countries (20.0%), diagnosis in 7 (46.7%) and treatment in 6 (40.0%). One country (6.7%) invited women individually. There was variability in the level of organization of both cancer screening programmes. The level of organization of cervical cancer screening and coverage of essential health services were correlated. Large gaps were identified in the organization of cervical and breast cancer screening services. CELAC governments need pragmatic public health policies and strengthened health systems. They should guarantee sustainable funding, and universal access to cancer diagnosis and treatment. Moreover, countries should enhance their health information system and ensure adequate monitoring and evaluation.

Afro-Uruguayans

AbstractFor the past several years, affirmative action policies and their implementation have constituted a field of debate and academic research, in dialog with social movements and public policies carried out by various Latin American and Caribbean states, to mitigate persistent historical inequalities related to discrimination and racism. This article presents the results of the implementation of affirmative action policies for Afro-descendants in Uruguay in the workplace between 2014 and 2019, the first five years of implementation of Law No.19122 (which establishes a period of fifteen years in total for its validity). These results were obtained through interviews with key informants and through documentary analysis of the annual reports of the National Civil Service Office for the period under consideration.

Assessing long-distance atmospheric transport of soilborne plant pathogens

Pathogenic fungi are a leading cause of crop disease and primarily spread through microscopic, durable spores adapted differentially for both persistence and dispersal via soil, animals, water, and/or the atmosphere. Computational Earth system models and air pollution models have been used to simulate atmospheric spore transport for aerial-dispersal-adapted (airborne) rust diseases, but the importance of atmospheric spore transport for soil-dispersal-adapted (soilborne) diseases remains unknown. While a few existing simulation studies have focused on intracontinental dispersion, transoceanic and intercontinental atmospheric transport of soilborne spores entrained in agricultural dust aerosols is understudied and may contribute to disease spread. This study adapts the Community Atmosphere Model, the atmospheric component of the Community Earth System Model, to simulate the global transport of the plant pathogenic soilborne fungus Fusarium oxysporum (F. oxy). Our sensitivity study assesses the model’s accuracy in long-distance aerosol transport and the impact of deposition rate on simulated long-distance spore transport in Summer 2020 during a major dust transport event from Northern Sub-Saharan Africa to the Caribbean and southeastern United States (U.S.). We find that decreasing wet and dry deposition rates by an order of magnitude improves representation of long-distance, trans-Atlantic dust transport. Simulations also suggest that a small number of spores can survive trans-Atlantic transport to be deposited in agricultural zones. This number is dependent on source spore parameterization, which we improved through a literature search to yield a global map of F. oxy spore distribution in source agricultural soils. Using this map and aerosol transport modeling, we show how potentially viable spore numbers in the atmosphere decrease with distance traveled and offer a novel danger index for modeled viable spore deposition in agricultural zones. Our work finds that intercontinental transport of viable spores to cropland is greatest between Eurasia, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa, suggesting that future observational studies should concentrate on these regions.