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This paper considers the notion of "gambiarra", a feature of Brazilian and Latin American culture, as a literary element in two short stories of the Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano. In this sense, some theoretical-critical approaches will be proposed for possible meanings to "gambiarra," not only as a materially objectified element, but also as a process, an action and a production method. I present as hypotheses some of the socio-historical determinations that enable "gambiarra" as a social phenomenon as well as its categorization as a concrete expression of a certain ontological human tendency. The analysis of the short stories, after brief considerations about the author and his work, seeks to understand how the articulation of the "gambiarra" manifests itself in the narratives, allowing also dialectical glimpses about its social dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the case of Latin America, discussions of this kind on the political economy of academic research soon acquire a linguistic connotation. Many Latin American scholars regard English as a colonial or neocolonial language engaged in a permanent struggle with Spanish. This is an interesting point because in Latin America Spanish is itself a „„colonial" language that for more than 500 years has dominated a host of indigenous languages. In this paper discussion is rendered more complicated by the fact that those fostering progressive political aims have reverted to the nineteenthcentury ultranationalist view of English and Anglo-Saxon culture as a directthreat totheir (superior)Hispanicculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a critical analysis of the last 250 years of Cuban political history, from a perspective of its integration in the Spanish Caribbean. We discuss how the traditional Cuban political and ideological intolerance has contributed to the creation of an inefficient model of regime succession that has taken the country to its current stage. We present and examine several national and international conditions that we believe are necessary to achieve a peaceful transition toward an open and pluralistic system. We analyze and compare the transitions in Brazil, Mexico and Spain. And we draw several conclusions that may be applicable to the Cuban case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]