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This paper analyzes the case of Porto Alegre, Brazil as a counter-hegemonic global city. Porto Alegre is a city with no particular relevance to neoliberal globalization that, nevertheless, was launched to a global scale by transformations in local governance. New mechanisms of deliberative democracy captured the attention of social actors constructing a movement of globalization from below, making Porto Alegre the de facto capital of the World Social Forum. In this paper I focus on the educational policies created in the city, which expanded the social imaginary in education and are a key component of Porto Alegre's "globalization". (Contains 8 notes.)

This article begins with a discussion of the implications of CONFINTEA VI having been organised in Brazil--the author uses the term "Brazilian effect"--and the role of social movements challenging neoliberalism. Next, drawing from the experience of Latin America, this paper analyses the counter-hegemonic practice of the new social movements. The concluding section highlights the dilemmas faced by UNESCO in trying to create a democratic and efficient process of policy-making and institutional service in adult education in the nation-states. Furthermore, the proposal of popular education portrayed by the new social movements is described as a tool for empowerment. CONFINTEA VI's recommendation of moving from rhetoric to action in adult education programmes, practices and policies demands that we take the agendas of the new social movements in the post-neoliberalism era seriously.

What are the effects of extractive informal institutions on the horizontal accountability process in a developing democracy? This paper presents evidence about the harmful effects of extractive informal institutions on horizontal accountability within subnational governments in Brazil. After three decades of free and competitive elections, the institutional design of oversight institutions for state governments has hardly changed. We explore the hypothesis that more extractive informal institutions, measured by the level of income inequality, is associated with decreasing transparency levels. Given its extensive social, political, and economic diversity embedded in an overall centralized formal institutional framework, Brazil provides an appropriate setting to test the hypothesis that extractive informal institutions responsible for increased income inequality can undermine horizontal accountability in new democracies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista do Serviço Público (Civil Service Review) is the property of Revista do Servico Publico and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Acta Scientiarium: Education is the property of Universidade Estadual de Maringa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Since the 1970s scholars have questioned the myth of a racial democracy in Brazil. Their critique is rooted in the prolonged socioeconomic inequalities that continue along racial/color lines to prevail within the Brazilian society, reinforced by regional inequalities in the economic development of the five regions that comprise the country. Additionally, these regions have an ethno-racial dimension that further supports the claim of a racial hegemonic democracy. Through cross-sectional analyses this paper shows that race/color and educational attainment determine earnings potential in Brazil. The paper also demonstrates the existence of a weak correlation among race/color, region and earnings potential in Brazil. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The objective of this study is to investigate the role of democracy, ecological footprint, economic growth, and globalisation in enhancing sustainable electricity consumption in an ecological reserve–based country of Brazil over the period 1971–2014. To achieve this objective, the minimum Lagrange multiplier (LM) unit root and Bayer–Hanck combined cointegration tests are applied. The model is estimated using the fully modified ordinary least squares (FM-OLS) and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) estimation procedures. The empirical results suggest that all the variables have a positive and significant effect on electricity consumption. This implies that increasing the level of these variables would stimulate electricity consumption. The long-run causality results indicate a one-way causality running from ecological footprint, democracy, and globalisation to electricity consumption. The results further discover that causality flows from ecological footprint, democracy, and globalisation to economic growth. In addition, a long-run bidirectional causal relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth is uncovered. In the short run, the result validates a bidirectional causality between ecological footprint and electricity consumption. More so, electricity consumption causes economic growth and democracy, whilst economic growth causes globalisation. The results are validated by the innovation accounting tests. The policy implication of the findings is that ecological-based conservation policies could have negative consequences on economic growth and electricity consumption because of a significant dependence of these two variables on the ecological footprint. Therefore, to guarantee sustainable electricity consumption, sufficient and sustainable green energy and optimum energy mix should be encouraged by the stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the evolution of democratic practice in Brazil. The article begins with a discussion on the country's performance in terms of social equality, violence, and weak economy after the consolidation of democracy in 1985. Based on historical evidence, the article offers explanations concerning the weak performance in Brazil. The case of Brazil provides a challenge to the theory of open access order of North and his colleagues in the sense that open access to political organizations and activities does not necessarily lead to either better political representation or better economic performance. The case of Brazil also shows that open access to economic organizations and activities in the absence of the necessary institutions in the areas of property rights protection and contract enforcement, the financial market, the rule of law, and human resources accumulation does not lead to long-term economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although recent interpretations of Brazil’s current political crisis are not wrong in bringing out the institutional problems related to presidencialismo de coalisão and with the judicialization of politics, they do not take into account an important factor fueling the crisis: the acute decrease in the legitimacy of political institutions, and particularly of the president. After briefly showing that this decrease cannot be credited to poor economic performance, I analyze the big media coverage of President Dilma Rousseff and of her party (Workers’ Party), to reveal its tremendous negative bias, if compared to other political figures and parties. I conclude by pointing out that the oligopolistic hold that the large politically active conservative media conglomerates have on the flux of political information must be take into account in political analysis and that it is a major problem for the stability of democracy in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canoas, a city in southern Brazil, is innovating radical forms of democratic government in order to involve all residents in decision-making for the city. Their achievements are so unprecedented that the United Nations awarded them a first prize for citizenship engagement. Tackling decades of exclusion, poverty, and pollution, the Mayor Jairo Jorge of the Workers' Party has led a restructuring of city government to facilitate a redistribution of wealth and power. This article examines this 'new system of government,' highlighting programs, initiatives, and priorities for a sustainable economic development based on democratic participation and decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]