SPEAKER: Gerardo Gonzalez, Consultores21 DISCUSSANT: Prof. Javier Corrales (Amherst College) DATE: 11 June 2013 ACTIVITY: CEDLA LECTURE Venezuela continues to be a deeply divided society. Political polarisation shapes the everyday experiences of most Venezuelans, and the April 2013 presidential elections produced an electoral map sharply split between the government and the opposition coalition, the Unidad . Since 2006, the government has promoted the creation of consejos comunales —neighbourhood-based elected councils responsible for carrying out local development projects with funding from the central government. While these more than 18,000 councils have encouraged citizen participation in local problem-solving, research suggests limited coordination between the councils and local authorities, as well as significant political polarisation within the councils themselves. In this lecture, Gerardo González will first present Venezuelans’ perceptions of key social, economic and political issues, shedding light on the sources and expressions of current polarisation. He will then examine the internal dynamics of the consejos comunales  and their significance for participatory politics, particularly in view of the forthcoming municipal elections. Gerardo González is a sociologist trained at the Universidad Central de Venezuela and holds a Master’s degree in Latin American Studies from CEDLA. His research focuses on public policy and civil society, survey studies and political ethnography. He has taught at the School of Sociology and the School of Geography at the Universidad Central de Venezuela, as well as in postgraduate programmes at the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, IESA and Monteávila University. He currently works at Consultores21 , a Caracas-based think tank specialising in social and electoral analysis.

SPEAKER: Dr. Adrian H. Hearn, Department of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Sydney DISCUSSANT: Dr. Pitou van Dijck, CEDLA DATE: 13 September 2013 ACTIVITY: CEDLA LECTURE The rise of China, together with the global financial crisis, has prompted policymakers and economic advisers to reconsider the ideal balance between government intervention and market forces in global affairs. It has become evident that the state—particularly in developing countries—is once again assuming a more assertive role in economic management. At the same time, Cuba’s state-led economy is undergoing reforms aimed at fostering private entrepreneurship. China’s influence on Cuba’s reform process is considerable, extending from investment in the energy sector to financing for small businesses and the provision of wholesale supplies for emerging industries. This presentation explores how Cuba, with China’s support, is crafting a new and more effective model for blending state and market mechanisms to drive economic development.

SPEAKERS: Leticia Merino, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) DATE: 22 March 2013 ACTIVITY: CEDLA LECTURE The challenges posed by climate change are closely tied to mitigation measures that operate within the complex nature of socio-ecological systems, characterised by multi-scale and nested interactions. Approaching climate change from a commons perspective shifts the assumptions that underpin conventional theories of collective action, as well as the scale at which actors, actions and policies are conceived. In Mexico, and in other Latin American countries, climate policies aimed at strengthening mitigation through forest conservation must recognise local rights and the long-standing experience of community-based forest management as key assets for polycentric climate governance. Recent research demonstrates clear positive links between local governance, community forestry economies, forest conservation and the maintenance of carbon stocks and carbon balance. However, these successful experiences are highly vulnerable to over-regulation and to the erosion of local incentives and rights—sometimes even as an unintended consequence of conservation and climate policies themselves. This lecture will focus on the Mexican case, where approximately 75% of forest cover is legally owned by local communities. The discussion will explore how forest rights are continually contested, as control is claimed by central governments, international conservation organisations, urban stakeholders and diverse corporations involved in forestry, agriculture and mining.

SPEAKER: Sergio Haro, Mexican journalist DATE: 27 September 2013 ACTIVITY: CEDLA LECTURE Mexican journalist Sergio Haro will share his personal experiences reporting in the midst of Mexico’s violent drug war. This event offers students, academics, professionals and anyone interested in journalism, violence and corruption in Latin America—and beyond—an opportunity to hear Sergio’s testimony and engage with him in a lively discussion about the dangerous yet crucial role of journalism.