(Un)Rule Of Law and the Underprivileged In Latin America

by Juan E. Méndez (Editor), Guillermo O'Donnell (Editor), Paulo Sergio Pinheiro (Editor)

Overview

This thorough discussion of the idea of "democracies without citizenship" in Latin America considers overcoming political violence and discrimination and analyzes various avenues to institutional judicial reform. The (Un)Rule of Law and the Underprivileged in Latin America, as the fourth part of Project Latin America 2000 from the Helen Kellogg Institute, enlarges the understanding of significant political, economic, and social issues facing Latin America at the threshold of a new century. The contributors develop arguments around the Latin American system of law which only punishes the poor and marginalized. In addressing lawless violence, the contributors argue that it is no longer the democratic state that directly commits the abuses. Instead, it fails to control arbitrary practices of its own agents and to challenge those who flaunt disregard for the law. The collection demonstrates that it is impossible to separate judicial reform from human rights and argues that justice must be made accessible to the poor and that governments make a serious and comprehensive commitment to social reform.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780268043018
Publisher:	University of Notre Dame Press
Publication date:	03/15/1999
Series:	Kellogg Institute Series on Democracy and Development
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.81(d)

About the Author

Juan E. Mendez is Executive Director of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights.

The late Guillermo O’Donnell was the Helen Kellogg Professor of Government and International Studies at the University of Notre Dame.

Paulo Sergio Pinheiro is Professor at the University of Sao Paulo and Director of the University’s Center for the Study of Violence.

Table of Contents

	Preface	VII
	The Rule of Law and the Underprivileged in Latin America: Introduction	1
Part I	Problems of Lawless Violence
1	Problems of Lawless Violence: Introduction	19
2	Torture and Conditions of Detention in Latin America	25
3	Comments on Rodley	42
4	Defining the Role of the Police in Latin America	49
5	Comments on Chevigny	71
6	The Rule of Law and the Underprivileged in Latin America: A Rural Perspective	87
Part II	Overcoming Discrimination
7	Overcoming Discrimination: Introduction	109
8	Indigenous Peoples and the Rule of Law in Latin America: Do They Have a Chance?	116
9	Comments on Dandler	152
10	Overcoming the Discrimination against Women in Mexico: A Task for Sisyphus	160
11	Comments on Acosta	181
12	Color and the Rule of Law in Brazil	186
13	Comments on Fry	211
Part III	Institutional Reform, Including Access to Justice
14	Institutional Reform, Including Access to Justice: Introduction	221
15	International Aspects of Current Efforts at Judicial Reform: Undermining Justice in Haiti	227
16	Comments on Brody and a Discussion of International Reform Efforts	243
17	Judicial Reforms in Latin America: Good News for the Underprivileged?	255
18	Access to Justice for the Poor in Latin America	278
19	Polyarchies and the (Un)Rule of Law in Latin America: A Partial Conclusion	303
	Appendix	339
	Contributors	343
	Index	347

Editorial Reviews

This book is an excellent compilation of work by today’s foremost scholars and activists in human rights in Latin America. These authors offer a thoughtful account of some of the most pressing problems in the region—including lack of accountability, police brutality, and the need for judicial reform—and provide a compelling debate on how to improve the promotion of human rights in the hemisphere.” —José Miguel Vivanco, Executive Director, Americas Division, Human Rights Watch

“Anyone who assumes that redemocratization has done much to advance the rule of law must consult the papers in this collection. . . This volume does not explain, it describes and prescribes but does so richly and soberly. A fine acquisition for all academic collections.” —Choice

“The (Un)Rule of Law is a thorough and incisive examination of the aftereffects of democratization in Latin America. The diversity of viewpoints presented constitutes an excellent contribution to the continuing dialogue on the promotion and institutionalization of human rights in the region.” —Journal of International Law and Politics

“The (Un)Rule of Law features excellent essays on groups that are discriminated against in Latin America, including blacks, indegenous peoples, and women.” —Latin American Research Review

“The essays collected in Mendez et al. About the “(un)rule of law” and the underprivileged in Latin America make sober reading. But while the specific problems they address about access to justice, racial and gender discrimination, discrimination against indigenous peoples, the role of the police, reform of the judiciary, pockets where the violence of the street rules rather than the law, are writ large in Latin America, they are-at the least-writ small in North America.” —International Journal of Constitutional Law

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