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No 10 (2025)
Economy
Enterprises in the format of "maquiladoras" in Latin America. A forced necessity or a panacea?
Abstract
In the emerging polycentric world system, the Latin American region, with its vast natural resources and strong dynamics of economic development, is acquiring the status of an important participant. Latin American states actively participate in international processes, demonstrating autonomy in solving global problems. The interest of leading world powers in cooperating with them confirms the strategic value of the region. Special economic zones established in the format of maquiladoras are of great importance in the investment policies of several Latin American countries (Mexico, Paraguay, Honduras). Combining low labor costs, favorable geographical location, and a special legal regime, maquiladoras prove to be an effective instrument for attracting foreign investments, which provide a powerful impulse for economic growth, job creation, and stabilization of product sales markets.
Latinskaya Amerika. 2025;(10):6-24
6-24
Policy
Political and economic rivalry between the US and China in Central America amid rising global tensions
Abstract
The article examines the relations of the Central American states with the USA and China at the present stage in the context of the rivalry of power centers within the region. By statistical descriptive analysis and the study of the domestic political context, the authors have identified a trend towards the aggravation of political and economic contradictions in the struggle for influence over Central American countries. The greatest potential for conflict is expected in Guatemala, Honduras and Panama. While maintaining the current balance of power Washington will remain dominant in Costa Rica, El Salvador and Nicaragua. Taking into account the authors' hypothesis that the dynamics and proportions of arms supplies from the great powers reflect the balance of power in foreign policy control, the US political influence in the region stays strong. At the same time China using a strategy of economic cooperation is contributing to the erosion of competitor's dominance, which can be reinforced by military supplies from alternative arms exporters.
Latinskaya Amerika. 2025;(10):25-42
25-42
Colombia: political subjects and the concept of national security
Abstract
Gustavo Petro is the first president of Colombia for the last decade who represents the left political spectrum. His electoral campaign was based on an ambitious program of post-conflict settlement under the general name of total peace (paz total). The article attempts to identify the ideological foundations of the corresponding policy, the views of military leaders and the other sides of internal military conflict in order to find out the differences and similarities in the interpretation of national security. It is hypothesized that the differences in the interests of the main political actors determine the misunderstanding and misinterpretation of total peace.
Latinskaya Amerika. 2025;(10):43-56
43-56
International ties
Territorial dispute between Guatemala and Belize
Abstract
The article presents the most comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the history, status and prospects for resolving the territorial dispute between the Republic of Guatemala and Belize. Particular attention is paid to the root causes of the dispute, the sequence of its development, the positions of the parties and the reasons for its referral to the International Court. There is also an emphasis on the influence of the great powers on this problem.
Latinskaya Amerika. 2025;(10):57-72
57-72
Point of view
Once again about “conceptual positioning” and not only about it
Abstract
The article is an analysis of V.M. Davydov’s book “Conceptual positioning in line with the regional studies. The experience of Latin American studies and not only...” (Moscow: Ves Mir Publishing House, 2023) both from the point of view of its genre originality and from the point of view of its scientific content. The author substan tiates the idea that the work of the current scientific director of the ILA RAS organically fits into the framework of the intellectual tradition common to both Russia and Latin America, the distinctive feature of which is the syncretism of creative strategies: a combination within the same text of the features of scientific-analytical and imaginativeemotional ways of studying human reality. This combination is typical of the syncretic type of creative personality (also characteristic of both Russian and Latin American civilizations), combining the features of a “scientist” and an “artist” (in the broadest sense). It is emphasized that V.M.Davydov is primarily a scientist, and the main thing that determines the significance of his work is his scientific analysis of the formation and development of the regional studies scientific school of Latin American studies in the context of comparison with other regional studies schools represented in Russian science. Davydov’s work is analyzed in the universal context of changing general scientific paradigms in Russian and world science, and the cognitive basis of V.M.Davydov’s approach is revealed, based on a type of rationality rooted in the Russian spiritual tradition, namely, value rationality, which is in extremely contradictory interaction with capitalist formal rationality of Western origin. According to the author of the article, V.M.Davydov’s book is also a vivid illustration of M.M.Bakhtin’s idea that the main distinguishing feature of humanitarian knowledge is its dialogical character.
Latinskaya Amerika. 2025;(10):73-84
73-84
History pages
The "strange Russian" on "rebellious lands". Latin America in the works of Vasily Chichkov (part 1)
Abstract
The article examines the development of the Soviet Union's interaction with Latin America after World War II, focusing on the figure of Vasily Mikhailovich Chichkov, a special correspondent for the Pravda, a publicist and playwright. Chichkov became a key participant in the formation of the image of Latin America in the Soviet cultural space. The first part of the article shows the shaping of the "infrastructure" of the Soviet information policy and "soft power" in Latin America, including the interaction of the highest party and state bodies with embassies and institutes of cultural relations, as well as publishing activities. The research is undertaken into Chichkov's understanding of history and socio-political processes in the region, formed during his travels to Mexico, Honduras, Panama, Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and his creation of a positive image of the Soviet Union in Latin America. The significant influence of the Cold War events and especially the US intervention in Guatemala in 1954 on his worldview is noted. The traveler and journalist analyzed the possibilities of expanding economic, political and scientific cooperation between the USSR and Latin American countries, pointing out the inevitability of reliance on nationalist circles of the middle class interested in weakening the control of foreign monopolies over natural resources and trade. The course that Moscow later took in Latin American relations matched those recommendations in many ways.
Latinskaya Amerika. 2025;(10):85-98
85-98
The Political Concepts of Utopian Socialism in Yucatan. Based on Salvador Alvarado’s Story “My Dream”
Abstract
This article is dedicated to a analysis of a relatively understudied work by Salvador Alvarado, governor of the Mexican state of Yucatán, entitled “My Dream” (“Mi Sueño”). The work constitutes a literary expression within the utopian genre. Notwithstanding its literary form, the narrative functions as a political manifesto outlining revolutionary reform initiatives aimed at transforming the region's economic and sociocultural structures. Several elements of Alvarado's proposed program are rooted in the ideological frameworks of French and Anglo-American socialism, notably drawing on the ideas of Saint-Simon and Henry George. This study will critically examine the core components of the Yucatán modernization project and explore the conceptual role of utopia as a heuristic device for interpreting and enacting social transformation during the revolutionary period in Mexico in the early 20th century.
Latinskaya Amerika. 2025;(10):99-110
99-110