Lecture 11 | Latin American legal systems

Question 1

what kind of jurisdiction do most of the Latin American countries have?

Answer 1

most of the Latin American countries have civil law jurisdiction.

Question 2

what can we say about the characteristics of comparing Latin America?

Answer 2

each country’s legal system has developed uniquely. there are also some similarities. These 3 similarities are existing in all Latin America countries
o Incorporation of indigenous legal traditions
o Regulation of common goods
o Recognition and protection of the rights of nature

Question 3

What can we say about the systems of latin america adapting of legal models?

Answer 3

• LA legal systems often adapt EU and US legal models to fit cultural and political contexts

Question 4

what is the indigenous issue?

Answer 4

people who were there before the colonizers. They were discriminated for centuries, and only with support of the UN and the International Labor Organization’s 1989 it started to change a bit and advocating for indigenous rights. These changes started the emerges of the new movement: The New Latin American Constitutionalism. This movement had as main idea to build a pluralistic and decolonial legal system with the indigenous people. Not easy because rules in society are hard to change.

Question 5

What are the elements of the New Latin America Constitutionalism?

Answer 5

• Representation and participation of indigenous people
• Legal pluralism
• Territorial organization (respect the autonomy of indigenous communities)
• Plurinational state: recognizes multiple nations within a single state
• Nature is granted
• Caring state: duties and obligations related to environmental and social justice.

Question 6

What are the constitutional systems of Ecuador and Bolivia in brief?

Answer 6

they are an example rolmodel states that implement this elements of New Latin America Constitutionalism. Such as the examples below:
- Their constitutions redefined the state, aiming to break away from colonial roots and focus on equality, inclusion and identity
- They also include indigenous cosmovision (world view emphasizing harmony between individuals, communities and nature) and legal traditions in the legal systems, creating a more plural legal system.

Question 7

What is a caring state?

Answer 7

focus on social and environmental justice. A bit more radical. We change our system to focus on social and environmental justice  they want to go to a pre-capitalist system. Everyone in the state is treated equal.

Question 8

What is a welfare state?

Answer 8

focus on economic development and social rights, prioritizing human welfare  they want to go to capitalist system. You tolerate everyone, multiculturalism, but this does not mean that everyone has the same rights and privileges.

Question 9

What are the challenges/implications of the caring state?

Answer 9

1. it hasn’t fully applied anywhere yet.
2. it is not enough although the idea is new.