Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

In Chile, a culture of participation for elaboration of public policies has been installed where the energy sector has become a great protagonist. The National Energy Policy 2050 (“Energía-2050”) of 2015 has highlighted nationally and internationally as a benchmark in the participatory development of public policies, not only because of its recent update under a new government and otherwise coalition, becoming a State policy that transcends the current government, but also for having inspired other public policy processes. It shows the formulation process of the first version of Energy 2050 from 2015, identifying the general aspects of the process and the key elements behind its success, as well as the main challenges.

This text shows some of elements that are part of constitutional debate about the Social State in Chile. It succinctly reviews the evolution from idea of Democratic Rule of Law to the Democratic and Social State governed by the rule of law, and it describes the former of Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and the insertion of Social State notion in the German Constitution of 1949. Subsequently, it records the principal current treaties in matters of economical, social, cultural, and environmental rights, and it describes the elements in the respect inserted in proposal of Constitutional Convention of 2022, in Chile. Finally, it discusses about the cost of social rights insertion mentioned in that proposal, that several authors estimate in 9-14% GDP of 2021. The most recently data of OCDE point out social rights signified in Chile, during 2019, 11% of GDP, being the low rank between the member countries, while those of middle rank are situated in 19% of GDP and countries of high rank in 29-31% of GDP.

The principal work of Regional Governors recently accept responsibility, regarding they are a new institution of Chilean public system, have a high complexity. In effect, the secular omnipresence of centralist culture and current operation of national institutions which operate with that “autopilot” give to centralism the category of “perverse” or tangled “problem”. In this article, we try to find the threads which allow to untangle that skein, identifying in the inside of centralist system of territorial government the required actions to generate a new more democratic and efficient institutional system.

Abstract Introduction: Labor conditions worsened during the pandemic, the unemployment of the profession, the decrease in the possibilities of contracting by the State, the oversupply of graduates and the redefinition of some of the positions that were carried out by professionals insocial work. Objective: To provide to professional organizations with the experience of COLTRAS during the pandemic, and how it devoted itself with support and solidarity to the members, who had an emotional, economic and social impact of the pandemic itself and the participation in the execution of actions issued by the National Emergency Commission and by the Ministry of Health. Method and technique: The method used was the systematization of actions, presidency reports and the commissions’ work plans. The techniques used were the virtual sessions, interviews with fellow coordinators of the frontline programs in health, education, municipal and local organizations sectors, among others. The integration and collectivization of experiences was carried out gradually by the secretary of the board with the support of the COLTRAS administrative team. Results: Inequalities and inequities in the population became more visible and vulnerabilities increased in the social work care sectors. The virtuality allowed a greater integration of the subsidiaries at the regional and sectoral level and a greater visualization of the profession. Conclusions: Research, training, systematization and the corresponding dissemination of experiences were strengthened, which strengthened the professional service.   Keywords: Social work, pandemic, vulnerabilities, inequalities, labor conditions.

Introduction: The emergence of a new coronavirus at the end of 2019, whose first cases in Costa Rica were detected in March of the following year, posed important challenges both individually and collectively, specifically the State had to develop alternative confrontations in a few months that They were not limited to the health field, but required intervention in the area of ​​assistance and social security, among other public policy actions.Objective: The text below presents a first approximation to the actions of the Costa Rican State to confront the crisis caused by COVID-19, for which it is considered necessary to understand the dynamics of the broader historical process of capital accumulation, within which this crisis unfolded.Methodology: Given the fact that the information on this topic emerges rapidly, the use of newspaper and documentary analysis was considered essential for the realization of this text.Results: The text shows that public policy actions revolved mainly at the health level, as well as at the level of economic assistance, the latter had a strong component aimed at national companies that were affected by COVID-19.Conclusion: As part of this reflection, it is concluded that there is a need to strengthen the security and social assistance systems aimed at individuals and families as a way of structuring public policy in the country.

Introduction: A positive academic performance is usually a sign of academic success and increases the chances that a student will succeed in his professional future. However, a student's academic performance can be greatly affected by socioeconomic factors such as climate and family socioeconomic status. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused the closure of several schools in Puerto Rico, which mostly affected low-income students who even depend on the lunches offered at school to be able to eat adequately and on the equipment available in schools to be able to perform their tasks. Objective: Therefore, this article aims to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education and school performance of students with a low socioeconomic level in Puerto Rico. Method: This article analyzed research, professional opinions, and media coverage that addressed the phenomenon of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it had on Puerto Rican schoolchildren. This information was analyzed to contribute to Social Work, education, and social sciences in general.   [Continue reading in the article]

Introduction: The years 2020-22 were critical for the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the Latin American region, it evidenced the complex and acute reality, characterized by poverty, vulnerabilities, inequalities, exclusions and inequities, scarce resources and a survival crisis, with poor public health management that is moving from the pandemic to the syndemic , a situation that left many families affected or without their loved ones. Objective: Establish the context of social policies between the pandemic and the syndemic, by identifying the tensions in undergraduate academic training caused by the syndemic. Method and techniques: The article has a reflective and systematizing scope that combines the descriptive and interpretative, it goes from the abstract to the concrete, from the deductive to the inductive, it combines the general and the particular. The techniques used were content analysis, participatory observation, and students and teachers, with a critical and participatory approach through research and teaching carried out during the syndemic to date, experienced the combination with the testimony of what. [Continue reading in the article]

Introduction: The contextual characteristics of Puerto Rico, prior to the arrival of this virus, outlined a very challenging political, economic and social landscape. From them, the responses given by the government once the state of emergency was declared in the Archipelago were framed. Therefore, a brief critical reflection was made, based on the theoretical contributions of the syndemic health concept and a human rights approach. Objective: To describe the social policies that tried to respond to the health emergency caused by CoVID-19 in Puerto Rico and to assess their relationship with a holistic, health and human rights approach. Conclusion: There is an urgency of applying a human rights approach in the management of this emergency to guarantee conditions of greater justice and equity to all people who have been affected by COVID-19. Therefore, some recommendations are made to the role of the social work profession in Puerto Rico.   

 Introduction: The participation of research professors in the different areas of Law constitutes a cornerstone for Higher Education and especially the environmental issue linked to the fundamental right to health. Aim: In accordance with this, this research carries out an analysis of the new conception of the environment and nature in integral health within the Ecuadorian State. In this context, aspects such as the prospective analysis of the conception of nature, the environment and health were addressed before and after the validity of the Montecristi Constitution. Method: A descriptive analysis method with a qualitative approach was used, under the type of secondary bibliographic documentary research. The normative, doctrinal and jurisprudential documentary analysis was used. Results: The results indicate that: before the validity, nature was conceived as an object and not as a subject of law and health as a human right demarcated from any natural element and currently the paradigm changes since Nature is a subject of rights and this It brings with it legal implications such as respect for their existence, the regeneration of their life cycles, the protection and application of constitutional environmental principles in a transversal manner. [Continue reading in the article]

Introduction: Social representations are a type of practical knowledge that modulate our behaviors. In the area of services, this theoretical construct is of special importance, as it can influence the ways of providing services and the relationship between providers and users. Main objective: This research aims to analyze the possible relationship between the social representations that the service providers have upon the elderly members of the population and the characteristics that are associated with the services for such people. Method and technique: A qualitative methodology was used in this work. 27 gerontological service providers from the eastern area of the province of Mendoza in Argentina took part in this analysis. The data collection instrument was the semi-structured interview and the information obtained was analyzed using the Grounded Theory.   Results: The results show that the gerontological service providers consider the elderly as dependent people. Thus would insure basic care but also would limit the access to other rights such as leisure, social and cultural activities. Furthermore, it was found that aspects such as elderly assistant’s education, age and working environments influence upon the way the elderly social representation is structured. Conclusions: The social representations of those who provide services to elderly people can condition their practices with this population, resulting in iatrogenic services that do not aim to promote active aging for the elderly adults.