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

Resumo O Brasil tem se destacado por propor e desenvolver políticas públicas de acesso à informação. Trata-se de iniciativas nem sempre coordenadas que estão compondo um leque de ações "espontaneamente" consistentes. Embora sejam avançadas, é preciso avaliar se, no contexto de estruturas internacionalizadas, essas políticas nacionais são eficazes. Neste artigo são avaliadas especificamente as políticas de acesso à informação científica.Palavras-chave políticas de acesso à informação; acesso aberto à informação científica Abstract Brazil has stood out in its efforts to propose and elaborate public policy in the realm of access to information. These initiatives, not always well coordinated, make up a range of “spontaneously” consistent actions. Although quite advanced, it is necessary to evaluate if, in a context of internationalized structures, these national policies can be effective. This article puts the focus specifically on policies regarding access to scientific information.Keywords policies of access to information; open access to scientific information

La construcción de la identidad de liderazgo es un campo emergente de investigación, el cual ha ido evolucionando a través de la incorporación de la perspectiva de género. Este estudio indaga en cómo las directoras de establecimientos educativos chilenos han configurado su identidad de liderazgo escolar. Se utilizó un enfoque cualitativo exploratorio y se realizaron entrevistas en profundidad a 12 directoras de la Región Metropolitana. Se concluye que en la construcción de las identidades de las directoras escolares confluyen la cultura escolar, la perspectiva de género y las propias subjetividades de cada una. Palabra claves: Identidad; liderazgo; mujer; director de colegio; escuelas. Abstract The construction of leadership identity in education is an emerging field of research, which has evolved through the incorporation of the gender perspective and, therefore, requires greater knowledge and analysis, especially paying attention to the barriers and crises that female school principals face in their professional careers. Identity is the process by which identities are constructed and occurs within the relational space in which each person moves and interacts (Ricoeur, 1996; Ritacco & Bolívar, 2018). This interaction acquires vital importance in the educational scenario, particularly for those who hold leadership positions, since, as has been shown, the development of a strong professional identity has a marked influence on the way in which leadership is exercised within schools (Crow et al., 2017; Cruz-González et al., 2019). In this context, it is even more important to analyze how the experiences, context and practices in the exercise of leadership influence and relate to each other in the construction of identities of school principals. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how Chilean school principals have shaped their school leadership identity based on their self-image as women. It seeks to answer the question: How do school principals define their leadership identity based on their self-image as women and their leadership role? The methodology used was an exploratory qualitative approach based on a case study, prioritizing depth over representativeness. Twelve female school principals from the Metropolitan Region were selected for this study. The research technique used was in-depth interviews, which were conducted with each female principal. Grounded Theory was used for the analysis, and two categories of analysis emerged: self-representation as women and school principals, and the characteristics of leadership identity. The results show, first of all, that the principals in this study represent themselves as women, mothers, caregivers, and school principals, and that the characteristics of their leadership identity are: sharing, understanding, empathizing with people in the school communities, avoiding competition and validating their continuing knowledge before others, while avoiding overworking and transforming themselves into superwomen. In this sense, we conclude that female principals' identities are multiple and adapt according to the school context in which they operate, their experiences as women and mothers, and their interactions with others. This demonstrates that the construction of female principals' multiple identities is influenced by school culture, gender perspective, and each principal's own subjectivities. Their definition of their identity as women stems primarily from the socially imposed gender construct, which has stereotyped women as caregivers, close to the heart, sensitive, and empathetic, versus the stereotypical construct of men, characterized by more assertive, competitive, cold, and imposing masculinities. Furthermore, it is concluded that female principals have been developing their own identities of feminine leadership through differentiation from traditionally masculine norms and the ongoing validation of the knowledge they possess for the role they play.

The family Polystomatidae (Platyhelminthes, Monogenea) comprises parasitic flatworms with an affinity for infecting amphibians and reptiles. Among them, Polystoma stellai stands out as a particularly rare species documented in both Cuba and Florida (USA). Originally described in 1955 based on a single specimen, only one additional specimen has been collected since, and there exists no type or reference material for this species, resulting in a significantly limited understanding of its characteristics. Recently, a specimen of P. stellai was collected during a dissection of Osteopilus septentrionalis (Anura) by Biology students at Universidad de Oriente, Cuba. The studied material was collected more than 800 km from the area where the species was described. The newly collected specimen aligns with the original description of P. stellai; however, notable differences are observed, particularly in the reduced size of the body and certain structures compared to previously documented ones. We provide the first photos and detailed description of the hamulus, characterised by unequal hooks, one of which exhibits a distal flap. Given the available data, there arises a suspicion that the specimen previously recorded in Florida may belong to a distinct species of Polystoma. Furthermore, the position of P. stellai within Polystoma remains tentative due to some diagnostic characteristic of representatives of this genus have not been corroborated in this species.

The present work proposes the existence of a non-explicit tension between the activities of creating and applying the law that is characteristic of the modern state of law. Based on this, and beginning with a historical and conceptual analysis, the rise of certain ideals of the current state of law that clash with the concepts of creating and applying the law are reconstructed, proposing that the detonating aspect of the problematic twilight area existing in today’s judicial culture is the change in the concept of sovereignty that starts with Jean Bodin, which led at the same time to a change in the conception of the origin of law. The importance of studying this tension lies in the fact that it has direct implications for our notion of law and its minimal function as a guide of conduct for its recipients. I posit that this tension generates a twilight zone between creating and applying the law, which leads to situations in which it is unclear what activity is being practiced. A characterization of the rise of the modern state of law is carried out, beginning with the changes in the concepts of sovereignty, analyzing the phenomena of separation of powers, constitutionalism, and codification, and focusing finally on how these elements impact the notions of creation and application of the law.

The article analyzes Mexico’s Organic Simplification Constitutional Reform through the dissolution of Constitutionally Autonomous Agencies (OCA), its impact on the rule of law, and democratic governance in Mexico, specifically regarding personal data protection. The objective is to assess how these reforms would affect institutional independence and the protection of human rights, with a focus on access to information and personal data protection. Using a qualitative approach based on doctrinal and jurisprudential analysis, the study examines the evolution and function of OCA within the Mexican legal system. The findings suggest that, although the reform aims to enhance administrative efficiency and reduce costs, it could pose significant risks, such as the excessive concentration of power within the federal public administration, thereby undermining democratic controls and accountability. The main limitation of the study is the lack of empirical evidence on the direct impact of these reforms, but it provides a theoretical framework for future research. This paper highlights the originality and value of OCA as essential mechanisms for maintaining the balance of powers and protecting citizens’ rights in a constitutional democracy.

This article zeroes in on the traits of legal reasoning under the innovations associated with dialogical constitutionalism and procedural turns in adjudication. A critical reconstruction of concepts is followed upon two different crossed oppositions for each development: First, regarding the proposals associated with the dialogical turn, stock is taken of “power” and “voice”-related justifications, as well as formal and informal venues for deliberation. Second, the discussion of a procedural turn in legal reasoning is structured upon the distinction of “system” and “case”-based reasoning, as well as “exclusionary” and “merits-based” reasons. As a result, an explanatory priority is accorded to standards of review which incorporate reasons stemming from deliberative procedures, reinforcing the possibility of democratic control by those subject to decisions. This article is mainly analytical and reconstructive, integrating diverse debates under a common frame. Its main innovation is the proposal of a novel matrix of criteria to compare the diversity of debates related to a dialogic and a procedural turn, within legal reasoning itself. Finally, the different innovations are meant less as an alternative, and more as a supplement to the substantive discussion implied in democratic decision-making.

In this paper I discuss the long-standing tension between constitutionalism and democracy, looking at some of its contemporary reverberations. I explore, then, four different readings of how to rethink and resolve that tension:1) Against democracy; 2) Towards constitutionalism (or “for constitutional restoration”); 3) Against constitutionalism, and 4) Towards democracy (or “for democratic restoration”). Following the introduction and critical commentary on each of these four alternatives, I will provide some reasons to consider the latter (“for democratic restoration”) as the most plausible and consistent with what I have called “conversation among equals”.

This article critically discusses Roberto Gargarellas’s proposals about the relationship between democracy and constitutionalism, in Cuatro lecturas sobre la relación constitucionalismo-democracia. En defensa de la “conversación entre iguales” and El derecho: una conversación entre iguales (2020). Firstly, I agree with the author in the diagnosis he establishes in what respects to the several failures that democratic deliberation faces and in that direct democracy’s mechanisms should be proposed, guided and in the service of citizen’s interests. Secondly, I seriously doubt that direct democracy should have the purpose of permanently reviewing the content and main purposes of fundamental human rights. Instead, I argue that democratic deliberation on human rights should concern the identification of oppressive implications that they could have on specific cases and on vulnerable people. Nevertheless, it should not lead to permanently reviewing its content and main purposes because this could have the unfortunate implication of devaluing its value. Fundamental human rights are the product of historic citizen’s battles and, therefore, they are important civic conquest. Thirdly, I also argue that unless democratic deliberation establishes a robust mechanism of direct democracy, it is unlikely that social and political elites remain out of the political conversations as Gargarella suggests. Finally, I detach from the position that suggests that the sincerity requisite is what is at stake in democratic deliberation, and I suggest that other normative filters should be used in order that citizens can identify and avoid possible bias in the democratic exchange that takes place among them.

This paper aims to provide an overview of the relationships between populism, democracy and the rule of law, in order to project them into the recent judicial reform in Mexico. In the first part, rather than providing “the” definition of populism, the author identifies various key characteristic of the phenomenon found in the literature with the intention to establishing a reference framework. A normative conception of democracy and the rule of law is then developed to highlight how populism may share certain points of connection with them. In the author’s opinion, this judicial reform in Mexico can be considered a triumph of populist rethoric and his logic of the political. There are two main arguments. The first is that by dismissing all judges, both federal and from the sub-national level,  and having them elected through popular vote, the judicial branch is being dismantled as a independent body, thereby underminig the principle of separation of powers. The second is that the creation of the “Court of Judicial Discipline” introduces a form of “political decisionism” into legal system, which influences and actions of the future judiciary, as it is deprived of the guarantees of independency and impartiality requered for its proper functioning. After pointing out some problematic aspects regarding its future implementation, the essay concludes on a note of optimism.

The article’s goal is to debate Liat Levanon’s (2022) arguments as deployed in her recent book Evidence, respect, and truth. The first part introduces such arguments with considerable detail, while the second addresses their contribution to the contemporary general theory of legal evidence and proof. A crucial positive aspect of Levanon’s proposal is that it allows for a better way to distinguish between subjectivist and rationalist accounts of legal evidence, and between non-doxastic and doxastic versions of the latter. Its main disadvantage though is that the important insight that respect for the parties requires the best effort to eliminate error ends up weakened.