My draft for a possible workshop on this matter during the RIPESS 2013 at Manila, the Philippines.

1. Miguel Yasuyuki Hirota
mig@olccjp.net
Skype: migjp2003
RIPESS 2013, Oct 2013

2.  Colonised by Spain / Portugal and after
independence (19th century) politically and
economically subjugated to US
 Close touch with: Europe (especially Spain and
France) and North America
 Linguistic, religious and cultural similarity to
help create LA identity on top of respective
national ones

3.  Colonised by Western superpowers and Japan
(except Thailand) and incorporated into Asian-
Pacific Rim
 Close touch with: Anglo-Saxon countries while
losing its historic ties with France (Indochina)
and Spain (Philippines) > difficult for LA-born
SE to get into Asia
 Linguistic, religious and cultural diversity:
hurdle to create Asian common identity
 Languages: Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese,
Khmer, Korean, Lao, Mongolian, Thai,
Vietnamese
 Religion: Bhuddism (Maharaya / Theravada),
Christianity (Catholic / Protestant),
Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam…

4.  Started as a grass-root alternative to
neoliberal globalisation imposed by the North
and huge corporations = Capital
 Mainly consists of people’s coops and different
support organisations and excluding social
enterprises: the middle class helps the poor
set up their own coops
 Ex: Zapatista Liberation Front Army (EZFL,
Chiapas, Mexico), Landless Peasants’
Movement (MST, Brazil)
 Growth together with World Social Forum,
Supports from left-wing gov’ts (Argentina,
Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela etc.)

5.  Evolved from charity organisations when they
face with financial hardship
 Mainly consists of social enterprises: the
middle class becomes consciencious
entrepreneurs to create decent jobs for the
poor
 Usually doesn’t defy capitalism but tries to
coexist with it: HSBC supports Social
Enterprise Summit in Hong Kong
 More info: Quiñones

6.  LA: Spanish/Portuguese spoken by most
people: little barrier in int’l (but intra-LA)
communication, English rather as neoliberal
élite’s language
 US and Europe: Increasing number of Spanish
speakers and learners, close relationship with
LA
 Asia: Asian languages are the mother tongue
for most people: English as int’l communication
tool but not in daily life (except Hong Kong,
Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore), very
few (if any) Spanish/Portuguese speakers and
little interest in learning them

7.  The best way to promote mutual
understanding: Both deep case studies and
theoretical researches help Asian and LA grasp
what their counterpart thinks
 Asian Univ. with LA studies and/or vice versa:
found in China, Japan and Korea
 Acceptance of visiting professors: to share their
experiences to their counterpart
 Student exchange programmes: Asian and LA
post-graduate students go to another continent
to study

8.  Japan with LA (Brazil / Peru / Argentina etc.):
Japanese immigrants and their descendants
live, some of them working in Japan
 Brazil: Agência Brasileira de Cooperação (ABC)
provide South-South cooperations to Asia,
especially (but not limited) to Timor Leste
 The Philippines with Mexico: the Philippines
used to be controlled by the colonial gov’t in
Mexico
 Taiwan with El Salvador, Honduras and
Paraguay: Taiwan still keeps its diplomatic
relationship with some LA countries and is
eager to keep in touch: What can be done?

9. Miguel Yasuyuki Hirota
mig@olccjp.net
Skype: migjp2003
RIPESS 2013, Oct 2013