This essay examines the historical trajectory and contemporary reconfiguration of Temas de Nuestra América as a central organ of intellectual production at the Instituto de Estudios Latinoamericanos (IDELA), in celebration of its fiftieth anniversary. The analysis situates the journal within IDELA’s broader editorial heritage and explores how successive transformations—particularly the digital migration and the subsequent consolidation of open science as university policy—have reshaped its modes of circulation, visibility, and scholarly impact. Special attention is given to the journal’s recent turn toward transmedial experimentation, which incorporates audiovisual formats such as expert panels and podcasts as extensions of its textual corpus. The essay also highlights the emergence of a new generation of academic editors whose leadership is revitalizing the program’s editorial projects and reaffirming the journal’s founding aspiration to serve as an extended cultural bridge across the Americas. In doing so, the article underscores the enduring significance of Temas de Nuestra América as a dynamic, ethical, and publicly committed platform for the dissemination of knowledge produced within and beyond IDELA.
The interest of this essay is to explain the origin and development of the first university center dedicated to Latin American studies in the region, and how this institute has contributed to a better knowledge of Latin American culture in its different expressions.
This essay offers an intimate perspective, albeit historical and reflective, as a reconstruction of the emergence and consolidation of women’s studies at the Institute of Latin American Studies (IDELA) of the National University, based on the direct experience of one of its protagonists. The text shares with us the memory of an academic process that was born from intuitive, solidaritydriven, and voluntary initiatives before becoming formalized as a systematic field of study within the institution. Through situated narratives—ranging from work with Indigenous communities and women’s cooperatives to formative experiences with incarcerated women—the author shows how teaching, research, and outreach were articulated early on to introduce a critical perspective on gender inequality in Latin America as a fundamental component of discussions within Latin American studies and intellectual thought.
This essay reviews some of the fundamental historical actions, based on which the Institute of Latin American Studies (IDELA) of the National University of Costa Rica (UNA) has promoted and contributed to the field of Latin American thought. It has validated as our own the legacy of the intellectual Joaquín García Monge and his work in promoting intellectual networks, publishing and education, tasks that were highlighted with the creation of the Cátedra Joaquín García Monge, first of its kind formulated at the UNA.
Universities are institutions dedicated to creating and disseminating knowledge. In a Eurocentric and neocolonial context such as ours, educational institutions have assumed the role of reproducing “valid” knowledge—valid only insofar as it is created and disseminated by specialized centers in Europe and the United States, which are grounded in a Euro centered way of seeing the world. For this reason, it becomes necessary to challenge this uncritical reproduction of knowledge by opening spaces for the generation of thought that emerges from our own realities. In this task, Costa Rica’s public universities have played a fundamental role, especially through their research centers and institutes.From its inception, IDELA has been characterized by a situated and engaged reflection on the Costa Rican, Central American, and Latin American context, expressed through its research, teaching, and publications. The core of its concern has been the events, phenomena, and processes lived by popular sectors, which has imbued its work with a political dimension rooted in the need for denunciation and struggle in the face of a shared history of colonialism and neocolonialism. Around this central axis, IDELA’s programs, projects, and research activities have been shaped in close correlation with the graduate programs it supports, providing an education nourished by the systematized knowledge generated through this situated and committed research. Furthermore, IDELA adopts an inter, trans, and multidisciplinary approach to reality, integrating perspectives and contributions from an academic community that represents a wide diversity of disciplines.
This text aims to reflect on the work carried out at the Instituto de Estudios Latinoamericanos through some of the extension and research projects, seeking to reflect its history and the contribution made during these 50 years. For this purpose, some of the projects carried out in the 1980s at IDELA are taken up again, which mark its approach to diverse social, political, cultural, and historical realities. Likewise, emphasis is placed on projects proposed in the last decade, which account for the work that is not only educational but also social and committed, which has helped both the Institute and the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica to grow.
Critical pedagogy has a radical political interest and a transformative intention. It questions the core of modern Western culture based on individualism, selfishness, and competition, proposing instead hope, collectivity, generosity, and cooperation. Modern Western culture has attributed to itself a unique and universal character, generating an epistemological closure that promotes epistemicide. This universality is no longer merely an abstraction, but a concrete universal that declares other cultures as “culturally” expendable by placing them on the “other” side of the abyssal line that separates being and non-being, wisdom and ignorance. In this place are situated Eastern, popular, Indo-American, and African cultures and knowledges. A transformative political project begins at the local scale for the creation of the new. This is how alternatives have emerged in Latin America that, in different ways, promote an open and democratic school, where students are protagonists in decision-making processes and are committed to justice and social inclusion. This article reviews the experience of the Instituto de Estudios Latinoamericanos in the practice and teaching of critical pedagogies from Latin America within its graduate programs.
Military dictatorships brought suffering to Latin American countries, especially those in the Central and South of the continent. Their brutality and violent effects on the collective memory led part of society to forget those painful events, provoking an identity crisis that has overwhelmed new generations. In recent years, the tangible representation of memory has become a problem of reflection and discussion in both academic and non-academic spaces. This article therefore works with the considerations surrounding the memory/forgetfulness dichotomy in its function as a fundamental part of social, political and academic debates. It also invites us to question what has been thought, what has not been thought and what should be thought about the events that defined the time of the military dictatorships in Latin America.
Our American decolonization is presented as a complex and multidimensional historical process that seeks to affirm local identities in the face of Eurocentric universality and its colonialist expressions. This essay highlights its transdisciplinary character and its focus on social, cultural, and epistemic liberation, which aims to construct a critical and propositional reflection on cultural authenticity and the liberation of Latin America. It refers to Enrique Dussel’s project of transmodernity and his philosophical legacy as a key module for the construction of a paradigm of social, cultural, and epistemic liberation. In addition, it emphasizes the importance of propositional thought on cultural authenticity and liberation, highlighting authors such as Francisco Bilbao, José Martí, and Aníbal Quijano. The critique of Eurocentrism and the construction of an alternative paradigm based on horizontal intercultural dialogue are also stressed. The essay is structured around three theoretical nuclei that represent important stages of decolonizing thought: the critique of Eurocentrism and the construction of one’s own identity, epistemic decolonization as a tool of liberation, and, finally, intercultural dialogue as an alternative to domination.
This article presents a comment of the literary work Que Dios protege a los malos (1979) written by Myriam Bustos Arratia, a Chilean writer exiled in Costa Rica since 1974. This text contains twelve stories located in Costa Rica and Chile during 1973-1976, which refer to events such as the tensions prior to the coup d’état, the social demonstrations, the alliances between parties, the takeover of buildings, the uncertainty of the disappeared people and the exile, from the daily life of the characters with different social origins and militances. The review proposes, if we understand the literary work as a text in and about exile, we can find three themes: the criticism of the government of Salvador Allende, the existence of social classes as one of the causes of tension and the appearance of emotional states associated with the coup. It is concluded that the text shows the fractures of the coup and exile in the subjects, reflected in the separation of families, the search for refuge, the expectations of return, the fear, the loneliness, and the hopelessness.
José Martí, the universal thinker behind his immense literary work, made his vision of how to contemplate old age available to humanity. In several writings he reflected admiration, love, tenderness and respect. The objective of this work focuses on demonstrating Martí’s thinking and his link with the elderly at the university for sustainable development through module four of the basic course. The research reveals the following results: the promotion and strengthening of human values, raising the level of self- esteem and the acquisition of an appropriate self-esteem for better quality and life expectancy for the sake of sustainable development, it was possible to increase knowledge about the works of Martí and the elderly.
This article reviews in historical terms the participation of Julio EscámezCarrasco in the Chilean artistic field during the government of SalvadorAllende and the vicissitudes he suffered after the civic-military coup of1973. We propose an approach to his work emphasizing his networks ofsociability since he was a leftist artist who actively participated in theofficial scene and operates in the tensions between art and politics of thetime. The analysis of the creation, reception and destruction of his muralPrincipio y fin, his proposals and projects at the University of Concepción,as well as the conditions for his exile in Costa Rica allows us to understandthe magnitude of the violence that the breakdown of democracy entailedand the memory difficulties generated by his trauma.
In the context of territorial displacement and following a long-termperspective, this article examines political exile in Latin America, with itsaccumulation of pressures, socio-political and cultural impacts. It analyzesits importance in shaping collective identities, its systemic impact on thestyle of doing politics in the region, and the contribution of exiles andreturnees to numerous facets of culture and politics. The text highlights theinstitutional logic of exile as a mechanism of political exclusion and controlthat, although it shares characteristics with other forms of human mobility,displays a particular physiognomy that has impacted all Latin Americancountries for a long time and is still projected in recent history.
This article analyzes gender inequalities in rural roads and institutional spaces in Costa Rica, highlighting how these situation particularly affect women in rural areas. Despite progress towards equality, structural gaps persist limiting access to resources, political participation and the decision- making. In the road sector, stereotypes associate road work with male physical strength, thus making women’s contributions to community, environmental and organizational activities invisible and therefore, reinforcing the stereotypes about women. This situation is aggravated by socio-environmental inequalities, which reflect the inequitable distribution of natural resources and environmental responsibilities. Women ́s limited participation in road infrastructure decisions impacts their access to basic services such as health, education and clean water. In addition, the lack of adequate roads increases their workload and reduces their opportunities to participate in economic and community activities. The text highlights the importance of integrating a gender perspective in the planning and management of rural roads, recognizing the role of women in environmental conservation and community evelopment. Gender equity implies guaranteeing equal opportunities for men and women in all areas, including traditionally masculinized areas. Although Costa Rica is working on policies to close these gaps, progress continues to be slow, and it is necessary to continue tomake these problems visible in order to achieve a more just and sustainable development.
Liberal democracy is in serious crisis, due to the concentration of capital, observed mainly after the consolidation of neoliberalism, in the late 1980s of the 20th century, which made impossible the existence of a welfare state; on the contrary, unhappiness and injustice have increased in various Western countries. The objective of this essay is to highlight this state of affairs, which has produced undignified living conditions for people, directly reflected in cuts in public policies related to Human Rights. As a hypothesis, it can be stated that democracy has become increasingly unfeasible in recent times, and that, in order to maintain this situation of permanent injustice, it is necessary to rely on authoritarian governments, which count on the support of internal and external far-right groups for their consolidation and to make the interests of a financial and neoliberal ruling class prevail, which, in addition to not being concerned with democracy, supports states of exception.
In 2023, Javier Milei rose to power in Argentina. In a regional and globalcontext marked by the delegitimization of democratic systems, a lack ofcredibility in traditional political parties, political and economic corruption,and the emergence of disruptive figures such as Bukele in El Salvador andBolsonaro in Brazil, Latin America is witnessing a kind of anti-democraticpolitical undertow. The content provided below analyzes the current situationin Argentina under Milei’s government. Political scientist Vanesa BeltránConejo addresses the main political, economic, and social challenges facingthe country. She reviews the measures taken by the Argentine government,their impact on people’s daily lives, and how this could affect the country’sdemocracy in the short and medium term.
In the context of territorial displacement and following a long-term perspective, this article examines political exile in Latin America, with its accumulation of pressures, socio-political and cultural impacts. It analyzes its importance in shaping collective identities, its systemic impact on the style of doing politics in the region, and the contribution of exiles and returnees to numerous facets of culture and politics. The text highlights the institutional logic of exile as a mechanism of political exclusion and control that, although it shares characteristics with other forms of human mobility, displays a particular physiognomy that has impacted all Latin American countries for a long time and is still projected in recent history.
This article analyzes gender inequalities in rural roads and institutional spaces in Costa Rica, highlighting how these situation particularly affect women in rural areas. Despite progress towards equality, structural gaps persist limiting access to resources, political participation and the decision-making. In the road sector, stereotypes associate road work with male physical strength, thus making women's contributions to community, environmental and organizational activities invisible and therefore, reinforcing the stereotypes about women. This situation is aggravated by socio-environmental inequalities, which reflect the inequitable distribution of natural resources and environmental responsibilities. Womens limited participation in road infrastructure decisions impacts their access to basic services such as health, education and clean water. In addition, the lack of adequate roads increases their workload and reduces their opportunities to participate in economic and community activities. The text highlights the importance of integrating a gender perspective in the planning and management of rural roads, recognizing the role of women in environmental conservation and community evelopment. Gender equity implies guaranteeing equal opportunities for men and women in all areas, including traditionally masculinized areas. Although Costa Rica is working on policies to close these gaps, progress continues to be slow, and it is necessary to continue tomake these problems visible in order to achieve a more just and sustainable development.
