Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
TABLE 13.1
Scores and Positions of Latin American Countries in the HDI
Argentina
Mexico
Brazil
HDI-2006 (179 countries)
0.860 (46th)
0.842 (51st)
0.807 (70th)
HDI-2006, Life expectancy at birth
(years)
75 (49th)
75.8 (42nd)
72 (80th)
HDI-2006, Adult literacy rates (% ages
15+ years)
97.6% (28th)
91.7 (59th)
89.6 (70th)
HDI-2006, Combined primary,
secondary, and tertiary gross
enrollment ratio (%)
88.6 (35th)
80.2 (54th)
87.2 (39th)
HDI-2006, GDP per capita (PPP US$)
11,985 (60th)
12,176 (59th)
8949 (77th)
Source:
UNDP 2006, Website:
http://hdr.undp.org/en/
(last accessed August 27, 2010).
1.
Public engagement:
Decisions on international cooperation in nano-
technology in MERCOSUR and between the EU and Latin America
are taken on a political level. MERCOSUR is an economic coopera-
tion agreement between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, to
which Chile and Venezuela are candidate members. The MERCOSUR
Action Plan of Buenos Aires (2006) aims to advance scientific research
and development, including nanotechnology, through establishing
a web of centers of excellence (Chinacone et al. 2008). The current
ST&I Programme for MERCOSUR 2008-2012 includes “Nano-
technology and New Materials” as one of five priority areas. The EU is
cooperating in science and technology not only with MERCOSUR but
also with the Andean Community (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and
Peru) and six Central American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama), as well as with the
Latin America and Caribbean region as a whole (EU-LAC) and in
bilateral cooperation with each individual country. In these EU-Latin
American regional cooperation agreements, nanotechnology is not
explicitly prioritized (Malsch 2009).
Social scientists from different Latin American countries have
organized themselves in the ReLANS Latin American network
for Nanotechnology and Society. They tend to criticize the lack of
integration of nanotechnology research policy in national develop-
ment policies from the perspective of people who are not involved
in decision making (e.g., Foladori and Invernizzi 2007). International
NGOs—including the ETC group, Meridian Institute, Friends of
the Earth, and the International Union of Agricultural Workers—
have published statements on nanotechnology, mainly focusing on
risks, but also on factors affecting the socioeconomic development
of developing countries (e.g., commodities markets, intellectual
