PROGRAM
SELA 99
La Serena, Chile, June 17-20, 1999
Thursday: Welcoming Dinner, 9:00
Panel 1: Friday, 9:30-11:45
How Important is Equality?
Pablo Ruiz-Tagle, Efren Rivera Ramos, Carlos Rosenkrantz
There are competing conceptions of equality (e.g. focusing on outcome vs. opportunity; groups vs. individuals). Does one conception have a privileged position in the democratic ethos? Is equality a universal ideal? If so, are there multiple ways of achieving the ideal and does the ideal permit recognition of different stages of development? Is that conception of equality the transcendent value, or are there domains (e.g. private vs. public) where equality can be appropriately subordinated?
Lunch: 12:30
Panel 2: Friday, 2:00-4:15
Equality and Economic Growth
Beatriz Boza, Roberto Gargarella, George Priest, Juan Enrique Vargas
The economies of Latin America have recently been reformed toward free markets and global integration. What impact do these reforms have on economic inequalities? A distinction has been drawn between absolute poverty and relative poverty. Might economic growth eliminate one form of poverty but not the other? Is the persistence of relative poverty a source of concern? What level of economic equality does democracy require, within particular countries or between them?
Panel 3: Friday, 5:00-7:15
Assimilation and Difference
Rodolfo Vázquez, Kenji Yoshino
Both Latin America and the United States are characterized by sharp differences in social roles and status based on, for example, ethnicity, race and gender. The United States has been struggling with the application of the equality principle for many years to reduce these differences and in this process has tended toward the celebration of assimilation. Will a similar pattern emerge in Latin America? Does the achievement of equality imply the eradication of difference? What kinds of persistent differences (e.g. indigenous cultures, gender roles) might be recognized consistent with equality? Since in Latin America gender currently determines the assignment of social roles, can these roles be made equally interchangeable without destroying this basic social identity? Even if legal recognition of such differences as race or gender are illegitimate, might they nonetheless be a permissible basis for preferential treatment or affirmative action toward the achievement of equality?
Dinner: 9:00
Panel 4: Saturday, 9:00 - 11:15
Equality and Family Relations
William Eskridge, Paulina Veloso
What legal regime during marriage (control of assets, decisions regarding children) or for the dissolution of marriage (divorce, child custody, division of assets) does the equality principle require? Does the social importance of family status justify differential legal treatment of illegitimate children, unmarried parents or single parents? Is membership in family a proper basis for distribution of resources, given the tendency of such distribution to perpetuate inequalities (e.g., rich families send their children to well-endowed private schools)? What is the proper ambit of the equality principle in governing distribution of resources within families (regarding, e.g., age differences, gender differences, special disabilities or talents)? Do such social concerns as the procreative function of families justify legal prohibitions of same-sex marriage?
Panel 5: Saturday, 11:45-2:00
Equality and Religion
Paul Kahn, Roberto Saba, Miguel Orellana
Are the religious traditions in Latin America responsible for social inequalities? If so, can one reconcile the liberal principle of toleration for religious differences with the commitment to equality? Does the equality principle require separation of church and state; and if so, how thorough must this separation be?
Lunch: 2:00
Roundtable Discussion: Saturday, 7:00-9:00
The State of Democracy in the Americas: The Implications of the Pinochet Extradition Proceeding
Antonio Bascuñan R., Alberto Calsamiglia, Alberto Fohrig, Felipe González
Dinner: 9:00
Panel 6: Sunday, 10:00-12:15
Equality in the administration of justice
Jorge Correa Sutil, Jaime Malamud Goti, Daniel Mendonca
What are the causes of unequal access to justice and how might the administration of justice be reformed to eliminate them? May any economic inequalities legitimately be recognized in the administration of justice. For example, may the quality of legal representation be dependent on wealth? Is there a special obligation to have representation of traditionally disfavored statuses such as race or gender in the administration of justice? Should the pursuit of justice be adjusted to take account of traditionally disfavored statuses (e.g., special rules of evidence in rape cases)? Does the equality principle require the legal treatment of like cases alike, and thus the application of stare decisis?
Sunday, 1:00: Farewell Luncheon
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