TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS, HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE IN LATIN AMERICA: A CRIMINOLOGICAL APPROACH

Abstract

In Latin America, business activities by transnational corporations are often closely related to human rights violations. These serious human rights violations may vary in nature; furthermore, they are often a direct or indirect result of legal and economic international policies and a direct or indirect cause of violence and insecurity at the national level. This paper explores the contexts in which human rights violations by transnational corporations occur. Three hypotheses guide the analysis of the impact of transnational economic policies and businesses as a cause for structural and visible violence. These hypotheses will be illustrated through three model cases from Chile, Ecuador and Brazil. Furthermore, the potential of criminological concepts to explain transnational criminogenic conditions will be discussed.