Teoría y Praxis

From deportations to precarity and vice versa

Carlos Iván Orellana — 2025-03-31

Editorial Vol. 23, No. 46, March-August, 2025

Pets and caravans

Iskra Pavez-Soto — 2025-03-31

The aim of this article is to identify the mobility strategies used by unaccompanied adolescent migrants who have arrived in Chile since the pandemic, mostly from Venezuela, in the face of an unprecedented crisis. The study used a qualitative approach, through the application of data collection techniques in the northern border area (Arica and Parinacota regions and Tarapacá) and in the centre of the country (Valparaíso and Metropolitan regions): participant observation in border areas and semi-structured in-depth interviews with interveners, activists and authorities of institutions related to children and migration. It concludes that the main migratory strategies adopted are to join groups, even families and caravans, to find protection during the journey and when crossing borders, due to the presence of criminal gangs and 'coyotes'. Pets are highlighted as a means of providing companionship and protection, given the dangerous nature of the Southern Cone migration corridor. It is recommended that these migration strategies be considered in the design of public policies that address the complexity of the transnational field in the Latin American region.

Resistance, spiritualities and hope

Oscar Fernández Herrera — 2025-03-31

This reflective essay is the result of participation as an intern in the project "Educations, Spiritualities and Resistances: Pedagogical and Socio-Religious Experiences," affiliated with the Ecumenical School of Religious Sciences at the National University of Costa Rica. This experience raised concerns about the pedagogical and social challenges faced by evangelical theological education in Costa Rica. Through significant dialogues, interaction with members of the Central American Resistance Network, and publications related to the project, some of their experiences are explored, thereby understanding the resistances and spiritualities manifested within the project. The insights gained and the methodology adopted by the project could encourage a review and future improvement of evangelical theological education in the country. From the experiences of the network members, contributions are sought to aid in the review of theological education in Costa Rica. Results shows that some criticisms of evangelical theological education emerge, but important contributions are also recovered, perhaps one of the most significant being the differentiation between religion and spirituality. The collectives preferred to speak of spirituality to avoid dogmatic connections, whether Catholic, evangelical, or any other religious representation. In conclusion, it is argued that Costa Rican evangelical theological education must engage in dialogue with social collectives, surpassing the traditional exclusive reference to the ecclesial sphere. In this sense, theological education must learn to listen to diverse voices and respond to multiple social demands.

Psychometric analysis of the Job Insecurity Scale in a multi-occupational sample of Salvadoran workers

Marlon Elías Lobos Rivera — 2025-03-31

Currently, people who are part of the workforce experience uncertainty about their jobs due to different social and technological situations, which can generate other conditions in areas such as health, economics, among others. However, to conduct research focused on this problem, it is necessary to have appropriate instruments for the execution of these scientific studies. This study aimed to evaluate whether the Job Insecurity Scale has adequate psychometric properties in a multi-occupational sample of Salvadoran workers. A total of 170 questionnaires were obtained through nonprobabilistic snowball sampling. The mean age of participants was 36 years, with a standard deviation of 11. The participants were mostly women (60%), from urban areas (84.1%), completed university studies (42.4%), and from the private labor sector (51.8%). The results showed that the scale has adequate psychometric properties for construct validity; however, item 4 does not have an acceptable factorial saturation. In addition, the instrument has adequate validity coefficients based on the relationships between the variables. With respect to reliability, the scale reached satisfactory levels (>.80, excluding Item 4). It was concluded that the Labor Uncertainty Scale is a valid and reliable instrument for use in Salvadoran research that focuses on this social phenomenon.

The failed civilization. Political critique of capitalism in Ignacio Ellacuría, by Carlos Mauricio Hernández

Luis Gerardo Monterrosa Cubías — 2025-03-31

Book Review: The failed civilization. Political critique of capitalism in Ignacio Ellacuría, by Carlos Mauricio Hernández, by Carlos Mauricio Hernández, No. 46, March-August 2025