ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the analysis which represents only the scratching of the surface of a large, fertile, but heretofore unexplored terrain. Its purpose is to stimulate discussion and further research and to present, at this stage, tentative conclusions rather than definitive ones. The constitutions enacted, particularly the articles dealing with labor and social issues, provide a second indicator of the trends. By 1950 seventeen of the twenty Latin American countries, plus Spain and Portugal, had adopted constitutions containing articles dealing with labor’s rights and responsibilities. Freedom of association became a basic civil and industrial right; in the majority of the new Latin American constitutions, the right to organize was guaranteed. The Latin American and Iberian nations began establishing separate agencies to deal with labor. A number of the Latin American and Iberian countries provide for compulsory arbitration and/or adjudication by the labor ministry in the settlement of disputes.
