The publication of this issue coincides with the preparations for the twenty-third anniversary of the University and during this time, the administrators have promoted and supported the journals of all our academic units. The outcome is evident, as the institution is catalogued as one of the best in the country regarding the quality of publications, climbing to 10^th place among a total of 24 since 2006. Thus, everyone involved, including editors, peers and many others, is determined to improve the standards of quality and to guarantee our continuation in the international bases. The contents of this Journal is presented and grouped in three thematic lines: international relations, political, strategy and security.

International Relations includes three articles. In the first one, New horizons in the relations between Latin America and the United States? By Vicente Torrijos and Juan Sebastian Granada, the authors deal with a subject of great interest for Latin Americans: relations with the United States. For it, they do a brief historic recount to emphasize that the relations have been marked by the foreign policy decisions of the U.S. Nevertheless, there have been breaks in the behavior of both parts, depending on their national interests and the position of the United States in the international system. Likewise, the authors recognize that those are not disinterested relations, but rather, they are of asymmetric nature. In spite of that, the authors defend the deepening of cooperative relations, but in the case of Latin America they must be through supranational organizations as a cohesive mechanism for the various agendas. The second article, The British protectorate in the Mosquitia coast, 1837-1849, by Rafat Ghotme; after a careful examination of historical documents, the author ascertains novel elements of analysis in the fulfillment of foreign policy by Great Britain, concretely in the case of Mosquitia. What is most interesting of this article is that it does not dwell in a simple description, but discloses that the practice of the Mosquitian protectorate as made by Great Britain was carried out with different objectives than the ones presented in the 18th century, which are not in line with the traditional imperialist objective, focusing on the contrary, in defensive considerations, both strategic-political and commercial. Despite of it, the author does not deny that in some moment there could have existed traditional considerations, idea that along with other thoughts will be addressed in this and in future issues. The third article, Elements of reflection to improve the practice of the decentralized official cooperation in the Colombian municipalities, by Denisse Grandas, deals with the subject of international cooperation, a matter that is normally undertaken and analyzed at interstate level, but in this case, it is different because the decentralized mode is studied; this is the method used by local and regional government entities in Colombia, for their own development. The author defends this type of management and cites some findings that show the problems that exist in order to make the best use of resources at decentralized levels. Then, to improve the quality and efficiency of those resources, makes some recommendations to both givers and recipients of that cooperation.

In the area of Politics, four articles are presented: the first one is The political doctrines of Marxism-Leninism in the XX century, by Manuel Losada Sierra. The cold war was an important period of the international system, characterized by a bipolar power distribution and the consolidation of schools of thought such as Marxism-Leninism, despite criticisms of the democratic model, among others. In that sense, professor Losada makes a methodical presentation of the teaching process of the official ideology, made by Moscow, which spread the doctrine through the publication of magazines, conferences and symposiums as a way, not only of adhesion to the cause, but of control and to maintain permanent contact among parties, countries and movements of communist liberation. In the second article, Neocons at the international political arena: where do they come from?, by Francisco Javier Ruiz Duran and José Antonio Peña Ramos; in contrast with the previous article, the authors show the creation of a political faction, labeled neoconservatism, clearly anti-Stalinist, in the cold war period, active today in the American political circles, with the objective of restraining communism, as a reply to the collapse of the communist model and a form of struggle against Soviet absolutism. The authors foster the writing with a detailed mention of its members and the facts that gave it origin, to finally highlight that as a transcendental act, the group took Mr. Reagan to the presidency of the United States of America. In the third article, Excesses and delinquency in the elite of Power, by Asael Mercado Maldonado, a critical analysis is made of the conducts caused by the ostentation of power, reveals the composition of what he calls the new elite and emphasizes that it happens not only in the U.S.A., as the common imaginary believes, but surprisingly in Latin America, particularly in Mexico. Among the assertions put forth, is that the current social context promotes those antisocial conducts, which makes difficult the identification of the white-collar criminal in spite of possessing certain peculiar characteristics. Finally, it concludes that crime must be prevented, despite a series of difficulties to achieve that goal, mainly due to the political associations that those criminals have. Finally, Social Setback and discrimination of the social policies toward the native groups in Sonora, by Jorge E. Horbath and Amalia Grace. The authors deal with a social topic of minorities in a Mexican state, but this is not unfamiliar to Latin America since many of its countries have an important native base, as is the case of Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, among others. The situation denounced is common to many of the native communities, although they recognize that the aztec country has made efforts through public politics to minimize the negative effects; nevertheless, it has not been possible to improve the poverty conditions because those public politics have not been specified for those communities. Then, they conclude that an affirmative action is urgently required, as well as mechanisms of participation of the natives themselves, in order for them to act as political subjects and not as object of politics.

In Strategy and Security, two articles are included: the first one is Military Doctrine and exercise of political power in Latin America: the role and impact of the Peruvian and Brazilian military academies, by Jose David Moreno. It is a fascinating article that highlights the preparation of officers of the national armies of Peru and Brazil, with a special characteristic, which is the relationship between the civil and the military that gives a special vision to the officers regarding reality and political problems in their own countries. These military academies originated under special circumstances, such as the cold war and the influence of communism, which is directly related to the phenomenon of militarism in Latin America, besides impacting effectively in the behavior, performance and commitment of the officers involved. The last paper, Hemispheric security, assistance and democracy at the start of the cold war, by Silvina M. Romano, analyzes the current politics of hemispheric security encouraged by the United States, comparing it with the guidelines proposed at the start of the cold war, in order to reveal if there is continuity or change. Along her writing, she exposes how the American speech articulates the political with the economic and the military, in order to legitimize and legalize their actions and so, guarantee a significant flow of resources for themselves. Both in the past and the present, they see as a threat to their economic-social structure, if they cannot have fast and easy access to non-renewable resources such as oil, raw materials and natural products, and then, once again, as in the cold war era, militarization is the guaranteeing strategy.

To finalize, we reiterate our thanks to those that support and help us, making possible this work, as we are sure that without the determined assistance of all, it would be impossible to do it. We expect and thank that you remain with us.

Alejandra Ripoll
Editor