Abstract, Titles of Contention: Sociocultural Change and Conflict over Legalization of Indigenous Lands in Southeastern Ecuador

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Titles of Contention: Sociocultural Change and Conflict over Legalization of Indigenous Lands in Southeastern Ecuador
by Raúl Márquez Porras, María Beatriz Eguiguren Riofrío, and Ana Vera Vera



Shuar communities in southeastern Ecuador are receiving collective property titles to their ancestral lands. This is being done as a way to guarantee their material and cultural survival, but the titling triggers sociocultural changes and conflict and its outcomes depend largely on the way it is implemented. The consequences of the titling process in communities in Nangaritza and El Pangui in which Shuar, Saraguro, and mestizos coexist include both tensions and informal arrangements to resolve the historically conflictive issue of access to the land.

Abstract, Bolivia and Its Transformations in the Light of “Seven Erroneous Theses about Latin America”

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Bolivia and Its Transformations in the Light of “Seven Erroneous Theses about Latin America”
by Gabriela Canedo Vásquez


Bolivia has become a plurinational state, and as such it seeks to dismantle the deeply ingrained internal colonialism that runs through the state and the society. Thus it recognizes self-determination by indigenous people, autonomous territories, plural economy and justice, communal democracy, and suma qamaña (living well) and identifies the indigenous as the main actors in the transformation process, sidelining both the working and the middle classes. Some of the contradictions at its core include views of development that range from extractivism to environmentalism and living well. The government claims to be oriented toward communitarian socialism, but developmentalism will entail the destruction of indigenous modes of survival that are considered culturally rich but backward from a Western perspective. The central indigenous actor of current government discourse has been pushed aside. The Bolivian process presents a way of building a more equal state and a society that offers greater opportunities provided that these structural contradictions are resolved.

Entrevista con el Dr. Nemer Narchi (Español)

El Dr. Nemer Narchi, un Coordinating Editor de LAP, discute el daño de la extracción y la violencia ambiental en las comunidades de América Latina y cómo podemos comenzar a reimaginar nuestra relación con el medio ambiente.

"Environmental Violence in Mexico"

Latin American Perspectives 

Issue 204 Vol. 42 #5 September 2015

Available here.

Book, Rethinking Venezuelan Politics: Class, Conflict, and the Chavez Phenomenon

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Rethinking Venezuelan Politics: Class, Conflict, and the Chavez Phenomenon
by Steve Ellner

In this fresh look at Venezuelan politics, Steve Ellner emphasizes the central significance of the country's economic and social cleavages. Ellner's journey through modern Venezuelan history - observing popular masses and social actors as much as political elites and formal institutions - fundamentally informs his analysis of Hugo Chavez's presidency and the 'Bolivarian Revolution' at its core. Perhaps equally important, as he explores the rise of Chavismo, opposition within the country and abroad, internal tensions in the Chavista movement, and the trajectory of the Chavez government domestically and on the international stage, he sheds new light not only on Venezuela, but also on the recent political turmoil elsewhere in Latin America. This title offers a fresh perspective on Venezuelan politics from the colonial period to the present, emphasizing the central significance of the country's economic and social cleavages.

Book, Rethinking Venezuelan Politics: Class, Conflict, and the Chavez Phenomenon

:::::: Book ::::::

Rethinking Venezuelan Politics: Class, Conflict, and the Chavez Phenomenon
by Steve Ellner

In this fresh look at Venezuelan politics, Steve Ellner emphasizes the central significance of the country's economic and social cleavages. Ellner's journey through modern Venezuelan history - observing popular masses and social actors as much as political elites and formal institutions - fundamentally informs his analysis of Hugo Chavez's presidency and the 'Bolivarian Revolution' at its core. Perhaps equally important, as he explores the rise of Chavismo, opposition within the country and abroad, internal tensions in the Chavista movement, and the trajectory of the Chavez government domestically and on the international stage, he sheds new light not only on Venezuela, but also on the recent political turmoil elsewhere in Latin America. This title offers a fresh perspective on Venezuelan politics from the colonial period to the present, emphasizing the central significance of the country's economic and social cleavages.

Book, Rethinking Venezuelan Politics: Class, Conflict, and the Chavez Phenomenon

:::::: Book ::::::

Rethinking Venezuelan Politics: Class, Conflict, and the Chavez Phenomenon
by Steve Ellner

In this fresh look at Venezuelan politics, Steve Ellner emphasizes the central significance of the country's economic and social cleavages. Ellner's journey through modern Venezuelan history - observing popular masses and social actors as much as political elites and formal institutions - fundamentally informs his analysis of Hugo Chavez's presidency and the 'Bolivarian Revolution' at its core. Perhaps equally important, as he explores the rise of Chavismo, opposition within the country and abroad, internal tensions in the Chavista movement, and the trajectory of the Chavez government domestically and on the international stage, he sheds new light not only on Venezuela, but also on the recent political turmoil elsewhere in Latin America. This title offers a fresh perspective on Venezuelan politics from the colonial period to the present, emphasizing the central significance of the country's economic and social cleavages.

Political Report #1073, The Age of Imperial Wars by LAP Editor James Petras

Introduction

2015 has become a year of living dangerously.

Wars are spreading across the globe.  Wars are escalating as new countries are bombed and the old are ravaged with ever greater intensity.

Countries, where relatively peaceful changes had taken place through recent elections, are now on the verge of civil wars.