Book, "Urban Latin America: Inequalities and Neoliberal Reforms" (Latin American Perspectives in the Classroom) by Tom Angotti

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PURCHASE THIS EDITION 

Urban Latin America: Inequalities and Neoliberal Reforms (Latin American Perspectives in the Classroom)

Edited by Tom Angotti

Latin America is one of the most urbanized regions of the world. To understand Latin America today it is important to trace the origins and characteristics of the urban-rural divide, inequalities within urban areas, and the prospects for change. This is particularly important and timely given the challenges of widening environmental and social disparities, climate change, and climate justice. The authors critically analyze urban issues within the context of the national and regional political economy, neoliberal governance, and urban social movements. Latin America’s cities are sharply divided into wealthy enclaves and large peripheral areas, reflecting deep social and economic inequalities, leading to notable movements and reforms. This text explores Latin American cities, their history, similarities and differences, and current problems.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 306 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-4422-7447-1 • Hardback • August 2017 • $89.00 • (£60.00)

978-1-4422-7448-8 • Paperback • August 2017 • $35.00 • (£23.95)

978-1-4422-7449-5 • eBook • August 2017 • $33.00 • (£22.95)

Book, Twentieth-Century Latin American Revolutions

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Twentieth-Century Latin American Revolutions
by Marc Becker

Revolutions are a commonly studied but only vaguely understood historical phenomenon. This clear and concise text extends our understanding with a critical narrative analysis of key case studies: the 1910–1920 Mexican Revolution; the 1944–1954 Guatemalan Spring; the 1952–1964 MNR-led revolution in Bolivia; the Cuban Revolution that triumphed in 1959; the 1970–1973 Chilean path to socialism; the leftist Sandinistas in Nicaragua in power from 1979–1990; failed guerrilla movements in Colombia, El Salvador, and Peru; and the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela after Hugo Chávez’s election in 1998. Historian Marc Becker opens with a theoretical introduction to revolutionary movements, including a definition of what “revolution” means and an examination of factors necessary for a revolution to succeed. He analyzes revolutions through the lens of those who participated and explores the sociopolitical conditions that led to a revolutionary situation, the differing responses to those conditions, and the outcomes of those political changes. Each case study provides an interpretive explanation of the historical context in which each movement emerged, its main goals and achievements, its shortcomings, its outcome, and its legacy. The book concludes with an analysis of how elected leftist governments in the twenty-first century continue to struggle with issues that revolutionaries confronted throughout the twentieth century.

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, The Process of Economic Development

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The Process of Economic Development 
by James M. Cypher

The fourth edition of The Process of Economic Development offers a thorough and up-to-date treatment of development economics. This landmark text will continue to be an invaluable resource for students, teachers and researchers in the fields of development economics and development studies.

The new edition has been revised and updated throughout, reflecting the most recent developments in research and incorporating the latest empirical data, as well as key theoretical advances. The period since the publication of the third edition of The Process of Economic Development has been a time of immense change in the developing world. The period has seen huge economic growth in China, economic restructuring in India and the continuing impact of environmental issues such as climate change. The fourth edition reflects these developments, as well as including numerous case studies and new material on the following:

• transnational corporations and labor in export processing zones
• industrial policy and structural change
• gender inequality, income distribution and development
• progress towards the Millennium Development Goals
• technology and national innovation systems
• aid and the least developed nations
• the post debt crisis era and debt relief for Africa.

Cypher’s comprehensive account remains the development economics text par excellence, as it takes a much more practical, hands-on view of the issues facing developing countries than other, overly mathematical texts. This book is unique in its scope and in the detailed attention it gives to the historical contexts that have influenced progress toward development. It is accessibly written both for students of economics and for those with an interest in the many aspects of development studies.

Book, Evo's Bolivia: Continuity and Change

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Evo's Bolivia: Continuity and Change
by Linda C. Farthing and Benjamin H. Kohl

In this compelling and comprehensive look at the rise of Evo Morales and Bolivia's Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), Linda Farthing and Benjamin Kohl offer a thoughtful evaluation of the transformations ushered in by the western hemisphere's first contemporary indigenous president. Accessible to all readers, Evo's Bolivia not only charts Evo's rise to power but also offers a history of and context for the MAS revolution's place in the rising "pink tide" of the political left. Farthing and Kohl examine the many social movements whose agendas have set the political climate in Bolivia and describe the difficult conditions the administration inherited. They evaluate the results of Evo's policies by examining a variety of measures, including poverty; health care and education reform; natural resources and development; and women's, indigenous, and minority rights. Weighing the positive with the negative, the authors offer a balanced assessment of the results and shortcomings of the first six years of the Morales administration.

At the heart of this book are the voices of Bolivians themselves. Farthing and Kohl interviewed women and men in government, in social movements, and on the streets throughout the country, and their diverse backgrounds and experiences offer a multidimensional view of the administration and its progress so far. Ultimately the "process of change" Evo promised is exactly that: an ongoing and complicated process, yet an important example of development in a globalized world.

Book, Intellectuals and the Search for National Identity in Twentieth-Century Brazil

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Intellectuals and the Search for National Identity in Twentieth-Century Brazil
by Ronald H. Chilcote

This book discusses twentieth-century Brazilian political thought, arguing that while Rio de Janeiro intellectuals envisaged the state and the national bourgeoisie as the means to overcome dependency on foreign ideas and culture, São Paulo intellectuals looked to civil society and the establishment of new academic institutions in the search for national identity. Ronald H. Chilcote begins his study by outlining Brazilian intellectuals' attempt to transcend a sense of inferiority emanating from Brazilian colonialism and backwardness. Next, he traces the struggle for national identity in Rio de Janeiro through an account of how intellectuals of varying political persuasions united in search of a political ideology of national development. He then presents an analysis by São Paulo intellectuals on racial discrimination, social inequality, and class differentiation under early capitalism and industrialization. The book concludes with a discussion on how Brazilian intellectuals challenged foreign thinking about development through the state and representative democratic institutions, in contrast to popular and participatory democratic practices.

Global Security Watch—Venezuela

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Global Security Watch—Venezuela
by Daniel Hellinger

This in-depth study provides a timely assessment of how the foreign, military, and security policies of Venezuela shape relations with the United States in the Chavez era.

The growing importance of Venezuela in the global oil market along with the controversial nature of its leadership provoke concern among some world powers—especially the United States, whose international policies have been heavily criticized by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. This critical look at American/Venezuelan relations presents perceptions held by each government of the other and examines the sources of tensions—and points of confluence—between the two countries.

Global Security Watch—Venezuela traces the political relations between the United States and Venezuela from the early roots based in Pan Americanism to the domestic and foreign policies of the Chavez regime, including petro-diplomacy. This book provides a serious examination of the allegations about Venezuelan involvement in the drug trade, terrorism, and intervention; the view that the unilateralism of the United States threatens world peace; and the future of relations between the two countries.

Book, Haiti: From Revolutionary Slaves to Powerless Citizens: Essays on the Politics and Economics of Underdevelopment, 1804-2013

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Haiti: From Revolutionary Slaves to Powerless Citizens: Essays on the Politics and Economics of Underdevelopment, 1804-2013
by Alex Dupuy

This title focuses on Haiti from an international perspective. Haiti has endured undue influence from successive French and US governments; its fragile 'democracy' has been founded on subordination to and dominance of foreign powers. This book examines Haiti's position within the global economic and political order, and how the more dominant members of the international community have, in varying ways, exploited the country over the last 200 years.

Book, Venezuela: What Everyone Needs to Know

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Venezuela: What Everyone Needs to Know

by Miguel Tinker Salas

Among the top ten oil exporters in the world and a founding member of OPEC, Venezuela currently supplies 11 percent of U.S. crude oil imports. But when the country elected the fiery populist politician Hugo Chavez in 1998, tensions rose with this key trading partner and relations have been strained ever since. 

Book, Mexico: Political, Social and Economic Evolution

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Mexico: Political, Social and Economic Evolution

by Nora Hamilton

Mexico: Political, Social, and Economic Evolution provides a compelling overview of the profound changes that have taken place within Mexico over the past twenty-five years. Offering a multifaceted take on the evolution of contemporary Mexico, the text analyzes the relationship between Mexico's past and present; the connections between its economic, political, and social trajectories; and the interaction between domestic and international forces.

Book, Twenty-First-Century Socialism Is There Life After Neo-Liberalism?

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Twenty-First-Century Socialism
Is There Life After Neo-Liberalism?

by Atilio A. Boron  Translated by Susan Ashdown  

In Twenty-First-Century Socialism, Atilio A. Boron traces the history of capitalism in Latin America and finds that the capitalist mode of production has not led to development but instead has fostered underdevelopment. Boron argues that within a wider historical and geographical perspective, capitalism is a mode of production that has served as a means of development for a small group of nations at the price of excluding the benefits of development to all the rest. As Boron concludes, with globalization there is no longer any possibility for autonomous capitalist development. Arguing on the inability of capitalism to drive development in Latin America, Boron states that with capitalism, Latin America has no prospects. Neo-liberal policies such as the privatization of education, health and social security in household-debt-ravaged Chile, the violent usurpation of Indigenous lands, and the ever-widening gap between the rich and poor in Brazil lead to a dead end. On the other hand, countries that have resisted these destructive neo-liberal economic policies, such as Cuba and Venezuela, illustrate that any hopes of a promising future for the people of Latin America will be in a post-capitalist setting, the elements of which Boron presents in great detail.

Book Review, "Challenges Facing the Latin American Left According to Marta Harnecker" by Steve Ellner

Book Review
Challenges Facing the Latin American Left According to Marta Harnecker 
by Steve Ellner

Marta Harnecker, A World to Build: New Paths toward Twenty-first-Century Socialism.
Translated by Fred Fuentes. New York: Monthly Review Press, 2015.

Book, Violence Against Latina Immigrants Citizenship, Inequality, and Community

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Violence Against Latina Immigrants
Citizenship, Inequality, and Community
by Roberta Villalon 

Caught between violent partners and the bureaucratic complications of the US Immigration system, many immigrant women are particularly vulnerable to abuse. For two years, Roberta Villalón volunteered at a nonprofit group that offers free legal services to mostly undocumented immigrants who had been victims of abuse. Her innovative study of Latina survivors of domestic violence explores the complexities at the intersection of immigration, citizenship, and violence, and shows how inequality is perpetuated even through the well-intentioned delivery of vital services. Through archival research, participant observation, and personal interviews, Violence Against Latina Immigrants provides insight into the many obstacles faced by battered immigrant women of color, bringing their stories and voices to the fore. Ultimately, Villalón proposes an active policy advocacy agenda and suggests possible changes to gender violence-based immigration laws, revealing the complexities of the lives of Latina immigrants as they confront issues of citizenship, gender violence, and social inequalities.

Book, Global Security Watch—Venezuela

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

Global Security Watch—Venezuela
by Daniel Hellinger

This in-depth study provides a timely assessment of how the foreign, military, and security policies of Venezuela shape relations with the United States in the Chavez era.

The growing importance of Venezuela in the global oil market along with the controversial nature of its leadership provoke concern among some world powers—especially the United States, whose international policies have been heavily criticized by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. This critical look at American/Venezuelan relations presents perceptions held by each government of the other and examines the sources of tensions—and points of confluence—between the two countries.

Global Security Watch—Venezuela traces the political relations between the United States and Venezuela from the early roots based in Pan Americanism to the domestic and foreign policies of the Chavez regime, including petro-diplomacy. This book provides a serious examination of the allegations about Venezuelan involvement in the drug trade, terrorism, and intervention; the view that the unilateralism of the United States threatens world peace; and the future of relations between the two countries.

Book, Globalization and Military Power in the Andes

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Globalization and Military Power in the Andes
by William Avilés

Through a series of comparative case studies, the author demonstrates that the conflicts and struggles over capitalist globalization in the Andes are intricately connected to the political power of the military in the region.

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, Social Movements and Leftist Governments in Latin America: Confrontation or Co-optation?

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Social Movements and Leftist Governments in Latin America: Confrontation or Co-optation?
by Gary Prevost, Carlos Oliva Campos, Harry E. Vanden (LAP Editor)

In recent years, the simultaneous development of prominent social movements and the election of left and centre-left governments has radically altered the political landscape in Latin America. These social movements have ranged from the community based 'piqueteros' of Argentina that brought down three governments in the space of a month in 2001 to the indigenous movements in Ecuador and Bolivia that were instrumental in toppling five governments in the last decade. And in the cases of Venezuela and Brazil, social movements helped to provide the political base from which leftist leaders like Hugo Chávez and Lula were swept into power by election.

Book, Rethinking Latin America

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Rethinking Latin America
Development, Hegemony, and Social Transformation
by Ronaldo P. Munck

In a subtle but powerful reading of the shifting relationships between development, hegemony, and social transformation in post-independence Latin America, Ronaldo Munck argues that Latin American subaltern knowledge makes a genuine contribution to the current search for a social order which is sustainable and equitable.

Book, Political Economy of Brazil

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Political Economy of Brazil
Recent Economic Performance
by Philip Arestis and Alfredo Saad-Filho

This book assesses the performance of the first Lula government (2002-06) from different perspectives including economics, politics, history and social policy. While the focus is on Brazil, it also refers to the experiences of similar countries both for comparative purposes and for evidence of the success or otherwise of this 'new' era for Brazil.

Book, Intellectuals and the Search for National Identity in Twentieth-Century Brazil

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Intellectuals and the Search for National Identity in Twentieth-Century Brazil
by Ronald H. Chilcote

This book discusses twentieth-century Brazilian political thought, arguing that while Rio de Janeiro intellectuals envisaged the state and the national bourgeoisie as the means to overcome dependency on foreign ideas and culture, São Paulo intellectuals looked to civil society and the establishment of new academic institutions in the search for national identity. Ronald H. Chilcote begins his study by outlining Brazilian intellectuals' attempt to transcend a sense of inferiority emanating from Brazilian colonialism and backwardness. Next, he traces the struggle for national identity in Rio de Janeiro through an account of how intellectuals of varying political persuasions united in search of a political ideology of national development. He then presents an analysis by São Paulo intellectuals on racial discrimination, social inequality, and class differentiation under early capitalism and industrialization. The book concludes with a discussion on how Brazilian intellectuals challenged foreign thinking about development through the state and representative democratic institutions, in contrast to popular and participatory democratic practices.