Introduction, Open Veins Revisited: The New Extractivism in Latin America, Part 2

:::::: Introduction ::::::

Open Veins Revisited: The New Extractivism in Latin America, Part 2

by Linda Farthing and Nicole Fabricant

This second issue on the current boom in extractivism reverberating throughout Latin America expands the discussion of the economic, social, and political impacts of expanded extractivism and the perpetuation of Latin America’s status as a source of raw materials for industries located elsewhere that was developed in the first collection of articles on this topic (LAP 45 [5]) . Reflecting the wide range of topics related to extractivism, certain themes from the first issue find a home here, ranging from national policy making to indigenous and women’s rights and environmental justice.

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Introduction, Open Veins Revisited: Charting the Social, Economic, and Political Contours of the New Extractivism in Latin America

:::::: Introduction ::::::

Open Veins Revisited: Charting the Social, Economic, and Political Contours of the New Extractivism in Latin America
by Nicole Fabricant and Linda Farthing


Ever since the search for the elusive El Dorado began in the sixteenth century, the history of Latin America has been a tale of resource extraction. Key resources (such as silver, gold, tin, and copper) drew foreign investment but left local populations deeply impoverished. As Eduardo Galeano (1973: 29) described it, “the Spanish colonies’ economic structure was born subordinated to the external market and thus centralized around the export sector, where profit and power were concentrated.” Five centuries later, this overall pattern remains unchanged.

Its persistence propelled twentieth-century social scientists to use Marxist analytic frames, Raúl Prebisch and Hans Singer’s theories on declining terms of trade, and dependency theory more generally to explain how resource extraction created geographic and historic asymmetries between nation-states and peoples.....

Political Report # 1263 The State of the Left in Latin America: Ecuador and Bolivia After the Pink Tide

By Linda Farthing and Thea N. Riofrancos,  NACLA

Bolivian President Evo Morales (left) and Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa (right) meet in Cochabamba in 2013. (flickr / Fernanda LeMarie) As rightwing governments take power in Argentina, Brazil, and elsewhere across the region, Ecuador's leftwing Alianza País (Country Alliance, AP) and Bolivia's Movimiento al Socialismo (Movement Towards Socialism, MAS) and Bolivia have managed to hold onto power. Despite early gains in poverty reduction and social mobility, the left wing in both countries has faltered in recent years, since the end of the commodity boom and an economic downturn has led to a decrease in social spending and services among popular classes. Meanwhile, an ongoing reliance on extractive industries has driven wedges between social and indigenous movements and their governments who rely on transnational capital and megaprojects to finance their state vision - a vision that these movements see as increasingly disconnected from their own. In Ecuador, President Lenín Moreno, once Rafael Correa's Vice President, scraped an electoral victory this Spring, as his party faces contradictions and clashes with social movements that Correa's government increasingly repressed. In Bolivia, the once-wildly popular Evo Morales, the country's first indigenous president, has also embraced extractivism, losing the support of the social bases that brought him to power. In this panel discussion, Thea Riofrancos, Professor of Political Science at Providence College and Linda Farthing, an independent researcher based in Bolivia, discuss the current state of the left in these two Andean countries. Thea Riofrancos on Ecuador: Althougth Lenin Moreno managed to win his election campaign, his Left party and the party of former president Rafael Correa, Alianza Pais (AP), no longer enjoys a legislative supermajority and has lost several important elections at the municipal and provincial levels.

Book, Evo's Bolivia: Continuity and Change

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

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.