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OverviewExamines the phenomenal success of left-wing radical leaders in Latin America Asks how much they can really achieve - can they really offer radical economic reform? How closely can they work with radical social movements? Ideal book for students of Latin American politics, and critics of globalisation Authors are leading academics in the field The 2003 electoral victory of Lucio Gutierrez in Ecuador was met with the same sense of optimism that greeted the election of Ignacio 'Lula' da Silva in Brazil, and Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Gutierrez's victory was viewed as a major advance for the country in its 500 year-long struggle for freedom and democracy. In Bolivia, Evo Morales similarly came within an electoral whisker of achieving state power in 2002, and in 2003 Nestor Kirchner became President of Argentina. This means that some of the largest countries in Latin America are now led by left-wing radicals. They came to power on the promise of delivering a fundamental change of direction that would steer their countries away from neo-liberal economic policies, and towards socialism. Their success awakened major hopes on the Left for a new dawn in Latin American politics. This book explores whether these hopes are realistic. Are these victories simply a sign of the decline of US power in the region? The authors examine each leader's rise to power and their individual political significance. Latin America is unique in that it has experienced two decades of popular resistance to neo-liberal policies: each of the four countries examined here has a rich history of diverse indigenous and working class movements coming together to agitate for radical political change. The authors examine the political dynamic between the state, with its new agenda, and the strategy of mass mobilisation preferred by social movements. They explore to what extent social movements will be able to participate in electoral politics, and how they will continue to mobilise the forces of resistance and opposition. Full Product DetailsAuthor: James Petras , Henry VeltmeyerPublisher: Pluto Press Imprint: Pluto Press Dimensions: Width: 13.50cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 21.50cm Weight: 0.368kg ISBN: 9780745324227ISBN 10: 0745324223 Pages: 288 Publication Date: 20 July 2005 Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational , Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print  This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of ContentsPreface Introduction 1. Bad Government, Good Governance: Civil Society versus Social Movements 2. From Popular Rebellion to ‘Normal Capitalism’ in Argentina 3. Lula and the Dynamics of a Neoliberal Regime 4. Social Movements and State Power in Ecuador 5. The Politics of Adjustment, Reform and Revolution in Bolivia 6. Political Power Dynamics in Latin America Bibliography IndexReviewsPetras and Veltmeyer in their study of recent economic and political developments in four other South American countries considers the political and economic developments in each country in the light of the increasing prominence of the left and the extent to which challenges to the neo-liberalism of the International Monetary Fund had been successful. Using Chavez's victory in Venezuela to set the context, the American based academics review the presidencies of Kirchner in Argentina, as well as developments in Bolivia. The book assumes considerable knowledge of the contemporary economics and politics of each country. The conclusion to their analysis is that 'a radical politics of mass mobilization is an indispensable condition for advancing the struggle for social change - to bring a new world of social justice and real development based on popular power. In practice it is necessary to combine both electoral and mass revolutionary politics. -- Duncan Bowie, Chartist Author InformationDr. James Petras is Professor Emeritus in Sociology at Binghamton University, New York. He is the author of numerous works on Latin America and global development, including Globaloney: el lenguaje imperial, los intelectuales y la izquierda (2000), Hegemonia dos Estados Unidos no Nova Milenio (2001) and Unmasking Globlization: Imperialism of the Twenty-first Century (2001). He is also the co-author. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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