This collection focuses on the social consequences of neoliberal crises in Latin America. It includes a critical yet sympathetic analysis of ruling leftist governments in the region and discusses the larger constraints facing organized attempts to politically transform the Americas.
The Marxist Theory of Dependency (TMD) managed to articulate the insertion of peripheral societies into the international market with the capital accumulation processes of each country. It has become an essential theory for the understanding of our societies. Since Ruy Mauro Marini laid out its foundations, many transformations have occurred in global capitalism and in our societies, leaving us the challenge of updating it against a more complex context. The real test of theory is its adequacy as an instrument of understanding contemporary reality. The TMD has been enriched and renewed from this work of Carlos Eduardo Martins. It considers capitalism from the perspective of anti-capitalism, dependence from the standpoint of emancipation and reality through a vision for its revolutionary transformation. Emir Sader - CLACSO General Secretary (2006-2012) This book is a revised edition of a work first published in 2011 as Globalização, dependência e neoliberalismo na América Latina by Boitempo Editorial, São Paulo, Brazil. La teoría marxista de la dependencia (TMD) logró articular la inserción de las sociedades periféricas en el mercado internacional con los procesos de acumulación de capital de cada país. Se ha convertido en una teoría esencial para la comprensión de nuestras sociedades. Desde que Ruy Mauro Marini expuso sus fundamentos, muchas transformaciones ocurrieron en el capitalismo global y en nuestras sociedades, poniendo el desafío de actualización en condiciones más complejas La prueba real de la teoría es su adecuación como instrumento de comprensión de la realidad contemporánea. La TMD sale enriquecida y renovada de esta obra de Carlos Eduardo Martins dedicada a pensar el capitalismo bajo la perspectiva del anticapitalismo, la dependencia en la óptica de la emancipación y la realidad en la perspectiva de su transformación revolucionaria. Emir Sader - Secretario General CLACSO (2006-2012)
The authors trace out the development of capitalism and U.S. imperialism in Latin America in the latest phase of this development, from the installation of the new world order of neoliberal globalization in the early 1980s to the present when U.S. imperialism is held at bay, neoliberalism is in decline, and capitalism is in crisis.
This book concerns the form taken today by US imperialism in Latin America, with reference to the projection of US state power as a means of both advancing the economic interests of the US capitalist class in the region and maintaining its hegemony over the world capitalist system. In Part I the book delves into the complex relationship that exists between imperialism and capitalism as the system that dominates the world economy. Part II elaborates on the economic and political dynamics of imperial power in Latin America and the forces of resistance that these dynamics have generated. Part III focuses on the relationship between the United States and Venezuela, which has assumed the leadership in the anti-imperialist struggle.
The Class Struggle in Latin America: Making History Today analyses the political and economic dynamics of development in Latin America through the lens of class struggle. Focusing in particular on Peru, Paraguay, Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela, the book identifies how the shifts and changing dynamics of the class struggle have impacted on the rise, demise and resurgence of neo-liberal regimes in Latin America. This innovative book offers a unique perspective on the evolving dynamics of class struggle, engaging both the destructive forces of capitalist development and those seeking to consolidate the system and preserve the status quo, alongside the efforts of popular resistance concerned with the destructive ravages of capitalism on humankind, society and the global environment. Using theoretical observations based on empirical and historical case studies, this book argues that the class struggle remains intrinsically linked to the march of capitalist development. At a time when post-neo-liberal regimes in Latin America are faltering, this supplementary text provides a guide to the economic and political dynamics of capitalist development in the region, which will be invaluable to students and researchers of international development, anthropology and sociology, as well as those with an interest in Latin American politics and development.
This book confronts critical problems being experienced by Latin America in its quest for development. Special attention is paid to the living conditions of the popular sectors over the last half-century under “industrial colonialism.” The author’s framework of analysis weaves together key structural variables including the neoliberal mode of knowledge creation for material production in order to unveil the actual mechanisms of the reproduction of this system. The decisive role of science in the development of the productive forces forms the basis of explicating the “state development function.” The external and internal manifestations of the main underlying contradictions in Latin America are systematically exposed as they unfold from the region’s particular integration into the imperialist system.
This book of essays, written in honour of James Petras, address some of the most critical issues of our time: those of imperialism, crisis and class struggle. These issues allow the authors to identify both the the enduring verities and contemporary face of capitalism and Petras contributions.
"This anthology--bringing together political scientists, anthropologists, historians, sociologists, economists, and journalists--provides a serious and sophisticated theoretical and historical analysis of the state of the Latin American Left. The central thematic issues are addressed, followed by a number of case studies written by the most astute radical Left observers of the contemporary setting"--
The sociology of Latin America, established in the region over the past eighty years, is a thriving field whose major contributions include dependence theory, world-systems theory, and historical debates on economic development, among others. The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Latin America provides research essays that introduce the readers to the discipline's key areas and current trends, specifically with regard to contemporary sociology in Latin America, as well as a collection of innovative empirical studies deploying a variety of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The essays in the Handbook are arranged in eight research subfields in which scholars are currently making significant theoretical and methodological contributions: Sociology of the State, Social Inequalities, Sociology of Religion, Collective Action and Social Movements, Sociology of Migration, Sociology of Gender, Medical Sociology, and Sociology of Violence and Insecurity. Due to the deterioration of social and economic conditions, as well as recent disruptions to an already tense political environment, these have become some of the most productive and important fields in Latin American sociology. This roiling sociopolitical atmosphere also generates new and innovative expressions of protest and survival, which are being explored by sociologists across different continents today. The essays included in this collection offer a map to and a thematic articulation of central sociological debates that make it a critical resource for those scholars and students eager to understand contemporary sociology in Latin America.
Latin America after the Neoliberal Debacle studies the crippling problems that plague civilian democracies in the region. Ximena de la Barra and Richard Dello Buono draw on their extensive first-hand knowledge of Latin America to provide a rich analysis of why the needs of the region are too often put second to powerful foreign interests. In particular, they look at the shortcomings of the neoliberal development model, combining a broad historical overview with analysis of critical issues today. In a region that displays some of the worst social disparities in the world, popular movements have begun to confront the forces of domination. Their struggles for social justice have proposed new political agendas that in some cases dovetail with the new generation of progressive leaders, fueling important social changes. The authors argue that genuine development, free of dependency, can only be achieved in the context of a more profound democratization and new forms of regional integration. This interdisciplinary study will be useful for students, scholars, and general readers concerned with the past, present, and particularly the future of this important region.