Venezuela: Hugo Chávez and the Decline of an "Exceptional Democracy"
Edited by: Steve Ellner and Miguel Tinker Salas
-Purchase This Edition-
This authoritative book offers a comprehensive assessment of contemporary Venezuela. Analyzing the multifaceted phenomenon of Hugo Chavez, leading scholars move beyond his flamboyant style to focus on the concerns of popular social and political movements. The book challenges the misleading notions that for several decades glorified Venezuelan "exceptionalism" has minimized the role of important actors. After setting the historical and socio-economic contexts, the contributors explore racial issues, social and labor movements, electoral politics, economic and oil policy, and United States support for the Venezuelan opposition. Underscoring the complexity of Chavez and his popularity, the book highlights the need to avoid simplistic assessments of the past and present and offers a clear-eyed understanding of Venezuelan reality today.
-Sets the Chavez phenomenon in historical context
-Offers a critical analysis of widely accepted notions concerning Venezuelan history and politics
-Provides a close view of recent developments in social and labor movements in Venezuela and their interaction with political actors.
-Examines how decisions taken in the oil industry have shaped Venezuelan politics, both historically and today
-Traces the historical origin of Venezuelan racism, in the process refuting the notion that it is an invention of President Chavez and his movement
-Analyzes Venezuela's electoral democracy under Chavez, focusing on social cleavages and the role of international agencies such as the National Endowment for Democracy.
List of Contributors
Christopher I. Clement, Steve Ellner, Maria Pilar Garcia Guadilla, Daniel Hellinger, Jesus Maria Herrera Salas, Edgardo Lander, Dick Parker, Cristobal Valencia Ramirez.
About the Authors
Steve Ellner is professor at the Universidad de Oriente, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela.
Miguel Tinker Salas is Arango Professor of Latin American History and Chicano/a studies at Pomona College.
Development in Theory and Practice: Latin American Perspectives, Edited by Ronald H. Chilcote. -Brochure- -Purchase This Edition-
This definitive reader brings together seminal articles on development in Latin America. Tracing the concepts and major debates surrounding the issue, the text focuses on development theory through three contrasting historical perspectives: imperialism, underdevelopment and dependency, and globalization. By offering a rich array of essays from Latin American Perspectives, the book allows students to sample all the important trends in the field. A new general introduction and conclusion, along with part introductions, contextualize each selection.
One of the leading figures in development studies, Ronald Chilcote shows in this text why work on imperialism dating to the turn of the twentieth century informs the controversies on dependency and underdevelopment during the 1960s and 1970s as well as the globalization debates of the past decade. If students are to understand development in Latin America, they must not only be familiar with historical examples and recognize that various theoretical perspectives affect our interpretation of events, they must be willing to keep an open mind. Thus, rather than setting out established premises, this reader offers different points of view, raising provocative questions about Latin America that remain largely unanswered even today. Students will come away from this rewarding collection ready to pursue new understanding through critical inquiry and thinking.
List of Contributors:
Haroldo Dilla Alfonso, Thomas Angotti, Ricardo Antunes, David Barkin, Dave Broad, Doug Brown, Ronald H. Chilcote, Agustín Cueva, Enrique Dussel, Joel C. Edelstein, Raúl A. Fernández, Frank T. Fitzgerald, André Gunder Frank, Michael González-Cruz, Timothy F. Harding, Richard L. Harris, Keith A. Haynes, Colin Henfrey, Claudio Katz, Manuel Maldonado-Denis, Ronaldo Munck, George Novack, José Nun, José F. Ocampo, Tânia Pellegrini, James F. Petras, Aníbal Quijano, Cathy A. Rakowski, Eduardo Rosenzvaig, David F. Ruccio, Rodolfo Stavenhagen, Frederick Weaver Stirton, Heather Williams, and Tamar Diana Wilson.
Mayan Lives, Mayan Utopias: The Indigenous Peoples of Chiapas and the Zapatista Rebellion, Edited by Jan Rus, Rosalva Aída Hernández Castillo, and Shannan L. Mattiace.
-Purchase This Edition-
The dramatic January 1, 1994, emergence of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) in Chiapas, Mexico, brought the state's indigenous peoples to the attention of the international community. Yet indigenous peoples in Chiapas had been politically active and organized for years prior to the uprising. This compelling volume examines in detail these local and regional histories of power and resistance, powerfully bolstered by gripping and heartrending details of oppression and opposition. Situated broadly within the field of political anthropology, the authors trace the connections between indigenous culture and indigenous resistance. Their case studies include the Tzotzils and Tzeltals of the highland region, the Tojolabals of eastern Chiapas, northern Ch'ol communities, the Mams of eastern and southeastern Chiapas, and the settler communities of the Lacandon rain forest. In the wake of the Chiapas rebellion, all of these groups have increasingly come together around common goals, the most important of which is autonomy. Three essays focus specifically on the issue of Indian autonomy--in both Zapatista and non-Zapatista communities.
Offering a consistent and cohesive vision of the complex evolution of a region and its many cultures and histories, this work is a fundamental source for understanding key issues in nation building. In a unique collaboration, the book brings together recognized authorities who have worked in Chiapas for decades, many linking scholarship with social and political activism. Their combined perspectives, many previously unavailable in English, make this volume the most authoritative, richly detailed, and authentic work available on the people behind the Zapatista movement.
--Subtantive general introduction and part introductions offer students context and background for understanding the readings
--unique in its detailed descriptions of local and regional histories
--includes the work of the most respected and knowledgeable scholars and activists in the field.
--Maps and photos enrich the text
List of Contributors:
José Alejos García, Andrés Aubry, Araceli Burguete Cal y Mayor, George A. Collier, Christine Eber, Gustavo Esteva, Rosalva Aída Hernández Castillo, Xóchitl Leyva Solano, Shannan L. Mattiace, and Jan Rus.
Rereading Women in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Political Economy of Gender, Edited by Jennifer Abbassi and Sheryl L. Lutjens.
-Purchase This Edition-
This indispensable text reader provides a broad-ranging and thoughtfully organized feminist introduction to the ongoing controversies of development in Latin America and the Caribbean. Designed for use in a variety of college courses, the volume collects an influential group of essays first published in Latin American Perspectives--a theoretical and scholarly journal focused on the political economy of capitalism, imperialism, and socialism in the Americas. The reader is organized into thematic sections that focus on work, politics, and culture, and each section includes substantive introductions that identify key issues, trends, and debates in the scholarly literature on women and gender in the region.
Demonstrating the rich and multidisciplinary nature of Latin American studies, this collection of timely, empirical studies promotes critical thinking about women's place and power; about theory and research strategies; and about contemporary economic, political, and social conditions in Latin America and the Caribbean. Valuable as both a supplementary or primary text, Rereading Women makes a convincing claim for a materialist feminist analysis. It convincingly shows why women have become an increasingly important subject of research, acknowledges their gains and struggles over time, and explores the contributions that feminist theory has made toward the recognition of gender as a relevant--indeed essential--category for analyzing the political economy of development.
Transnational Latina/o Communities: Politics, Processes, and Cultures, Edited by Carlos G. Vélez-Ibáñez and Anna Sampaio with Manolol González-Estay -Purchase This Edition-
This groundbreaking text challenges the traditional paradigm of Latina/o studies by focusing on transnational issues and examining the manner in which gender, race, and class emerge out of local and global processes. Divided into three parts, the volume first critiques current theoretical and methodological approaches within the discipline. It then explores alternate propositions concerning material culture and human identity by introducing different frames for analysis. Finally, it moves us beyond nation-based approaches of previous studies as well as attending to emergent rural and urban innovations at the local level. This work expands our understandings and links between Latino and Latin American studies and will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars from both fields.
An exciting and timely work that broadens the ways that Chicano/Latino communities are traditionally studied. The essays are well-written and accessible to students. An important contribution to the field and to the classroom.
--Enrique Ochoa, California State University, Los Angeles
Latin American Social Movements in the Twenty-first Century: Resistance, Power, and Democracy
Edited by Richard Stahler-Sholk, Harry E. Vanden, and Glen David Kuecker
March 2008, 384 pages
ISBN 0-7425-5647-6 / 978-0-7425-5647-8 $34.95, Paper
ISBN 0-7425-5646-8 / 978-0-7425-5646-1 $85.00, Cloth
"A wide-ranging and up-to-date study of the role of social movements in the fight for social and political change in contemporary Latin America. Extremely useful for understanding grassroots politics in the region." —Francisco Panizza, The London School of Economics and Political Science"
"Latin American Social Movements in the Twenty-first Century offers one of the most
comprehensive reviews of civil society's mobilization in the region today. Combining case studies
with a broad historical overview, the volume will be of great interest to those who want to
understand the dynamic challenges currently faced by Latin American democracies." —Philip
Oxhorn, McGill University"
When elected civilians replaced military authoritarian regimes in Latin America in the 1980s, democracy seemed at hand. Yet those nominally democratic regimes implemented widely unpopular neoliberal policies, opening the economies to global market forces with devastating impact on the poor. This clearly written and comprehensive text examines the uprising of politically and economically marginalized groups in Latin American societies. Specialists in a broad range of disciplines interpret the new wave of social movements, including movements in Mexico, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and Argentina, the Vía Campesina global peasant network, and Mesoamerican coalitions against regional free trade agreements. This volume assembles original research from a variety of case studies in a student - friendly format. Section introductions help students contextualize the essays, highlighting social movement origins, strategies, and outcomes. Thematic sections address historical context, political economy, community-building and consciousness, ethnicity and race, gender, movement strategies, and transnational organizing, making this book useful to anyone studying the wide range of social movements in Latin America.
Special Features
- Offers a student-friendly format, with thematically organized chapters and accessible introductions to
each section.
- Presents original research on the newest wave of Latin American social movements, while situating
these movements in their historical context
- Re-examines existing social movement theory in light of the recent political developments
- Covers a wide range of Latin American countries including Mexico, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia,
Brazil, Chile and Argentina
- Provides critical assessments of social movement strategies, with lessons for both scholars and activists
- Includes cases of cross-border and transnational social movement
List of Contributors
Isabella Alcañiz, Marc Becker, Kwame Dixon, Judith Adler Hellman, Daniela Issa, Glen David Kuecker, María Elena Martínez-Torres, Mariana Mora, Keisha-Khan Y. Perry, Peter M. Rosset, Melissa Scheier, Verónica Schild, David Slater, Rose J. Spalding, Susan Spronk, Richard Stahler-Sholk, Joanna Swanger, Alicia C. S. Swords, Harry E. Vanden, Roberta Villalón, and Jeffery R. Webber.