Rooted in thousands of pages of Access to Information documents and dozens of interviews carried out throughout Latin America, Blood of Extraction examines the increasing presence of Canadian mining companies in Latin America and the environmental and human rights abuses that have occurred as a result. By following the money, Gordon and Webber illustrate the myriad ways Canadian-based multinational corporations, backed by the Canadian state, have developed extensive economic inter...

The Brazil-United States relations represent a huge potential, but in recent decades have suffered from lack of communication and understanding between academics and policymakers from both countries. This book goes a long way towards demystifyingthis relationship. Covering from the final decades of the 19th century until the period of the Rousseff and Obama administrations,the work apprehends the political, economic and diplomatic contexts that define the present day.

Evo Morales rode to power on a wave of popular mobilizations against the neoliberal policies enforced by his predecessors. Yet many of his economic policies bare striking resemblance to the status quo he was meant to displace. Based in part on dozens of interviews with leading Bolivian activists, Jeff Webber examines the contradictions of Morales' first term in office.

Grassroots social movements played a major role electing left-leaning governments throughout Latin America. Subsequent relations between these states and "the streets" remain troubled. Contextualizing recent developments historically, Dangl untangles the contradictions of state-focused social change, providing lessons for activists everywhere.

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. Farthi...

Over the past few years, something remarkable has occurred in Latin America. For the first time since the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua in the 1980s, people within the region have turned toward radical left governments - specifically in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Why has this profound shift taken place and how does this new, so-called Twenty-First-Century Socialism actually manifest itself? What are we to make of the often fraught relationship between the social movements and go...

Following the acclaimed Uncle Sam and Us and the influential Does North America Exist? Stephen Clarkson — the preeminent analyst of North America's political economy — and Matto Mildenberger turn continental scholarship on its head by showing how Canada and Mexico contribute to the United States' wealth, security, and global power.This provocative work documents how Canada and Mexico offer the United States open markets for its investments and exports, massive flo...

Once deemed a “dysfunctional” democracy with a “feckless” set of political institutions and a “drunk” economy, today’s Brazil has undergone a complete reversal of fortune. Now in its third decade of democracy, the economy is blossoming and large-scale development projects are underway, including the exploitation of massive, off-shore oil reserves, a nationwide effort to modernize infrastructure, and preparations for the hosting of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. Inequality and po...

In 2004, the United States, five Central American countries, and the Dominican Republic signed the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), signaling the region’s commitment to a neoliberal economic model. For many, however, neoliberalism had lost its luster as the new century dawned, and resistance movements began to gather force. Contesting Trade in Central America is the first book-length study of the debate over CAFTA, tracing the agreement’s drafting, its passage, and i...

This comparative study of Latin American conservative politics over the past twenty years analyzes right-of-center actors, electoral movements, parties, and economic policy dynamics.Since the late 1990s, when Latin American countries began making a “turn to the left,” political parties and candidates on the right end of the partisan spectrum have had a difficult time achieving electoral success. Although the left turn can be seen as a natural reaction to the public...

Bolivia has experienced two decades of unprecedented popular resistance to the consequences of neoliberal policies, resulting in the resignation and flight of its president in October 2003. This unusual book uncovers the reasons and processes behind the rising opposition - mirrored in country after country in Latin America - to this currently fashionable, internationally prescribed approach to economic development. It explores the problems faced by governments in reproducing global strateg...

Reclaiming Latin America is a one-stop guide to the revival of social democratic and socialist politics across the region.At the end of the Cold War, and through decades of neoliberal domination and the 'Washington Consensus' it seemed that the left could do nothing but beat a ragged retreat in Latin America. Yet this book looks at the new opportunities that sprang up through electoral politics and mass action during that period.The chapters here warn against over-simplific...