“Contemporary History of Latin America and the Caribbean: Exploring the Most Important Political Period of the XXI Century”

The book Contemporary history of Latin America and the Caribbean intended to be the expression of most important political period from the history of Latin America. It is a book of analysis of 20 of the main countries of the continent, introduced by 3 initial texts, on the political, social and economic situation, in the XXI century.

Latin America has been the continent that has had more neoliberal governments and the most radical. The arrival of the new model in the region occurred through the Chicago Boysbrought by the Pinochet dictatorship.

Latin America was also the only region in the world where anti-neoliberal governments have emerged. Governments that have privileged social policies instead of fiscal adjustments. Who have privileged the processes of Regional integration instead of Free Trade Agreements with the US. And to the rescue of active role of the stateinstead of the minimal State and the centrality of the market.

The book addresses how those moments came about and how they were carried out in the main countries of the continent. Introductory articles by René Ramírez, Marcio Pochmann and myself are followed by articles by country.

Ricardo Forster inquired about what he calls the argentinian labyrinth Manuel Canelas exposed the fundamental transformations experienced by Bolivia in this century. I had to write what Brazil has experienced throughout the 21st century. The great Chilean thinker Tomás Moulian wrote about the great events in Chile.

Víctor Manuel Moncayo focused on what he calls the troubled and uncertain beginning of the new century. Sergio Villena Fiengo already had to write the chronicle of a shipwreck in Tica (as it is popularly called Costa Rica).

Francisco López Segrega was in charge of approaching Cuba in the XXI century. René Ramírez and Juan Guajiro analyzed the history and repetition of neoliberalism in Ecuador. Manuel Delgado and Roberto Turcios wrote about The Savior at the beginning of the century.

Ricardo Saenz de Tejada focused on war, democracy and peace in the de-democratization in Guatemala. Miguel Borba de Sá analyzed Haiti outside the occasional headlines, with a look at the country’s politics beyond the ethnocentric imaginary. Ramón Romero contributed with an analysis on Honduras in this century.

The challenges and possibilities of Jamaica in the 21st century they were approached by Jaqueline Laguardia Martinez. José Guadalupe Gandarilla analyzed Mexico: from neoberalism to the Fourth Transformation. Nicaragua was under the prism of Mónica Baltodano.

Azael and Abdiel Rodríguez faced the twenty years of resistance to neoliberal policies in Panama, while Fernando Masi analyzed the fragile democracy of that country. Heraclio Bonilla focused on Peru during the two decades of the 21st century.

Angel Quintero Rivera approached Puerto Rico in the XXI century. Elisa Lister contributed analysis of Dominican Republic. Constanza Moreira wrote on the reformist impulse and the conservative reaction of Uruguay in this century. Carlos Eduardo Martins wrote on the path of Venezuela From dependency to anti-imperialism.

The set of the book was coordinated by René Ramírez, Alvaro Garcia Linera, Marcio Pochmann and myself, published by Editorial Akal. It will be presented at the Buenos Aires Book Fair this May 12, at 7:00 p.m., in the Tulio Halpering Donghi room, with the presence of Ricardo Forster, René Ramírez, Constancia Moreira and the undersigned.