What if Latin America Ruled the World? How the South Will Take the North Through the 21st Century

by Guardiola-Rivera, Oscar

• ISBN13: 9781608192724
• ISBN10: 1608192725
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-09-14
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Press

Summary

For too many of us, Latin America exists "below the fold," an echo barely heard beyond the roar of U.S. economics, politics, and culture; the source of little more than dance steps, mesmerizing soccer, spicy food, and questionable politics.But Latin America has been a vital part of the global community since the seventeenth century, when the Spanish silver peso became the world's first global currency instrument. Today it is home to six hundred million people and some of the fastest-growing economies on the planet. Latin America may not outshine or outspend the United States on the world stage anytime soon, but its voices will be heard. Its consumers, resources, and emigrants are already affecting us; they will be even bigger factors in our future.What if Latin America Ruled the World?deftly braids together the histories of North and South America from the exploits of Hernan Cortes to the political showmanship of Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales. Scholar Oscar Guardiola-Rivera is an ideal guide for a searching portrait of the Latin America that we rarely hear about.

Author Biography

Oscar Guardiola-Rivera teaches international law and international affairs at Birkbeck College, University of London. He has served as an aide to the Colombian Congress and as a consultant to the United Nations in South America. He has lectured in law, philosphy, and politics on three continents.

Table of Contents

Maps	p. vi
Introduction	p. 1
The Dream of the Indians	p. 21
The Dream of the Mountain of Gold	p. 49
The Dream of the Conquerors	p. 78
The Dream of Revolution	p. 107
Independence: An Exterminating Thunderbolt	p. 146
Republic: The Sobriety of the Day After	p. 179
Empire: Tales from Mañana-Land in Neocolonial America	p. 223
Revolution, or How to See the Beginning in the End	p. 258
Crisis: The Rise and Fall of Global Capitalism	p. 286
The Solution to All Our Problems	p. 324
Epilogue	p. 372
Select Bibliography	p. 397
Notes	p. 404
Index	p. 459
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