Description
Book SynopsisAfter decades of ideological struggle Latin America has embraced liberalism. This book explores this period of circumscribed political passions through portrayals of crucial political, economic, social, and cultural issues: governance, entrepreneurs and markets, urban bias, poverty, the struggle for women's equality, consumerism, and others.
Trade Review"The one book on Latin America that is essential reading this year... Skillfully interlacing the big picture with evocative and sympathetic portraits, [Colburn's] book is an elegantly succinct, if depressing, synopsis of the region's condition as it enters a new century."--Kenneth Maxwell, Foreign Affairs
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix 1. Introduction 1 2. Latin America as a Place 9 3. Urban Bias 17 4. An Ideological Vacuum 25 5. Fragile Democracies 33 6. The Business of Being in Business 45 7. Environmental Degradation 55 8. Malls 65 9. Crime 73 10. The Poor 81 11. Struggling for Gender Equality 89 12. El Gringo 99 13. What to Paint? 109 14. Migration 119 15. Conclusion 127 List of Illustrations 135 A Note about Sources 137 Bibliography 139
