Paths of Development in the Southern Cone

This book analyzes the recent development paths pursued by progressive

governments in Argentina and Brazil, namely deindustrialization and

reprimarization, and the social and environmental consequences thereof. A key

part of understanding the trajectories in both Argentina and Brazil has been the

role played by international institutions, especially the IMF and WTO, and also,

the ever-growing hegemony of transnational corporations in the global economy

and as a result, significantly limiting the possibilities of genuine development for

local populations.

 

Two major issues which extend beyond Latin America are: the expansion of

genetically modified crops and agrotoxics and the concern for global food security

and sovereignty; second, how reprimarization, associated with mining, cattle, soy

and petroleum, has been key in leading to the risk of desertification in the

Argentine pampas and also causing deforestation in the Amazon Rain forest,

described as the lungs of the planet, and thus has major implications for climate

change for the planet as a whole.

 

In addition, this book engages with a number of theoretical issues: development

and dependency in the periphery: neoliberal globalization, accumulation by

dispossession, ecological and environmental debates and the role of extractivism

and rent. This book is aimed for both academics, activists and those politically

motivated to analyze, understand and push for social change from a critical

perspective, and also, those interested in a radical analysis of paths of

development, dependency and socioenvironmental issues in Latin America

today.