Paul Cooney - Böcker

Latin America was one of the regions least affected by the global financial crisis of 2008. Latin America after the Financial Crisis explains how the global financial crisis affected the region and why it was not as severe as other crises in the past.

This volume explores the impact of Transnational Corporations (TNCs) on the environment of the Global South during this period of neoliberal globalization.  Since the end of the 1970s, the role of TNCs in the global economy has developed significantly, and the subsequent changes to international institutions and the establishment of free trade zones have limited the effectiveness of environmental protections. Drawing together contributions from several continents, this important book examines the environmental consequences and crises resulting from these changes. It highlights the negative impact on the environment, ecosystems and ways of living for many people across the globe and shows how this is reflected in the struggle between corporate interests, social movements and human rights. Developing key themes around transnational extractive activity, especially mining and oil corporations; the impact of transnational capital on indigenous or traditional populations, and the role played by international institutions, Environmental Impacts of Transnational Corporations in the Global South is essential reading for all researchers and practitioners within the field.

This book analyzes the recent development paths pursued by progressivegovernments in Argentina and Brazil, namely deindustrialization andreprimarization, and the social and environmental consequences thereof. A keypart of understanding the trajectories in both Argentina and Brazil has been therole played by international institutions, especially the IMF and WTO, and also,the ever-growing hegemony of transnational corporations in the global economyand as a result, significantly limiting the possibilities of genuine development forlocal populations. Two major issues which extend beyond Latin America are: the expansion ofgenetically modified crops and agrotoxics and the concern for global food securityand sovereignty; second, how reprimarization, associated with mining, cattle, soyand petroleum, has been key in leading to the risk of desertification in theArgentine pampas and also causing deforestation in the Amazon Rain forest,described as the lungs of the planet, and thus has major implications for climatechange for the planet as a whole. In addition, this book engages with a number of theoretical issues: developmentand dependency in the periphery: neoliberal globalization, accumulation bydispossession, ecological and environmental debates and the role of extractivismand rent. This book is aimed for both academics, activists and those politicallymotivated to analyze, understand and push for social change from a criticalperspective, and also, those interested in a radical analysis of paths ofdevelopment, dependency and socioenvironmental issues in Latin America today.