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This study examines United States-Latin American relations. It argues that US policy toward Latin America was driven by fear of economic nationalism. Economic nationalists in Latin America in the 1950s wanted to control foreign trade and investment in their nations, to diversify their economies and, in some cases, promote industrialization. The study examines how US officals used economic aid policy in Guatemala and Bolivia to eliminate economic nationalism in those nations. ... Read more

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Alexander is among the most experienced observers of Latin American politics and has been an active correspondent with major figures of the region for decades. In this volume, he provides interview transcripts and letters from most of the recent presidents of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela. With some of the correspondence and interviews extending over a considerable period of time, the shifting views and attitudes as well as the comments on other key players makes for fascinating insights into the politics of Latin America. ... Read more

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Maria L. Lagos supplies a fine-grained ethnographic and historical analysis of the intersecting dynamics of class and culture in Tiraque, a province in the highlands of Cochabamba, Bolivia.

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The author gives us a sweeping picture of the turbulent history of Bolivia since Major Villarroel seized power in 1943, one of the most decisive periods in the nation's history. ... Read more

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In this interpretation of Bolivia’s political and social development, Carmenza Gallo focuses on the impact of the Bolivian tax code and its relationship to class structure. She argues that differences in state formation in primary export economies merge from variation of three main elements: class structure; the economic base and the export sector’s degree of integration into the domestic economy; and the reliance of fiscal resources on export sectors. Gallo produces a more complete view of the state’s responses to internal and international circumstances and a better understanding of the conditions under which officials of weak states, like Bolivia, act independently of upper classes. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

It was GREAT!
Wow! I said when I read this book. It is descriptive and very well written. It's a page turner! ... Read more

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More rural people live below the poverty line in Bolivia than in any other country in the world. While the country's rich natural resources are controlled and exploited by a privileged minority, the indigenous majority struggle to subsist on the poorest soils, or migrate to swell the teeming shanty towns that surround the cities. Disempowered and marginalised for centuries, the indigenous elements of this culturally diverse nation are now uniting to claim the right to be heard and to be included in the political process. This Profile examines the phenomenon of the campaign for 'popular participation', which aspires to create a more equal society, one in which the poorest will be protected from the rigours of economic 'stabilisation' measures, and the economic potential of the nation can be realised for the benefit of all. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An uninspiring profile of a provocative country.
Normally, 'Oxfam Country Profiles are enticing, enlightening and well worth the price of the purchase - not this one.This Oxfam Profile doesn't live up to the engaging style, nor the insight, of other Oxfam Country Profiles that I have read; such as John Crabtree's - Peru(see my review).

Like the CIA webpage (recommended that you visit) this book is full of statistics, but statistics alone do not give one the insight needed to understand the social fabric and ethos of Bolivia.After reading the text I came away knowing that Bolivia is the poorest, most oppressed, socially unequal country in South America, but hungered to understand the reason that is so.

Marcela Lopez Levy writes in a somber, yet informative, encyclopedia style.Her text, although filled with facts, fails to engage the reader. For example, in her chapter 'People and Power', her opening sentence reads: "For many observers of Bolivia in the Latin American context, it is the strength and vigor of its popular organizations, campaigning for the justice in the political, economic, and social areas, that is the salient characteristic of Bolivian society".Yawn.

That said there are some insights to glean from this book.One interesting insight was Marcela Lopez Levy's reflections on the Aymara language (spoken by 25% of the Bolivia population). The Aymara language has logic that is very different from the dualistic (true/false, good/evil etc.) logic of most European languages.Marcela Lopez Levy states that in the Aymara language: "A statement may be true, it may be false or may contain its own proportions of truth and falsity.These partly true, partly false statements can be specifically named and communicated in a way that Spanish and English cannot convey (actually politicians have perfected this aspect of language).Also, in the Aymara language the future is behind the speaker and past in front.Given the importance of language for structuring thoughts, it is not surprising that the past seems so 'present' in everyday conversations." Interesting insight.

Throughout the book, the photographer, Marj Clayton, B&W photos add life to what is otherwise an uninspiring book. Kudos.2.5 stars Conditionally recommended. ... Read more

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A new phase in the international movement to turn back the rising tide of corporate globalization was marked by US protests in Seattle and the triumphs of grassroots activists in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Volumes have been written about the struggle to shut down the World Trade Organization meetings, but little has been documented about the arguably more successful struggle to regain control of Cochabamba’s water supply and kick out the transnational corporation that privatized it.

Cochabamba! Water Rebellion in Bolivia tells this story—the story of the first great victory against corporate globalization in Latin America. Oscar Olivera, a forty-five-year-old machinist, was at the center of the movement that brought tens of thousands of ordinary people to the streets in the Andean city of Cochabamba, Bolivia. Olivera, in collaboration with Tom Lewis, presents the ideas and emotions of a first hand participant in the victorious rebellion and street battles that have inspired activists in social movements around the world.

Cochabamba! explains how the city’s water supply was sold to Aguas del Tunari, a subsidiary of the U.S.-based transnational corporation Bechtel. Water prices subsequently rose astronomically and poverty-strapped Bolivians refused to pay. Olivera explains the process of organizing an opposition movement coalition—the Coordinating Committee for the Defense of Water and Life—and relates the dramatic struggles that eventually defeated the neoliberal privatizers.

Olivera reflects on the themes that emerged as a result of the war over water (rapidly becoming the world’s new oil); the fear and isolation which the Cochabambinos overcame through a spirit of solidarity and mutual aid; and the Bolivian government’s criminalization of social movements as part of U.S. President Bush’s global "war on terrorism." Cochabamba! also discusses the impact of the "water wars" on subsequent battles with trans-national corporations and financial institutions.

Oscar Olivera is the executive secretary of the Cochabamba Federation of Factory Workers and spokesperson for the Coordinating Committee for the Defense of Water and Life. He was awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in 2001.

Tom Lewis is a professor of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Iowa.

Customer Reviews (5)

global water crisis, fight back!
The growing water justice movement and the imminent global water crisis provide an important intersection for the power of humanity to over come the power of greed and neoliberal hegemony. Oscar Olivera and the struggle of the Cochabambinos illustrates the type of focus, passion, and urgency needed to combat egregious human rights violations and the leviathan of the World Bank and other international financial institutions.

A book to promote the author?
This book doesn't help to understand why there was a war for water and seems that it tries to layout that because of the Water War Evo Morales is President or something like that.If the author has a personal problem to be recognized for what he did, please don't write a book, go a press interview.Lost my time reading this book.

Reclaim the commons!
This book is a must-read for global justice activists interested in understanding the triumphant people's movement in Bolivia to take back their water. An educational, inspirational and engaging read! Olivera's afterward, "They can't privatize our dreams" is simply breath-taking!

Inspiration for our times
Tired of feeling helpless in the face of the institutions that try to dominate and control our lives? Reading Cochabamba! by Oscar Olivera may be just the tonic you've been looking for.

When Bechtel--currently (re)constructing Iraq and the vastly over-budget Big Dig--tried to privatize the water supply in Cochabamba, Bolivia the people said No! And they meant it. Ordinary working people participating in assemblies and cabildos (town meetings) developed demands. They proclaimed, "The water is ours!" and stood behind those words. After a series of growing protests shut down the town and highways, Bechtel was forced to flee and the town's water regained.

Due to the strength of the movement, and the connections made between different groups, the water is currently managed more democratically than it was by the government before the privatization. An essay on the challenges of administering the water supply provides further inspiration to those struggling for freedom. (Especially those of us who sometimes wonder, "What if we win?") Other essays analyze the significance of the Water War and are complemented by a selection of writings by Oscar Olivera on the imposition of neoliberalism, which created the conditions for the Water War, and what the next steps towards liberation may be.

The essays "For a Constituent Assembly: Creating Public Spaces,""Petroleum and Natural Gas: Reconquering Our Collective Patrimony," and "The Legacy of the Coordinadora" are essential to understand the current uprisings in Bolivia.

This book should have been called "After the Water War"
About a quarter of this book actually covers the Water War and what lead up to it.Very basic explanations of what happened and why.The eight days of chaos at the height of the Water War are left almost without description.It seems an odd thing to skimp on details of when the time was so critical.

Most of the book analyzes the impact for privatization and social movements.It's more of a scholarly book than an explanation for the average person.

The end of the book covers the "Gas War" (the fight against privitization of Bolivia's oil and gas reserves). ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from America's Insider, published by Darien Gap LLC on January 18, 2001. The length of the article is 978 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Banzer's bid for democratic legacy fails due to corruption, poor economy.(public administration in Bolivia during tenure of President Hugo Banzer)(Brief Article)
Publication: America's Insider (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 18, 2001
Publisher: Darien Gap LLC
Volume: 1Issue: 14Page: 5

Article Type: Brief Article

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This digital document is an article from NotiSur - South American Political and Economic Affairs, published by Latin American Data Base/Latin American Institute on April 4, 2003. The length of the article is 1663 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: BOLIVIA: U.S. EMBASSY WARNS GOVERNMENT OF COUP PLANS.
Publication: NotiSur - South American Political and Economic Affairs (Newsletter)
Date: April 4, 2003
Publisher: Latin American Data Base/Latin American Institute


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A Revolution for Our Rights is a significant reassessment of the causes of Bolivia's 1952 revolution. Historians have tended to view the revolution as the result of class-based movements that accompanied the rise of peasant leagues, mineworker unions, and reformist political projects in the 1930s. Laura Gotkowitz argues that the revolution had deeper roots in the indigenous struggles for land and justice that swept through Bolivia during the first half of the twentieth century. Challenging conventional wisdom, she demonstrates that rural indigenous activists fundamentally reshaped the military populist projects of the 1930s and 1940s. In so doing, she chronicles a hidden rural "revolution"--before the 1952 revolution--that fused appeals for equality with demands for a radical reconfiguration of political power, landholding, and rights.

Gotkowitz combines an emphasis on national political debates and congresses with a fine-grained analysis of Indian communities and large estates in the department of Cochabamba. The fragmented nature of Cochabamba's Indian communities and the pioneering significance of its peasant unions make it a propitious vantage point for exploring contests over competing visions of the nation, justice, and rights. Scrutinizing state authorities' efforts to impose the law in what was considered a lawless countryside, Gotkowitz shows how, time and again, indigenous activists shrewdly exploited the ambiguous status of the state's pro-Indian laws to press their demands for land and justice. Bolivian indigenous and social movements have captured worldwide attention during the past several years. By describing indigenous mobilization in the decades preceding the 1952 revolution, A Revolution for Our Rights illuminates a crucial chapter in the long history behind present-day struggles in Bolivia and contributes to an understanding of indigenous politics in modern Latin America more broadly. ... Read more

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This digital document is a journal article from Journal of Public Economics, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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This paper examines whether decentralization increases the responsiveness of public investment to local needs using a unique database from Bolivia. Empirical tests show that investment patterns in human capital and social services changed significantly after decentralization. These changes are strongly and positively related to objective indicators of need. Nationally, these changes were driven by the smallest, poorest municipalities investing devolved funds in their highest-priority projects. The findings contradict common claims that local government is too corrupt, institutionally weak, or prone to interest-group capture to improve upon central government's allocation of public resources. ... Read more

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Cochabamba is the principal agricultural region of Bolivia, with a peasantry that has been especially active in small-scale commercial agriculture and marketing. Focusing on this region, Brooke Larson supplies the first long-term historical view of rural society in colonial and nineteenthy2Dcentury Bolivia. While examining the impact of mercantile colonialism during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, she offers an important corrective to the "world-systems" approach to agrarian transformation. Weak Andean resistance and the emerging interregional market created extraordinary opportunities for Europeans to turn Cochabamba into an agrarian hinterland of Potosi: Professor Larson locates the dynamic of this kind of historical change not only in the global forces of commercial capitalism but also in the local tensions and conflicts among Andean peasants, Spanish landowners, and the colonial state.

Combining economic history and ethnohistory, the author shows how the contradictions of class and colonialism gave rise to new social forces from below that both accommodated and challenged the evolving structures of domination. She argues that the adaptive vitality of the Cochabamba peasantry gradually undermined the economic power of the hacendado class and the moral authority of the Bourbon state, with landlords and colonial administrators resorting to new forms of exploitation in the late colonial period. The book then examines the social consequences of these agrarian patterns for the region and nation in the late nineteenth century. ... Read more