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The Price of Fire: Resource Wars and Social Movements in Bolivia
The Price of Fire Resource Wars and Social Movements in Bolivia Author:Benjamin Dangl Bolivia has been at the forefront of Latin America's leftward shift. The country's recent history provides a case study of both the ravages of neo-liberal economic policies and the powerful social movements rising up to overturn them. Bolivia's social struggles over the ownership of resources such as water and gas have been as heroic as they are... more » instructive. Conflicts related to International Monetary Fund policies and the war on drugs offer important lessons about corporate globalization and US foreign policy. The election of Evo Morales, Latin America's first indigenous president, as well as his delicate relationship with the social movements on which his administration depends, raises important questions for the future. The Price of Fire gives a blow-by-blow account of these battles, while also contextualizing them regionally and historically. From the first moments of Spanish colonization to today's headlines, it traces the story of a small nation whose natural resources helped fund the rise of capitalism and that has spent the subsequent four centuries suffering the consequences. A primer on the history of resistance to corporate globalization in Latin America, Benjamin Dangl's far-reaching and penetrating analysis uses Bolivia's story to tell a much larger tale that will only become more important to activists, academics, and general readers who want to understand the latest news.« less