Free Trade and Social Conflict in Colombia, Peru and Venezuela: Confronting U.S. Capitalism, 2000-2016

by René De La Pedraja

Overview

Foreign capital and free trade policies have provoked fierce conflicts in South America in recent years. People in Colombia and Peru engaged in often violent clashes to defend their livelihoods against the encroachments of the free market and the impositions of Wall Street. Farmers organized to save their lands from foreign mining corporations, and cities fought to save their water from contamination.

Native Americans blocked highways to preserve ancestral lands, while students paralyzed universities and called for reforms to higher education.

The shift toward socialism in Venezuela, led by President Hugo Chavez, was bitterly opposed by privileged groups.

Governments tried to quell the turmoil through repression, political maneuvering and propaganda. This book provides a dramatic account of the struggles.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476626406
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	08/26/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	6 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

René De La Pedraja, PhD, University of Chicago, has researched and written numerous publications. He is a professor of history at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York.
Rene De La Pedraja, PhD, University of Chicago, has researched and written numerous publications. He is a professor of history at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface
1. Venezuela: From the Fourth Republic to Hugo Chávez
The Failure of the Fourth Republic
PDVSA: A State Within a State
The Emergence of Hugo Chávez
2. Peru: The Return of Dictatorship
The Partnership with Vladimiro Montesinos
The Alberto Fujimori Dictatorship
The First Reelection
3. The United States and the Crisis in Peru
The Second Reelection of Alberto Fujimori
The Last Battle of Vladimiro Montesinos
The Unraveling
The Transition
4. Initial Attempts at Transformation
Venezuela: New Constitution and Task Forces
Peru: The Start of the Alejandro Toledo Presidency
Decentralization in Peru Under Alejandro Toledo
5. Venezuela: The Coup of April 2002
The 49 Decree Laws
The Coup Attempt of 11 April 2002
Peter the Brief
6. Two Decisive Turns in 2002
Colombia: The Rise of Álvaro Uribe Vélez
Peru: From the Arequipazo to the Andahuaylas Revolt
7. Venezuela: The Second Attempt to Overthrow Chávez
Missed Opportunity
The Petroleum Strike: December 2002–February 2003
8. Colombia: The Álvaro Uribe Vélez Presidency
The War Against Guerrillas
The Challenge to the Political Class
The Problem of the Paramilitaries
 9. Venezuela: The Best Years of the Chávez Presidency
The Third Effort to Oust Chávez: The Recall Election of 2004
The Opposition in Disarray
Attempts to Transform Venezuela
10. Peru: Ups and Downs of the Alejandro Toledo Presidency
Reaching for the Sky
The Agony of the Alejandro Toledo Presidency
11. Blows Against the Left
Colombia: The Reelection of Álvaro Uribe Vélez
The 2006 Presidential Campaign in Peru
12. Venezuela and Peru: From Success to Setback
The Bolivarian Revolution: From Euphoria to Repudiation
Peru: From Honeymoon to Social Conflict
13. Peru: The ­Self-Destruction of the Alán García Presidency
New Outbreaks of Violence
The Scandal of the Petro Audios
The Final Blow: The Bagua Massacre
14. The Bolivarian Revolution on the Offensive, 2008–2011
PSUV, Nationalizations and Elections
2009: The Decisive Year
The Struggle to Safeguard Society
Food Scarcity and Agriculture
The End of the Offensive
15. The Álvaro Uribe Presidency in Distress
The Twilight of the Uribe Presidency
Three Scandals
The Third Term and the Presidential Election of 2010
16. Peru: The Nationalist Reaction
The Presidential Campaign of 2011
Ollanta Humala: Defining the Presidency
The Ongoing Struggle Over the Conga Mining Project
17. Transitions in Venezuela and Colombia
The Agony of the Hugo Chávez Presidency
Course Corrections in Colombia
18. The Closing of a Period
Colombia: The Struggle for Peace
Peru: Trapped in Conflicts
Venezuela: The Bolivarian Revolution on the Defensive
Chapter Notes
Annotated Bibliography
Index