title: Latin America's Political Economy of the Possible: Beyond Good Revolutionaries and Free-Marketeers
author:  Javier Santiso 
description: Throughout the 20th century, a tug-of-war of political and economic policies was waged in Latin America, with revolutionary Marxists on one side and neo-liberal reformers on the other. But now, in the early 21st century, pragmatism rules the day, or so argues Santiso, the chief development economist at the OECD Development Centre. Through his cogent analysis of political and economic trends in the region over the last century, Santiso suggests that leaders have discarded utopianism, moving their focus from the future to the present. This shift has allowed policy and planning to focus on the real needs of the various countries, and has engendered solutions that mix a number of formerly exclusive ideologies. In his chapters on Chile, Mexico and Brazil, Santiso argues that Latin American leaders no longer believe in a region-wide panacea. Though his case for economic steadiness is strong, Santiso disregards the great economic inequalities in Latin America, and he ignores how recent policies are affecting the poor. This book is a refreshing look at Latin America and will be encouraging to those who fear those countries are turning too for to the left, or for anyone who wishes to see how the land of magical realism has become quite pragmatic. <i>(Apr.)</i> <br />Copyright  Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
zlib_text: About the author
  Dr Julia Buxton is Senior Research Fellow in the 
  Centre for International Cooperation and Security in 
  the Department of Peace Studies at the University of 
  Bradford, UK. Her research ﬁeld covers Latin American 
  politics; conﬂict prone countries and regional capacities 
  in democracy promotion and conﬂict resolution. Her 
  publications include The Failure of Political Reform in 
  Venezuela (Ashgate, 2001) and the edited collections, 
  with N. Phillips, Country Case Studies in Latin American 
  Political Economy (Manchester University Press, 1999) 
  and Developments in Latin American Political Economy 
  (Manchester University Press, 1999).
  
  julia buxton
  The political economy of narcotics
  Production, consumption and global markets
  Zed Books
  london | new york
  Fernwood Publishing
  nova scotia
  
  The political economy of narcotics: Production, consumption and global markets 
  was ﬁrst published  in 2006.
  Published in Canada by Fernwood Publishing Ltd, 32 Oceanvista Lane, Site 2a, 
  Box