The Changing State of Politics in Latin America

“Globalization has, over the last two decades, structurally adjusted local communities to conform to a new world order. It is no surprise then that social discontent is widespread in those countries where large portions of the population have not shared in the gains of economic development. Nowhere is this more evident than in Latin America where social discontent has totally transformed the political landscape in recent years.” Henry Veltmeyer.

The “red/pink tide” in Latin America, where progressive governments in numerous countries represented hope for many looking for a change from the neoliberal economic model that had dominated Latin America for so many years, but the political stage has changed radically of late. Veltmeyer explores these forces of political change offering a critical analysis of the most recent research by political and economic sociologists, development economists, and political scientists.

Henry Veltmeyer is a professor of Sociology and International Development Studies at Saint Mary's University (Halifax), Nova Scotia, Canada. He is a prolific author on matters of Development and Globalization. He is also on faculty at the Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, in the Unidad Académica en Estudios de Desarrollo.

Veltmeyer's thematic focus in recent years has been on Globalization and Development. Other areas of research and writing include new social movements, political economy of development, the 2007–2008 world food price crisis, local development, and corporate power.