Leftovers: Tales of the Latin American Left

Thirteen years ago, Jorge Castaneda wrote the classic Utopia Unarmed , which offered a penetrating and comprehensive account of the Latin American left?s fate at the end of the Cold War. Since then, the left across Latin America has travelled in paths no one could have predicted. Latin America nations from Mexico to Argentina wavered for years between leftism and American-supported neoliberalism, but in recent years the left has experienced a tremendous resurgence throughout the region. However, the left is not unified, and as Castaneda and the contributors show, it has followed two distinct paths: a more cosmopolitan style leftism, exemplified by Brazil and Chile, and a left fuelled by populist nationalism that has clear debts to Peronism. This latter version is most evident in Venezuela, but one can see it in Mexico?s PRD party (in a tight race for the presidency at present), Bolivia, and Argentina. Left Over will comprehensively update this very important story, with specialists onevery region contributing.