Silent Revolution

Book excerpt: "Superb. Combining unassailable analysis with a thorough grasp of economic and political trends, Duncan Green convincingly argues that the region is headed for even greater tragedy unless people move toward more equitable and ecologically sustainable models of economic development." —Walden Bello, founder of Focus on the Global South The first edition of Green's Silent Revolution, published in 1995, described the imposition of neoliberal economic models in Latin America, the role of the IMF and World Bank in enforcing them, and their consequences. In this second, revised edition, Green extends his analysis into the present, showing how the current economic meltdown in Latin America was prepared by an economic strategy that could never live up to its own claims. The new edition was completed in a moment when the Argentinean economy is in ruins, Brazil is on the brink of collapse, riots are taking place in Uruguay, Peru, and in Paraguay, and a U.S. supported coup has just been averted in Venezuela. It will be an essential work for understanding ongoing developments in the region.