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    Utopia Unarmed

    The Latin American Left After the Cold War

    Author Jorge G. Castañeda
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    Paperback
    $19.00 US
    Knopf | Vintage
    On sale Aug 02, 1994 | 512 Pages | 9780679751410
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    In this insightful analysis of the Latin American left, Castañeda shows why hostility and misunderstanding between the left and the U.S. have endured since the 1920s, and he outlines changes that are taking place today likely to produce a coexistence with the United States.

    With the collapse of Soviet communism, the Latin American left, whether in or out of power, faces challenges that will inevitably affect the United States' involvement in the region. Castañeda shows why hostility and misunderstanding between the left and the United States have endured since the 1920s, and why the Latin left has not proved capable of solving its dilemma of how to carry out revolution or lasting reforms without incurring the wrath of Washington. Utopia Unarmed examines the strengths and weaknesses of Fidel Castro, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, the Peronists, Lula and the PT in Brazil, the Sandinistas, the Shining Path, and other representatives of the left, and describes the clashing interests, distrust, and insensitivity that have marked the conflict between the two continents. Finally, Castañeda outlines the changes that are taking place today in Latin America which are likely to produce a modern, mature, and truly imaginative relationship with the United States.
    Jorge G. Castañeda is the global distinguished professor of politics and Latin American studies at New York University. He was Mexico’s foreign minister from 2000 to 2003. Castañeda has been a professor of political science at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, a senior associate of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC, and a visiting professor at Princeton University. He received his BA from Princeton University and his PhD from the University of Paris. He is a member of the board of Human Rights Watch and lives in New York and Mexico City. Castañeda is the author of Mañana Forever?: Mexico and the Mexicans, Ex Mex., Somos Muchos: Ideas para el Mañana and many more.  View titles by Jorge G. Castañeda
    "Seldom does a new book as noteworthy cross my desk .... [This is] an excellent history... a complex prescription for how the left might yet play an essential role in post-cold-war Latin America... a book that overturns stereotypes and challenges easy wisdom."

    -- Nicolas Shumway, The New York Times Book Review



    "Extraordinary.... [This book] attempts to do nothing less than restore direction to the Latin American left.... Surprising and refreshing." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review

    About

    In this insightful analysis of the Latin American left, Castañeda shows why hostility and misunderstanding between the left and the U.S. have endured since the 1920s, and he outlines changes that are taking place today likely to produce a coexistence with the United States.

    With the collapse of Soviet communism, the Latin American left, whether in or out of power, faces challenges that will inevitably affect the United States' involvement in the region. Castañeda shows why hostility and misunderstanding between the left and the United States have endured since the 1920s, and why the Latin left has not proved capable of solving its dilemma of how to carry out revolution or lasting reforms without incurring the wrath of Washington. Utopia Unarmed examines the strengths and weaknesses of Fidel Castro, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, the Peronists, Lula and the PT in Brazil, the Sandinistas, the Shining Path, and other representatives of the left, and describes the clashing interests, distrust, and insensitivity that have marked the conflict between the two continents. Finally, Castañeda outlines the changes that are taking place today in Latin America which are likely to produce a modern, mature, and truly imaginative relationship with the United States.

    Author

    Jorge G. Castañeda is the global distinguished professor of politics and Latin American studies at New York University. He was Mexico’s foreign minister from 2000 to 2003. Castañeda has been a professor of political science at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, a senior associate of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC, and a visiting professor at Princeton University. He received his BA from Princeton University and his PhD from the University of Paris. He is a member of the board of Human Rights Watch and lives in New York and Mexico City. Castañeda is the author of Mañana Forever?: Mexico and the Mexicans, Ex Mex., Somos Muchos: Ideas para el Mañana and many more.  View titles by Jorge G. Castañeda

    Praise

    "Seldom does a new book as noteworthy cross my desk .... [This is] an excellent history... a complex prescription for how the left might yet play an essential role in post-cold-war Latin America... a book that overturns stereotypes and challenges easy wisdom."

    -- Nicolas Shumway, The New York Times Book Review



    "Extraordinary.... [This book] attempts to do nothing less than restore direction to the Latin American left.... Surprising and refreshing." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review

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