The Political Economy of Latin America in the Postwar Period

Description

The historic and increasing interdependence of the Latin American and U.S. economies makes an understanding of the political economies of Latin American nations particularly timely and important. After World War II, many nations initially implemented import substituting industrialization policies. Their outcomes, and the shift in policies, are related to the domestic policies and world economic conditions that led to government deficits, inflation, foreign borrowing, debt renegotiation, and renewed emphasis on common markets and other devices to stimulate trade and investment.In The Political Economy of Latin America in the Postwar Period, important policy measures are evaluated, such as indexation of prices and contracts; special provisions for financing the government through the Central Bank; stabilization; and deregulation of the economy.Yet, this book seems to show a political tropism towards the left in that the corroding influence of socialist/communist ideology and its amalgamation with corruption, though it "ought" to be part of "political economy", are dismissed altogether, including but not limited to, the corruption of Muslim Arabs and the way that OPEC triggered the First Oil World Crisis, not to mention the incidental side stepping dancing of European corporations, to mention some issues. And whereas the editor/authors do seem to stress how a variety of policies did seem to play a role in Latin American affairs, yet nonetheless the interplay of these issues, as it may be observed in other similar literature, are not even mentioned within the book, notwithstanding its informative value. On balance, then, the "American Imperialist Monster," the World Bank and other financial institutions (e.g., of which the left seem to have certain not irrelevant influence) seem to be, by default, the "deux ex machina" messing up the world, and in this case, the Latin Americans are one of its "poor victims... In today's world, the corroding political influence of Emperor GodXIlla in conjunction with the left and the venerable Muslims might take utter delight at this sight...