Open Veins of Latin America

Erudite, angry, sweeping in its scope, Open Veins of Latin America is a powerful survey of a continent’s under-development and the role of foreign capital and national politics in that process.

Eduardo Galeano traces Latin America’s exploitation and impoverishment through the history of its principal commodities. Over five centuries, he explores the minerals and crops which have made a rich region poor, while building the fortunes of US and European transnationals. From the gold and silver sought by the Spanish conquistadores to the oil and copper extracted by present-day foreign corporations, Galeano presents a disturbing and fascinating picture of economic injustice.

Blending historical fact with poetic imagery, Open Veins of Latin America is both an impassioned critique of transnational exploitation and a tribute to the passions of a plundered and suffering people. Isabel Allende’s inspiring Foreword to this classic text testifies to Eduardo Galeano’s status as one of Latin America’s foremost writers.

CONTENTS

Foreword by Isabel Allende: From ‘In Defense of the Word’

Introduction: 120 Million Children in the Eye of the Hurricane

Part I: Mankind’s Poverty as a Consequence of the Wealth of the Land

Lust for Gold, Lust for Silver
King Sugar and Other Agricultural Monarchs
The Invisible Sources of Power

Part II: Development is a Voyage with More Shipwrecks than Navigators

Tales of Premature Death
The Contemporary Structure of Plunder

Part III: Seven Years After

References
Index