.
DEVELOPING INTEREST IN DEVELOPING WORLD: The rapid economic growth
and demographic expansion of the Global South is primed to become
the issue of the next decade.
ENTERTAINING ERUDITION: Guardiola-Rivera is dizzyingly well-read
and a bit of an adventurer. His first-hand accounts of touring the
continent, combined with a masterful understanding of history and
culture, make for a powerful, eye-opening read.
A powerful and persuasive look at Latin America past and present
For most Westerners, Latin America is the junior partner of the New
World, an underdeveloped sibling to the US and Canada. The vibrancy
of its culture is unquestionable, but the Spanish and
Portuguese-speaking countries of Central and South America are
easily typecast and overlooked as exotic, dangerous, and decidedly
not part of the First World. In his provocative and powerful book,
Oscar Guardiola-Rivera shows how Latin America and its people are
making their presence felt across the world by upsetting
long-standing political and economic assumptions and
orthodoxies.
The US will still occupy center stage in the West for the time
being, but few observers have taken notice of the rapid growth of
Spanish language and culture within the USA--which is quietly and
quickly becoming part of Latin America in its own way.
Guardiola-Rivera's stimulating work is equally a hidden history
of the modern world (the silver peso was the first global currency)
and a piercing look at the future. Latin America has been in the
vanguard of opposition to globalization, and its politics are
imaginative, innovative and unlike those anywhere else in the
world. For anyone interested in the future of the Western
hemisphere or the world economy, What if Latin America Ruled the
World? is a must-read.
'An improbable proposition that is used to examine the economic dynamism and political creativity of a continent that is relatively neglected amid all the excitement about the emergence of new powers in Asia' Financial Times Books of the Year
'An improbable proposition that is used to examine the economic dynamism and political creativity of a continent that is relatively neglected amid all the excitement about the emergence of new powers in Asia' Financial Times Books of the Year 'An ambitious book with an ambitious agenda, both are to be applauded. If after reading it my North is still not quite the South, it has helped turn my intellectual compass through a few degrees. The world now looks more complex and more interesting' Independent 'Puts the solutions to the current economic crisis of the rich world into their proper global perspective' Guardian
Oscar Guardiola-Rivera teaches international law and international affairs at Birkbeck College, University of London. He has served as an aide to the Colombian Congress and as a consultant to the United Nations in South America. He has lectured in law, philosphy, and politics on three continents.
