Laura J. Enriquez

Neoliberalism and class conflict in Latin America : a comparative perspective on the political economy of structural adjustment

List of Tables - List of Acronyms - Acknowledgements - Map - Introduction - The Neoliberal Agenda and the End of History? - PART 1: THE HISTORICAL AND THEORETICAL CONTEXT - The Global and Local Dynamics of Latin American Development - The Structural Adjustment Policy Cycle - Intellectuals in Uniform: the Selling of an Ideology - PART 2: NEOLIBERALISM IN PRACTICE: CRITICAL ISSUES - Liberalism in Latin America and US Global Strategy - The Economic Recovery of Latin America: The Myth and the Reality - Neoliberalism and Capitalism in Mexico 1983-95: A Model of Structural Adjustment - PART 3: THE POLITICS OF ADJUSTMENT - Non-Government Organisations and Poverty Alleviation in Bolivia - The Movement of Landless Rural Workers in Brazil - Class Conflict in the Countryside: The Lessons of Chiapas - PART 4: CONCLUSIONS AND REFLECTIONS - The End of History or the End of Neoliberalism? - Beyond Neoliberalism: What is to be Done? - Endnotes - Bibliography - Index

The Cuban alternative to neoliberalism: Linkages between local production and tourism after 1990

Purpose - In response to its profound economic crisis, in the 1990s Cuba adopted a tourism-based development strategy. As an approach to development, tourism has been both heralded and critiqued. One concern is that for less diversified economies it has large imported input requirements. The purpose of this paper is to analyze Cubas efforts to address this weakness. Design/methodology/approach - The paper draws on interviews conducted with Cuban policy makers and researchers working in the area of tourism, and one hotelier operating in Cuba. Also, extensive secondary data collected while conducting the fieldwork in Cuba and relevant existing literature are reviewed. Findings - It is found that Cuba has increased significantly its reliance on domestic production for inputs for its tourist sector since the mid-1990s, thereby reducing its dependence on imported inputs. Practical implications - These findings suggest that, by reconfiguring domestic production to provide inputs for the tourism sector, foreign exchange leakages typically associated with tourist development in less diversified economies can be diminished and that it can provide an infusion of foreign exchange and investment that benefits the local economy. Social implications - This case presents an alternative to the neoliberal approach to policy making in the Global South, one that has the potential to avoid some of the negative social and economic consequences of that approach. Originality/value - In addition to highlighting the alternative represented by Cubas approach to tourism, the paper evaluates the extent to which it approximated the novel strategy of development proposed by the neostructuralists almost simultaneously. It concludes that Cubas approach did approximate the neostructural model in a number of important ways.

Harvesting Change: Labor and Agrarian Reform in Nicaragua, 1979-1990.

One of the principal aims of the Sandinista government in Nicaragua was to end the exploitation of the rural poor. But its attempts to promote balanced economic development and redistribute agricultural resources created labor shortages that threatened the countrys economic lifeline. New employment opportunities created through agrarian reform upset the delicate balance developed in pre-revolution years to meet the labor requirements of Nicaraguas two key crops, cotton and coffee. Laura Enriquez studied this problem extensively while working in Nicaragua between 1982 and 1989, and in Harvesting Change she provides a unique analysis of the dilemmas of reform in an agrarian society. Enriquez describes the traditional labor relations of Nicaraguas agroexport production and outlines their breakdown as agrarian reform advanced. She also assesses the alternatives adopted by the Sandinista government as it attempted to address the crisis. Her book is based on participant observation and on formal and informal interviews with a broad cross section of people involved in agricultural production, including officials involved in agrarian reform, planning, and labor; producers; workers; and representatives from associations of growers, workers, and peasants. By presenting agrarian reform in its broad social context, Enriquez makes and important contribution to our understanding of the problems associated with the transition to socialism in the Third World. Originally published in 1991. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value. |One of the principal aims of the Sandinista government in Nicaragua was to end the exploitation of the rural poor. But its attempts to promote balanced economic development and redistribute agricultural resources created labor shortages that threatened the countrys economic lifeline. New employment opportunities created through agrarian reform upset the delicate balance developed in pre-revolution years to meet the labor requirements of Nicaraguas two key crops, cotton and coffee. Laura Enriquez studied this problem extensively while working in Nicaragua between 1982 and 1989, and in Harvesting Change she provides a unique analysis of the dilemmas of reform in an agrarian society.