"As a region, Latin America enacted the most sweeping reforms to its trade policies in the world. Following the Washington Consensus policies, government after government opened its economy significantly to foreign investment and goods. In agriculture, the new policies have generated dramatic increases in agricultural trade, but have they produced sustainable rural development? That is the question this report seeks to answer. Based on detailed studies by a select group of U.S. and Latin American researchers, it examines both the promise of agricultural trade liberalization for developing countries - growth through expanded exports - and its perils - the potential loss of rural livelihoods as low-priced imports flood domestic markets. ... [T]he report is based on seven case studies on the impacts of liberalization and related policies on specific countries. To assess the promise of export agriculture, researchers examined the South American soybean boom with studies of Brazil, Argentina, and Bolivia. To review the impacts on small-scale farmers, the project commissioned case studies on El Salvador, Bolivia, and Brazil. Finally, a case study on Mexico after fourteen years under NAFTA looks at both the expansion of export agriculture and the impacts of rising imports on small-scale farmers. This report offers concrete policy suggestions for the U.S. government, international financial institutions, and national governments in the region. The recommendations offer a new approach to Latin America, one that recognizes the limited promise and the real perils of agricultural trade liberalization for developing countries."--Page ii.

This revised edition of The Struggle for Democracy in Chile should prove even more useful to the student of Latin American history and politics than the original. It updates important background information on the evolution of Chile?s military dictatorship in the 1970s and its erosion in the 1980s. Brian Loveman, an authority on contemporary Chilean politics, offers a comprehensive examination of the transition to civilian government in Chile from 1990 to 1994 in a substantial new chapter. Loveman chronicles the rise of the Concertaci¢n coalition, the strained relations between General Pinochet?s military and President Alwyn?s civilian government, and the roles of the National Women?s Service (SERNAM), the Catholic Church, and the indigenous peoples of Chile. All eleven essays by the leading authorities on the Pinochet regime from the earlier edition have been retained. The bibliography has been updated and the index improved. ø The Struggle for Democracy in Chile remains the first and foremost book on the transition over the last twenty-five years from dictatorship to democracy in Chile.