Latin America has experienced a profound transformation in the first two decades of the 21st century: it has been fully incorporated into the global economy, while excluding regions and populations devalued by the logic of capitalism. Technological modernization has gone hand-in-hand with the reshaping of old identities and the emergence of new ones. The transformation of Latin America has been shaped by social movements and political conflicts. The neoliberal model that dominated the first stage of the transformation induced widespread inequality and poverty, and triggered social explosions that led to its own collapse. A new model, neo-developmentalism, emerged from these crises as national populist movements were elected to government in several countries. The more the state intervened in the economy, the more it became vulnerable to corruption, until the rampant criminal economy came to penetrate state institutions. Upper middle classes defending their privileges and citizens indignant because of corruption of the political elites revolted against the new regimes, undermining the model of neo-developmentalism. In the midst of political disaffection and public despair, new social movements, women, youth, indigenous people, workers, peasants, opened up avenues of hope against the background of darkness invading the continent. This book, written by two leading scholars of Latin America, provides a comprehensive and up-do-date account of the new Latin America that is in the process of taking shape today. It will be an indispensable text for students and scholars in Latin American Studies, sociology, politics and media and communication studies, and anyone interested in Latin America today.

The essays included in this volume provide both an assessment of key areas and current trends in sociology, specifically with regard to contemporary sociology in Latin America, as well as a collection of innovative empirical studies. The volume serves as an effective bridge of communication allowing sociological academies to mobilize and disseminate research dynamics from Latin America to the rest of the world.

In The Left Hand of Capital, Fernando Ignacio Leiva provides a theoretically grounded analysis of the last thirty years of socioeconomic policies in Chile, beginning at the end of the Pinochet military regime in 1990. He skillfully probes how innovative center-left politico-economic initiatives transformed the state's relationships with the country's urban poor, indigenous peoples, workers, students, and business elites, thereby contributing to institutionalize, legitimize, and renew Chile's neoliberal system of domination. Leiva documents how such politics, progressive in appearance, were pivotal in forging new arts of domestication, "participatory" social control mechanisms, and commodified subjectivities. This landmark book guides us into a deeper awareness about the limitations of center-left politics, not only in Chile, but elsewhere in the Americas and Western Europe as well. At a time when far-right movements seem to be growing in the Global South, Europe, and the United States, this book offers valuable insights into the predicament of social democracy and how, as in Chile and in the context of global neoliberalism, it can become the "left hand of capital."

Over the past few decades, a wave of immigration has turned New York into a microcosm of the Americas and enhanced its role as the crossroads of the English- and Spanish-speaking worlds. Yet far from being an alien group within a "mainstream" and supposedly pure "Anglo" America, people referred to as Hispanics or Latinos have been part and parcel of New York since the beginning of the city's history. They represent what Walt Whitman once celebrated as "the Spanish element of our nationality." Hispanic New York is the first anthology to offer a comprehensive view of this multifaceted heritage. Combining familiar materials with other selections that are either out of print or not easily accessible, Claudio Iván Remeseira makes a compelling case for New York as a paradigm of the country's Latinoization. His anthology mixes primary sources with scholarly and journalistic essays on history, demography, racial and ethnic studies, music, art history, literature, linguistics, and religion, and the authors range from historical figures, such as José Martí, Bernardo Vega, or Whitman himself, to contemporary writers, such as Paul Berman, Ed Morales, Virginia Sánchez Korrol, Roberto Suro, and Ana Celia Zentella. This unique volume treats the reader to both the New York and the American experience, as reflected and transformed by its Hispanic and Latino components.

Este libro está contextualizado en un referente histórico que analiza a través de datos, fechas y sucesos, el desarrollo del régimen presidencial mexicano. Así mismo, enuncia conceptos fundamentales de la política actual, del comportamiento de los actores y de los partidos políticos que interactúan en el contexto nacional. Además, refiere la percepción e interés que desde el escenario internacional han vertido diversos personajes sobre el próximo proceso sucesorio en nuestro país. También aborda lo trascendental del marketing político para la elección del 1° de Julio; qué papel jugarán en las campañas el internet y la dinámica de las redes sociales, donde hoy en día jóvenes entre 18 y 25 años de edad podrían constituirse como un detonante y definir los resultados de la jornada electoral en la renovación de 2,102 cargos de elección popular. Considerando que en México la red de internet cuenta con 36 millones de usuarios, de los cuales aproximadamente 10 millones son jóvenes, todos los partidos políticos en contienda deberán prestar atención prioritaria a este segmento poblacional, que sin lugar a dudas jugará un rol fundamental en el resultado de la elección presidencial. 78.7 millones de ciudadanos que están inscritos en la lista nominal, podrán votar en esta elección. El reto para los equipos de campaña de todos los candidatos radica en diseñar estrategias idóneas para despertar el interés de los electores y de los posibles votantes que representan un importante número de ciudadanos indecisos. Por lo anterior, los institutos de representación política nacional, no deben soslayar el fenómeno del abstencionismo y analizar acuciosamente las condiciones sociodemográficas, históricas y estructurales que siempre han afectado los niveles de participación electoral. Además de proponer las nominaciones más rentables y que presenten estas una buena imagen ante la opinión pública. El acontecer político actual, sin lugar a dudas ha motivado que haya una gran demanda y exigir ciudadano para que los políticos deban profesionalizarse con el fin de ganarse el respecto de la sociedad mexicana y la política sea un verdadero instrumento de cambio democrático que genere certidumbre en acciones de gobierno. Estimado lector (a), el libro que tienes en tus manos con toda seguridad será un útil instrumento que facilitará la toma de decisiones para emitir un voto razonado, analítico y responsable en estas elecciones del 2012.