Peoples of the Earth: Ethnonationalism, Democracy, and the Indigenous Challenge in "Latin'' America

Resumen del libro

Peoples of the Earth is about the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere--what is left of them. Focusing on the rise of Native nationalism in the Americas, the book is provocative from historical and ideological perspectives. The rise of the struggle for autonomy is based on globalization and the encroachment of outside forces on indigenous lands. Aside from political autonomy, the cry is for preservation of Indian cultures. The nature of the struggle depends on the nation-state that the particular indigenous nation finds itself within. Mexico leads in the number of Native people with 12 million natives, 14.3 percent of the population. (The CIA World Fact Book lists 30 percent of Mexicans as Amerindian). Only in Bolivia have Native Americans gained a semblance of power, with the rise of Evo Morales as president. Though generally sympathetic, journalist Andersen appears to attribute indigenous wars of liberation to outside forces such as Marxist populists, los narcos, and radical Islamists, which, in the North American vernacular, automatically makes them terrorists, an argument for which he does not make a convincing case. Andersen should have spent more time on the material conditions producing the turmoil instead of the agitation of these grievances. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries. -- R. Acuna, emeritus, California State University, Northridge (Reprinted with permission of Choice, copyright 2010, American Library Association)