Contemporary Latin America: Development and Democracy beyond the Washington Consensus

by Francisco Panizza

Latin America has changed dramatically over the past few years. While the 1990s were dominated by the politically orthodoxy of the Washington Consensus and the political uniformity of centre right governments the first decade of the new century is being characterised by the emergence of a plurality of economic and political alternatives.

In an overview of the history of the region over the past twenty-five years this book traces the intellectual and political origins of the Washington Consensus, assesses its impact on democracy and economic development and discusses whether the emergence of a variety of left-wing governments in the region represents a clear break with the politics and policies of the Washington Consensus. Clearly written and rigorously argued the book will be of interest to academics, students of Latin American politics and anybody interested in understanding contemporary Latin America.

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Daniel Gafke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough introduction to governance in Latam.

[Andrew Daniels · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dry, and dull but useful for a few readers, but I would not recommend it generally
balanced viewpoint, academic tone

too many references to academics, not enough to real-world examples / actual history