The tiny British colony of Belize on the Caribbean coast of Central America is the subject of a century-old dispute between Britain and the Central American republic of Guatemala. Guatemala claims that Belize is an integral part of her territory. In the face of continued threats of invasion by Guatemala, Britain has stationed troops and RAF Harrier jets in Belize at considerable cost and inconvenience. The Belizean internal government wants complete independence but also demands a defense gurantee to protect her against Guatemala's belligerent and repressive regime. The Belize Issue looks at the historical background and current state of the dispute as well as the Belizean people and economy. It argues that the British government should make greater efforts to ensure a rapid settlement is reached so that Belize can become independent in the future without sacrificing her territorial integrity.

The Belize Issue

History

Zammitt, Anne

Americas

Latin America Bureau (LAB)

Latin American workers and peasants live in extreme poverty, exploited by a global economic system which concentrates wealth and power in the hands of the multinational corporations and local capitalists at the expense of the mass of working people. In many Latin American countries this system is enforced by right wing military dictatorships of extreme brutality which imprison, torture and murder workers and suppress or take over trade unions. But despite this systematic onslaught, Latin American workers continue to fight back. In order to strengthen their struggle they are seeking international solidarity from their fellow workers in Britain and Europe many of whom work in the same industry or for the same company. Unity is Strength is both a call for solidarity and an handbook. Part I describes the hardships and violence suffered by Latin American workers and exposes the economic and political system which exploits and oppresses them. It also looks at the nature of trade unions and workers' struggles in Latin America and considers the need for effective solidarity by British and European trade unionists united in a common struggle with their Latin American comrades. Part II provides a country-by-country guide to the background and present situation of the trade union movement in 25 Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Unity is Strength: Trade unions in Latin America - a case for solidarity

Business & Money

Whitehouse, Chris

Dunkerley; James

Economics

Since 1954 Paraguay has been ruled by the dictator Alfredo Stroessner, the longest surviving head of state in the world. His regime has been characterized by extreme brutality, corruption and economic stagnation. However, in 1973 Paraguay began to experience dramatic economic and social changes as a result of the construction of Itaipu--the largest hydroelectric dam in the world--and massive Brazilian colonization. Paraguay: Power Game chronicle's Paraguay's tragic history and analyzes the nature of the Stroessner regime. It look critically at the country's explosive economic development, in particular the threat to Paraguayan autonomy from Brazil, and shows how this process is deepening the exploitation and impoverishment of the Paraguayan people. The terms of the Itaiou treaty, which gurantee Brazil cheap electric power at Paraguay's expense, have already become a focus for opposition to Stroessner's iron control of the country, marking the beginning of a new power game in Paraguay.

Paraguay: Power Game (Latin America Bureau Special Brief)

Latin America Bureau

On 17 July 1980 Bolivia suffered the most brutal and bloody military coup in its history. The leader of the coup, General Luis Garcia Meza, thus brought to an end Bolivia's faltering attempts to establish parliamentary democracy. The coup's purpose was not simply to prevent the inauguration of the newly elected civilian government. Its broader aim was to do away with all opposition, from progressive clergy to trade union, peasant and left-wing organizations and to establish a right-wing military regime in the style of the dictatorships in neighbouring Argentina and Chile.Bolivia: Coup d'Etat traces Bolivia's history from the 1952 Revolution to the July 1980 coup and its aftermath. It analyzes the country's political forces and socio-economic structures and chronicles the Bolivian miners' traditional struggle against the armed forces. It also describes the violations of basic human and democratic rights and examines the nature and origins of the present regime.

Bolivia: Coup d'Etat (Latin America Bureau Special Brief)

The Caribbean basin is one of the most volatile areas of the world today. Since the last century the United States has maintained its supremacy in the region through direct and indirect military intervention, alliances with local oligarchies and economic domination. The poverty, repression and underdevelopment which characterize the region today are part of this legacy of American economic penetration and political influence. But these conditions have led to increasing social and political unrest which, for the first time, are threatening United States control over events in its own backyard. Under The Eagle traces the history and motivations of United States policy in Central America and the Caribbean, from President Monroe to President Reagan, and assesses its impact on the impoverished people of the region. It concentrates in particular on events since the Cuban revolution and includes a special focus on EI Salvador and the United States' latest attempts to suppress the struggle for social justice and self-determination of those who live Under the Eagle.

Under The Eagle 2nd Edition: United States Intervention in Central America and the Caribbean

Pearce, Jenny

Europe's economic and political interests in Latin America have been growing steadily in the past decade. The United States remains the largest source of direct investment in the region, but Europe's share is substantial and increasing. Latin America has much to offer Europe as a vast potential market and a major source of raw materials. Politically, Europe has distanced itself from the policies of the United States toward the region, particularly with respect to the crisis in Central America. Many observers see European involvement in Latin America as a counterweight to the region's traditional dependence on the U.S. The European Challenge sets out to examine these assumptions. It looks at variosu aspects of Europe's relations with Latin America: transnational investment, the role of the EEC, financial flows, European social democracy, human rights and arms sales. Through an analysis of the political and economic interests behind the European challenge, this book questions whether Europe can be expected to promote the kind of development in Latin America which will advance the cause of social and economic justice in the region.

The European Challenge: Europe's New Role in Latin America

Falklands/Malvinas: Whose Crisis? (Latin American Bureau Special Brief)

Honeywell, Martin

General Pinochet came to power in Chile in a coup which cost the lives of over 10,000 people. The coup brought to an end the socialist government of President Allende and inaugurated an experiment in monetarist economics which Time Magazine described as ""a model of what can be achieved in restructuring an ageing prostrate economy into a streamlined machine."" A decade later, the experiment collapsed and Chile entered the worst economic crisis in its history and Pinochet faced widespread opposition.Chile: The Pinochet Decade tells the story of the rise and fall of the laissez-faire economic technocrats known as the Chicago Boys, who masterminded the experiment and it analyzes the nature of their alliance with General Pinochet. The book shows how the Chicago Boys promoteed a concept of ""economic liberty"" based on the individual's right to compete in free markets. This could only be implemented through a state with vastly increased powers of repression and surveillance. In this way, manual and white collar workers and the rural and urban poor were forced to accept dramatic falls in their living standards which were a consequence of the model. For the Chicago Boys presupposed a political and economic system in which only the privileged few are actors and notions of social justice do not figure. Chile: The Pinochet Decade traces the failure of the model from the ""shock treatment"" of 1975, in which the economy was massively contracted in order to reduce inflation, through the supposed miracle years of high growth funded by foreign loans, to the bankruptcy and final abandonment of the free market model.

Chile: The Pinochet Decade: The Rise and Fall of the Chicago Boys (Latin American Bureau Special Brief)

O'Brien, Phillip

Roddick, Jacqueline

Guyana is on the verge of economic collapse and a profound social crisis. The socialist rhetoric of President Forbes Burnham's regime contrasts strikingly with the ugly details of his personalist and authoritarian rule. Burnham supports progressive third world views internationally, yet his party is responsible for the murder and harassment of its opponents at home. His policy to "feed, clothe and house" the population has resulted in endemic food shortages, 40% unemployment and falling living standards for the great majority of people. Far from living up to the ""cooperative socialist"" principles on which the PNC regime is supposedly based, Burnham's party has been responsible for massively rigging every election that has occured since the country gained independence. Guyana: Fraudulent Revolution analyzes these contradictions in the context of the country's history from its days as a slave colony, through the violent era that preceeded independence in the 1960s, to the present situation of economic collapse and political repression. It tells the story of the racial manipulation, violence and political fraud that have become the hallmarks of the Burnham regime.

Guyana: Fraudulent Revolution (Latin America Bureau Special Brief)

Jenny Pearce crossed the front line in El Salvador to collect oral histories from the people living under bombardment in Chalatenango, an area controlled by the FMLN guerillas. Promised Land traces how, despite 50 years of systematic and brutal repression, the peasants began to organize themselves. In the face of growing landlessness and misery, they formed a union in the 1970s to fight for cheaper credit, lower rents, and better wages on the plantations. Together with other labor organizations, they created one of the best organized and most combative popular movements in Latin America. When the deepening political crisis led to civil war this provided the foundation for the guerilla army and the civilian administration of the area controlled by it. Here the peasants were able to elect councils, to run health and education programs and to organize production--for the first time to realize the potential of their lives. Under US tutelage, the Salvadorean army has responded with bombings, and terrifying invasions. Promised Land vividly portrays these events with photographs and the words of people directly involved. It provides the background to understanding current events and where solutions may lie for the people of El Salvador.

Promised Land: Peasant Rebellion in Chalatenango El Salvador

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