The Amazon in Times of War by Marcos Colón

The Amazon in Times of War showcases the deliberate state policies behind the violence and devastation inflicted upon the Brazilian Amazon and its inhabitants. The collection features first-hand accounts detailing not just physical assaults, but also economic and institutional harm. The essays traverse diverse themes while adhering to a chronological sequence, zeroing in on a pivotal period commencing in 2018. In November of that year, following a second electoral round, Jair Bolsonaro assumed the presidency of an already fragmented nation. The world observed in astonishment as a relatively obscure conservative federal deputy, a former army captain with fervent neoliberal inclinations, rose to helm the largest country in South America. This menace has since manifested itself into a calculated political agenda aimed at the obliteration of the world’s largest biome and its peoples, which encompasses nine South American nations. His forthright rhetoric strikingly echoed that of his North American counterpart, leading the media to dub him the “Trump of the Tropics.”

Colón, through his compelling images and testimonials from the Amazonian peoples, has exposed to humanity the tragedy of the Amazon’s destruction at the hands of the most nefarious interests of logging companies and garimpeiros, associated with multinational corporations and the blind pursuits of global capitalism.

– Enrique Leff, National Autonomous University of Mexico

Clamor: The search for the disappeared of the South American dictatorships
by Jan Rocha

Pinochet’s dictatorship in Chile is relatively well known in the UK, but what happened during the Argentine dictatorship, 1976-83, when thousands of men, women, and children were subjected to state terrorism, remains largely unknown. The book describes the secret detention camps, the disappearances, the kidnapping of hundreds of babies and small children. It is based largely on eyewitness accounts gathered by CLAMOR, an ecumenical group of volunteers in São Paulo, Brazil which was backed by the Catholic church and the World Council of Churches. The group was instrumental in finding the first ‘disappeared’ children to be located, and contributed to the search for many others.

The book also covers the situation in the other South American countries ruled by military dictators, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Bolivia, where CLAMOR supported local human rights organizations and sent missions. The group was one of the first organizations to denounce the collaboration between the security forces of the dictatorships, involving cross-border kidnappings, torture and murder of dissidents, which later became known as Operation Condor.

Clamor’s work involved careful, daring and at times dangerous work, and this book has the intensity and excitement of a crime or spy thriller. As a founder member of CLAMOR, with access to all the archives, Jan Rocha, Journalist and former Correspondent for the BBC and the Guardian, is in a unique position to tell its story. She concentrates on eyewitness accounts, including her own, and on the question of the children, not only those kidnapped, but those left behind when their parents disappeared.

In the midst of the dictatorship, when they called us madwomen, one of our first destinations abroad was Brazil, to visit Clamor, where we immediately felt shielded and helped. Besides proving the coordination of the South American dictatorships, we discovered an enormous regional solidarity, ignoring frontiers, between victims, their families and people committed to justice and human dignity. And all this was due to a great extent to that first contact with Clamor.

– Estela Barnes de Carlotto, president of the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, Buenos Aires

The Heart of Our Earth: Community Resistance to Mining in Latin America by Tom Gatehouse

In recent decades, the mining industry has taken on vast new dimensions, becoming far more powerful and destructive than anything seen in earlier periods. Mining companies have ventured into ever more remote and ecologically sensitive areas, bringing about unprecedented social and environmental changes: entire landscapes have been radically transformed, and lifestyles which have changed little in centuries have, in some cases, disappeared altogether.

But as mining has expanded, so has social conflict, with frontline communities mobilizing in defence of their lands, water, livelihoods, and cultures: in roadblocks and research; sabotage and street theatre. While some communities have paid a heavy price for their opposition, others have achieved some impressive victories. The Heart of Our Earth tells their story: how the mining industry has affected them, how they have fought back, and their visions for fairer and more sustainable futures.

Written in clear, non-technical language, The Heart of Our Earth is for students, academics, activists, journalists, and anyone who has ever wondered about the true costs of the metals which increasingly power our lives.

A parable for our times.

– Dr John Crabtree,  University of Oxford

In The Heart of Our Earth, Gatehouse does what he does best: highlight the voices and power of movements making change.

– Dr Kirsten Francescone, Trent University, formerly MiningWatch Canada.

Women Resisting Violence: Voices and Experiences from Latin America by the WRV Collective

Women’s voices are loud and clear: gendered and intersectional violence is rampant in Latin America. But at the grassroots, we are pushing back. As the Mexican proverb boldly states, ‘They wanted to bury us, but they didn’t know we were seeds.’

In Women Resisting Violence, case studies and interviews with women leaders from Latin America highlight the multiple and intersecting forms of gendered violence – where race, ethnicity, skin colour, economic status, and other markers combine to identify, discriminate against, and target women. Collecting a chain of voices, the collective focuses on these women’s inspirational strategies for transforming their communities and influencing international laws. Their testimonies underline the importance of culture, commemoration, and the arts in consolidating and amplifying active resistance.

This highly accessible book is concerned with one of the most important issues in Latin America today and in the future.

– Caroline Moser, University of Manchester/University College London

This book demonstrates, once again, the significance of the bonds of sisterhood between academic and Indigenous feminists proposing creative forms of resistance and theorizing from the South.

– Rocío Silva Santisteban, Peruvian poet, feminist activist, scholar, and former member of Congress

Crossed Off The Map: Travels In Bolivia by Shafik Meghji

Blending travel writing, history and reportage, Crossed Off The Map journeys from the Andes to the Amazon to explore Bolivia’s turbulent past and contemporary challenges.

It tells the story of the country’s profound and unexpected influence on the wider world over the last 500 years – fragments of history largely forgotten beyond its borders. The book also explores how ordinary Bolivians in and around the world’s highest city, largest salt flat, richest silver mine and most biodiverse national park are coping with some of the touchstone issues of the 21st century: the climate emergency, populism, mass migration, indigenous rights, national identity, rapid urbanisation, and the ‘war on drugs’.

Crossed Off The Map is an amazing book. I’ve discovered so much more of my own country through it. It makes you realise the wonder of Bolivia.

– Sergio Mendoza, journalist for La Nube and Bloomberg News

Following in the footsteps of everyone from Che Guevara, conquistadors and colonialists, to Inca pilgrims and even dinosaurs, Meghji is a wonderful travelling companion, bringing to life a Bolivia rarely seen in such bright and beautiful light.

– Monisha Rajesh, author of Around the World in 80 Trains

Mexico Inside Out by Nick Caistor

This short book (the second in our ‘Inside Out’ country guide series, following on from Brazil Inside Out (2016)) offers an up-to-date analysis of many aspects of life in Mexico today. It includes a look at Mexico’s geography and history; its peoples, economy and cultural life; and the political problems facing the current administration, from drugs violence to severe environmental challenges.

President López Obrador has promised to achieve the country’s ‘fourth transformation’: Mexico Inside Out examines what that means and requires. Mexico Inside Out provides an introduction to the country for student and traveller alike, all those who want to know more about the real Mexico than is found in an ordinary guidebook.

The richness and complexity of Mexican history, politics and culture made extraordinarily readable without simplification. A great introduction to Mexico.

– Professor Jenny Pearce, London School of Economics

A readable and deeply informed guide to contemporary Mexico, its dramas and its beauty.’

– David Lehmann, Cambridge University