Description

The twentyfirst century began optimistically in Latin America Leftleaning leaders armed with programs to reduce poverty and reclaim national wealth were seeing resultsbut as the aughts gave way to the teens they began to fall like dominos Where did the dreams of this pink tide go Look no further than the original culprits of Latin American disenfranchisement resourcerich land and unscrupulous extraction

Recounting the story commodity by commodity Andy Robinson reveals what oxen have to do with the rise of Jair Bolsonaro how quinoa explains the mob that descended on Evo Morales and why oil is the culprit behind the protracted coup in Venezuela In addition to the usual suspects like gold and bananas which underscored the original plunder of the Americas Robinson also shows how a new generation of valuable resourceslike coltan for smartphones and lithium for electric carshave become important players in the fate of Latin America And as the energy transition sets mineral prices soaring Latin America remains at the mercy of the rollercoaster of commodity prices

Robinson takes listeners from the salt plains of Chile to the depths of the Amazonian jungle to stitch together the story of Latin Americas last decade showing how the imperial plunder of the past carries on today under a new name