Books published by Latin America Bureau

This work looks at the world sugar business, identifying the key players and explaining how the industry works. It explores the economics and politics, the mysteries of the futures market and the technology of sugar production. Based on interviews with traders, buyers and producers, it follows the commodity's progress from canefield to sugar bowl.

In Fight for the Forest, Chico Mendes talks of his life's work in his last major interview. Tony Gross, environmentalist, expert on Amazonian affairs and a friend of Chico Mendes, follows the trial, conviction, and release of Chico's assassins and examines Brazil's environmental policy under President Fernando Collor de Mello.

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.

Gender impacts on every major social issue from rights to social policy, from ethnicity to poverty, this work is a comprehensive overview of the subject, examining trends in gender over history until the present. The authors draw on a wide range on theoretial analyses as well as their own field of work to illuminate the importance of diversity in gender in Latin America, as well as more traditionally held concepts of class, ethnicity, the urban-rural divide and age and peer groups. Debunking traditional universalizing stereotypes, this text charts contemporary changes gender roles, relations between the genders, and gender- and sexuality-based identities. Chapters are arranged around broad themes, including gender and poverty, gender and health, gender and sexuality and gender and employment. Each chapter begins with an introduction to the core issues the debates and theoretical work in the relevant field, and case studies. The authors also make reference to the continually expanding literature on the subject, including work on men and masculinity, fatherhood and sexuality.

Distinctive among the turbulent nations of South America, Costa Rica enjoys a reputation for political stability and prosperity. Since abolishing its army in 1948, the "Switzerland of Central America" has experienced unbroken democratic rule and respect for human rights. Yet this small country has also been affected by the debt crisis of the 1980s, with the resulting increases in poverty and social inequality. Its economy traditionally based on coffee and bananas, Costa Rica is now among the world's top eco-tourism destinations. The influx of tourists brings vital income and employment but also threatens to spoil the country's beauty. The book is part of the "In Focus" series which is aimed at students and independent travellers.

Colombia is a country of dramatic and contradictory images. Officially it is a Latin American successs story , with steady growth, political stability and a large middle class. Yet it has become notorious for the activities of the so-called Medellin and Cali cartels and the violence surrounding the cocaine trade. Although credited with the region''s longest lasting democracy, it has been the scene of extreme political and criminal violence which gives it the highest murder rate in the world.Colombia: Inside the Labyrinth explains the reality behind the official and the actual country. It examines the historical basis of Colombia''s two-party system and analyses the corruption and instability which have undermined the state''s ability to govern. Exploring the economic and social forces which condemn a quarter of the population to absolute poverty, it examines the role of the political parties, trade unions, guerrillas and civic movements in Colombia today. Colombia: Inside the Labyrinth unravels the threads of this paradoxical country. Drawing on first hand research, interviews and testimony, it offers a provocative and timely analysis of a country described as a ''political time bomb''.Colombia: Inside the Labyrinth explains the reality behind the official and the actual country. It examines the historical basis of Colombia''s two-party system and analyses the corruption and instability which have undermined the state''s ability to govern.

During two centuries of independence from colonial rule, Haiti has developed into a society quite distinct from those found in the rest of the region. Hollywood-derived images of black magic, and Graham Green-inspired conceptions of a "nightmare republic" do scant justice to the reality of life for those who make up the third largest population in the Caribbean. This work addresses these questions, and provides an up-to-date guide to the people, politics and culture of this Caribbean nation.