xii PREFACE
the origin and evolution of the distinctive postwar popu-
list experience in Argentina under Juan Domingo Perón
and his charismatic wife, Evita.
Chapter 15 analyzes the 1959 Cuban Revolu-
tion, its causes, and effects to explain how it aimed to
transcend the limitations of populism and promote an
authentically independent national development. As
an alternative both to the failures of populism and the
Cuban Revolution, Chapter 16 discusses the develop-
ment of the Andean region’s fl irtation with “military
socialism” and the military’s role in Peru’s 1968 “Revo-
lution from Above.” Chapter 17 focuses on the populist
experience and its role in shaping Chile’s distinctive road
to national development in 1970 under the leadership
of Salvador Allende, the region’s fi rst democratically
elected Socialist president. Chapter 18 discusses the
roles of armed revolution and prolonged popular war as
historically particular struggles to promote national lib-
eration in Central America during the 1980s. Chapter
19 concentrates on the historical sources of Venezuela’s
Bolivarian Revolution in the 1990s and contrasts this
with the protracted guerrilla war in Colombia, conclud-
ing that both offered different strategies for securing an
elusive unifi ed national development. Neoliberalism, yet
another strategy to transcend the limitations of a failed
populism, is the focus of Chapters 20 and 21, which ex-
amine respectively its historical evolution and common
experiences in the 1990s and beyond. Finally, Chapter
22 explores the historical role of the United States, its re-
gional and global objectives, and the impact of its foreign
policies on Latin American national development.
To accommodate alternative course confi gurations,
A History of Latin America continues to be published in
two volumes as well as in a complete version. Volume
1 includes Latin American history from ancient times
to 1910, and Volume 2 covers Latin American history
from independence to the present.
The histories of all the countries discussed in this
edition have been brought up to date, and the rest of
the book has been thoroughly revised to refl ect current
scholarship, particularly the respective roles of race,
class, and gender in the region’s historical development.
Special emphasis is placed on such topics as the impact
of neoliberal economic policies and the gathering revolt
against them, the effects of the North American Free
Trade Agreement, the growing urgency of environmen-
tal issues, the heightened visibility of the women’s move-
ment, and the signifi cance of popular culture.
Website Resources
We are pleased to present a companion website (college.
hmco.com/pic/keen8e) to accompany the Eighth Edi-
tion of A History of Latin America. The website features
a variety of learning and teaching tools for students and
instructors, including a more robust glossary of terms
that are boldfaced in the textbook. Students will ben-
efi t from self-test quizzes, electronic fl ashcards, primary
sources, and a wealth of additional reading suggestions.
For the fi rst time ever, instructors will have easy access
to an online version of the Instructor’s Resource Man-
ual, including a variety of testing items. Instructors will
also appreciate a link to HistoryFinder, a new searchable
database developed by Houghton Miffl in that allows in-
structors to search by topic or keyword across thousands
of historical assets including primary sources, images,
maps, and videos; these resources can be downloaded di-
rectly from the Web for use in classroom presentations.Acknowledgments
The book has benefi ted from the careful scrutiny of the
Seventh Edition by colleagues who made valuable sug-
gestions for revision: Linda Arnold, Virginia Tech; Pa-
mela L. Baker, University of Cincinnati; Laura J. Beard,
Texas Tech University; Marc Becker, Truman State Uni-
versity; J. B. Owens, Idaho State University; and Paul S.
Vickery, Oral Roberts University.
Many but not all of these colleagues’ suggestions
were adopted; these individuals bear no responsibility for
any remaining errors of fact or interpretation. We also
want to acknowledge a special debt of gratitude to Pro-
fessor Asunción Lavrín who graciously shared her photo
archive on Latin American feminism. Jim Livingston of
Rutgers University and Carl Swidorski of the College of
Saint Rose provided special guidance and support. We
wish to recall, too, the many students, graduate and un-
dergraduate, who helped us to defi ne our views on Latin
American history through the give-and-take of class-
room discussion and the reading and discussion of their
papers and theses.Benjamin Keen
Keith Haynes