CENTRAL AMERICA
Liliam Jimenez, El Salvador: Sus problemas socio-economicos
(Casa de las Americas, 1980). Write for price, cloth, 238 pgs.
Jimenez traces the historical background of the civil war from a
perspective of social formations in a style that is accessible, she
hopes, to non-scholars. A Salvadorean journalist and poet,
Jimenez works for the Soviet news agency, Novosti, in Mexico.
Emphasis is on the period up to the 1969 war with Honduras.
(Casa de las Americas, 3ra. y G, El Vedado, Ciudad de La
Habana, Cuba.)
Pathfinder Press, Revolt in El Salvador (Pathfinder Press,
1980). $1.25, paper, 47 pgs. A collection of articles on the cur-
rent struggle reprinted from Fourth International publications,
The Militant and Intercontinental Press and the Cuban daily,
Granma. Articles address U.S. aid to the regime, the roots of
resistance and three groups affiliated with the Democratic
Revolutionary Front (FDR): the Farabundo Marti People’s Libera-
tion Forces (FPL), the Communist Party and the People’s Revolu-
tionary Army-Party of the Salvadorean Revolution (ERP-PRS).
The platform of the FDR’s Revolutionary Democratic Government
is reproduced in translation. (Pathfinder Press, 410 West Street,
New York, N.Y. 10014.)
Rafael Menjivar, El Salvador: El eslabon mas pequena (Editor-
ial Universitaria Centroamericana, 1980). Write for price, paper,
237 pgs. Menjivar, in exile since 1972, is a leading FOR theore-
tician and a former university rector. A series of articles and es-
says analyze the current situation in light of relations with the
United States, the Church, the Central American region and the
forces allied against the Junta. The most important documents of
the current period appear in an appendix beginning with the
Armed Forces’ proclamation following the October 1979 coup
and ending with the FOR platform. An important resource for
observers and supporters of the Salvadorean struggle. (EDUCA,
Ciudad Universitaria Rodrigo Facio, Costa Rica.)
Guatemala: Prelude to a Struggle is a radio documentary on
human rights violations and the U.S. role in Guatemala. First
aired on National Public Radio, the program is available in 30- or
60-minute audio cassettes. (Transcript: $3; 30-minute cassette:
$8; 60-minute cassette: $12; The Public Media Foundation, 15
Pleasant Place, Cambridge, MA 02139.)
Central America: Roots of the Crisis (1981) is a 25-minute,
133-slide show with a taped script and print materials. It outlines
the history, economics and politics of the current situation and
suggests ways to support the Central American peoples’ right to
self-determination. ($50, American Friends Service Committee,
Latin American Program, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA
19102.)
Guatemala: A People Besieged (1978) is a 28-minute,
160-slide show with taped script and print materials. The show
documents U.S. involvement and raises questions for the future.
($55, American Friends Service Committee.)
50
Amnesty International, Guatemala-A Government Program of
Political Murder (Amnesty International, 1981). $3.95, paper, 32
pgs. Amnesty’s most recent report on Guatemala contains new
evidence linking disappearances, torture and murderto a control
center in the National Palace under the direction of President
Romero Lucas Garcia. Two chilling interviews are also included:
the only known survivor of political imprisonment in Guatemala
tells of his 11-day ordeal; and an Indian conscript talks about the
brainwashing of new soldiers, how targets were chosen, seized,
tortured and finally murdered. (Amnesty International, 304 West
58th Street, New York, N.Y. 10019.)
NICARAGUA
Richard R. Fagen, The Nicaraguan Revolution- A Personal
Report (Institute for Policy Studies, 1981). Write for price, paper,
36 pgs. A sympathetic look at free Nicaragua’s first 18 months-
where power lies, plans for reconstruction and challenges the
country faces. Well illustrated by six pages of black and white
photos. An appendix of four documents in translation presents
the raging ideological struggle involving the FSLN, the bourgeois
opposition and the Church. (Institute for Policy Studies, 1901 Q
Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009.)
Pilar Arias, NIcaragua: Revolucion, relates de combatientes
del Frente Sandinista (Siglo Veintiuno Editores, 1980). Write for
price, paper, 226 pgs. Personal testimonies from leaders of the
Nicaraguan revolution on the struggle from 1956 to the 1979 vic-
tory. The book is based on compilations from older publications
and more than 70 hours of taped interviews. Biographies of the
speakers are provided. An important record that grew out of the
first moments of victory. (Siglo Veintiuno Editores, SA, Cerro del
Agua 248, Mexico 20. D.F.)
We have received the following recent publications from Nica-
ragua:
Tomas Borge M., Hacla el partldo de la revolucion Sandinista.
(Department of the Interior, 1980, 15 pgs.)
Programa economico de austeridad y eficiencla-81 Ano de la
defensa y la produccion. (Ministry of Planning, 180 pgs.)
Carlos Nunez, La reaccion y sus ejes de enfrentamiento ideolo-
gico. (Department of Propaganda and Political Education of the
FSLN, 1981, 33 pgs.)
Apuntes de historla de Nicaragua, Vol. I and II, (National
Autonomous University of Nicaragua, History Section of the
Department of Social Sciences, 1980, 435 pgs.)
LATIN AMERICA
Pieter van Dijk, The Chilean Constitution in Light of Chile’s In-
ternational Legal Obligations in the Field of Human Rights (Foun-
dation for Legal Aid in Chile, 1980). Write for price, paper, 37
pgs. Van Dijk, a law professor at Utrecht University, analyzes the
human rights provisions of the new Chilean constitution in light of
the country’s “obligations” under international law. The report
is part of a collection of studies on the constitution “legalizing”
military rule. (Stichting Rechtshulp Chili, Janskerhof 16, 3512
BM, Utrecht, Netherlands.)
Benjamin S. Orlove and Glynn Custred, ed., Land and Power In
Latin America (Holmes and Meier, 1980). $35.50, cloth, 260
pgs. This collection of papers on the rural Andes grew out of an
American Anthropological Association symposium. Rejecting
previous interpretations, the authors attempt to lay out a model
NACLA Reportupdate * update . update * update
for understanding agrarian economies and social processes
based on the peasant household. Extensive bibliography.
(Holmes and Meier Publishers, IUB Building, 30 Irving Place,
New York, N.Y. 10003.)
Frederick Stirton Weaver, Class, State and Industrial Struc-
ture-The Historical Process of South American Industrial
Growth (Greenwood Press, 1980). $28.50, cloth, 247 pgs. A
Hampshire College economics and history professor, Weaver
traces industrial development in Latin America from its earliest
forms to the present. Maintaining that liberal, Marxist and de-
pendency analyses do not adequately explain Latin American ex-
perience, he offers an alternative based on a multi-disciplinary
approach. Extensive bibliography. (Greenwood Press, 88 Post
Road West, Westport, CT 06881.)
Latin America Bureau, Bolivia: Coup d’Etat (Latin America
Bureau, 1980.) L1.50, paper, 88 pgs. A brief and useful over-
view of Bolivian history from 1952 to the July 1980 coup. The
major political parties and trade unions are dealt with individual-
ly. A good foundation for understanding the current situation.
(Latin America Bureau Ltd., P.O. Box 134, London NWI, 4JY.)
MISCELLANEOUS
David Weir and Mark Schapiro, Circle of Poison-Pesticides
and People in a Hungry World (Institute for Food and Develop-
ment Policy, 1981). $3.95, paper, 100 pgs. Weir and Schapiro
continue the work presented in their award-winning 1979
Mother Jones expose on the dumping of U.S. pesticides in the
third world. Making use of extensive sources abroad, the
authors explode the myth that pesticides help feed the world’s
hungry. They present evidence that most chemicals are used on
luxury or export crops, tracing the pesticides from U.S. factories
to shipment abroad and back to U.S. consumers, thus com-
pleting the “circle of poison.” (Institute for Food and Develop-
ment Policy, 2588 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94110.
Available in Spanish.)
Stephen Rose, Joan Hoffman, Morton Greenhouse and Nat
Spero, How to Research a Corporation (Union for Radical Political
Economics, 1980). $3.50, paper, 21 pgs. A nuts-and-bolts
guide to getting behind the company line and that well-polished
corporate facade. Chapters deal with sources, questions to ask,
understanding profits as laid out in annual reports and Interpret-
ing wages and benefits. A good resource for community groups
and researchers alike. (URPE, 41 Union Square West, New
York, N.Y. 10003.)
Ben Turok, ed., Revolutionary Thought in the 20th Century
(Zed Press, 1980). $24.95, cloth, $8.95 paper, 313 pgs. A
study guide in revolutionary thought presented through the
writings of practitioners from Marx and Engels to Spain’s San-
tiago Carillo and Vietnam’s Vo Nguyen Giap. Turok, a South
African in exile, has chosen texts which delve into crucial ques-
tions facing any revolutionary struggle-the nature and condi-
tions of proletarian versus national, democratic revolutions;
revolutionary violence; socialist struggle under parliamentary
democracy and taking and keeping state power. Each chapter
concludes with suggestions for further reading and helpful study
questions. (Available from Lawrence Hill and Co., 520 Riverside
Ave., Westport, CT 06880.)
Benjamin Nunez, Dictionary of Afro-American Civilization
(Greenwood Press, 1980). Write for price, cloth, 525 pgs. The
book’s introduction states: “African cultural influence in Latin
MayJune 1981
America is so pervasive but subtle that it is often overlooked.” In
this excellent reference book Nunez provides definitions of terms
and phrases, bibliographies of Latin Americans of African des-
cent and information on historical events. The work is a useful
companion to the researcher and makes for lively reading for ety-
mology buffs and those interested in Afro-Latin culture. (Green-
wood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881.)
Thomas L. Karnes, Tropical Enterprise-Standard Fruit and
Steamship Company in Latin America (Louisiana State University
Press, 1980). $20, cloth, 324 pgs. Karnes traces the company
that brings us Dole bananas from its founding by four Sicilian im-
migrants to 1968 when it became a subsidiary of Castle and
Cooke. The history was written with the blessings and coopera-
tion of corporate executives and the founders’ descendants who
opened company archives to the writer. Some valuable informa-
tion, but don’t expect to find any revealing secrets. (Louisiana
State University Press, Baton Rouge, LA 70803.)
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