In the past five years, Latin America's new cadre of leftist leaders have been struggling to shake off the legacies of faltering economies and military dictatorships that have long haunted the region. Kozloff (Hugo Chavez: Oil, Politics, and the Challenge to the U.S.
) offers a series of snapshots of steady transformation, focusing heavily on Venezuela's Chavez and key issues like oil, media and multiculturalism. Compiling current anecdotes and concise historical summaries, Kozloff describes a number of overlapping trends in the region, such as indigenous rights movements and revived labor unions, as well as a widespread desire for economic independence from the United States. Kozloff interprets these similarities as proof of increasing regional integration, but fails to provide adequate hard evidence. If anything, he succeeds in showing how the countries he writes about have moved away from cookie-cutter solutions and are each working to develop equitable societies on their own terms. (Apr.)
