Transcending neoliberalism : community-based development in Latin America /

This volume is the product of a conference sponsored by the International Development Research Center (IDRC) of Canada. Four contributors (Anthony O'Malley, Juan Tellez, Laura Macdonald, and Henry Veltmeyer) are primarily affiliated with Canadian universities. The others work in Latin American universities (Eduardo Aquevedo Soto in Chile, David Barkin in Mexico, and Aquiles Montoya in El Salvador. Coeditor Veltmeyer sets the stage by criticizing the dominant neoliberal model of development (as do all the contributors), summarizing alternative developmental models, and introducing the concept of local or community-based development (CBD). Veltmeyer then discusses the relationship between community and social-economic class and the question of decentralization and local development. In Chapters 4-7, the authors deal with decentralization, participation, and the role of NGOs in community-based development in Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, and El Salvador. (Curiously, none of the "communities" are urban.) Barkin follows with a chapter on "Neoliberalism and Sustainable Popular Development." Coeditor O'Malley concludes with a refreshing critique of the concept of community-based development. He writes that "the only concrete meaning that can be given to CBD is... the fostering of local initiatives undertaken by local people...." Recommended for graduate students and faculty. R. E. Hartwig Texas A&M University-Kingsville