Engaged

It is difficult to overstate the significance of Latin American Perspectives. Half a century is a long time in the life of any publication, especially ones that are openly leftist. And, LAP has not only proved durable, it has also grown in almost every way. Where many journals have had to cut back, in recent years LAP added to its annual frequency, added full-color covers, added a listserv newsletter, built a lively website, and continues to innovate in terms of its outreach and impact. It’s more than remarkable, it’s a space of hope for all of us who care about socialism.

I am proud that since 1995, my name has appeared in the journal as one of a number of participating editors. That was also the year that I first published in the journal, having organized with Anthony Pereira a special issue on “Labor and the Free Market in the Americas.” We were trying to make sense of the impact of neoliberalism on the region’s workers, soon after the Washington Consensus revealed significant alignment with this latest expression of capitalist exploitation. I continue to cite Michael Foley’s excellent article from that issue on Mexico’s brutal destruction of the ejido system, which left millions of peasants without a livelihood. Beginning in 2016, right-wing governments in Brazil similarly tried to undermine the country’s agrarian reform settlement project.

As a participating editor, I evaluate dozens of articles for publication in upcoming LAP issues. Most of them concern recent Brazilian history and agrarian issues. LAP gives equal consideration to all authors and manuscripts are accepted in all the region’s languages. Moreover, the journal pays to translate the articles into English, as its mission emphasizes exposing English readers to Latin American perspectives. The openness to diverse voices, fields and topics is another of the journal’s strengths.

In 2009, LAP published another special issue. With the title, “Peasant Movements in Latin America: Looking Back, Looking Ahead,” Bernardo Mançano Fernandes and I were able to bring together top scholars from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and the United States to examine an explosion of national and transnational agrarian social movements in the region. The issue reflected yet another of LAP’s qualities, its capacity to investigate contemporary themes from a broad, multi-national perspective. The issue was graced with a vibrant color photo of a peasant march on Brazil’s capital, adding an additional perspective from Douglas Mansur, who has assiduously photographed the 40-year history of the Landless Workers Movement (MST).

The secret to LAP’s success can probably be found in its engagement. At LASA Congresses, LAP engages its followers to try to make the organization more responsive or get it to take stands on issues of urgency, such as U.S. policy positions and repression in the Americas. LAP’s list allows its followers to communicate and comment about unfolding events in real time. In the context of the 2016 coup in Brazil, for example, the journal made it possible to alert readers to Lula’s imprisonment and other threats to democracy. More recently, LAP has taken to sponsoring webcasts and podcasts on matters of broad public interest. LAP’s long engagement with Latin America helps all of us stay informed and engaged and for that we should all be grateful. Here’s to the next fifty years!