One of the more significant writers to emerge out of the Latin American left in recent years–Uruguayan journalist Raul Zibechi–has just released a new book: Dispersar el poder: los movimientos como poderes antiestatales (trans.: Fragmenting power: social movements as anti-statist powers). It studies contemporary resistance movements in Bolivia, specifically the practice of a communitarian, anti-statist politics in the city of El Alto.
Zibechi is best known for his Genealogía de la revuelta: Argentina, la sociedad en movimiento (trans.: Genealogy of the Revolt: Argentina, Society in Movement), which analyzes the origins of the new social movements that exploded onto the horizon in Argentina in December, 2001. He has also published works on the Zapatistas, on social movements and autonomy, and on contemporary student activism. Unfortunately, none of his books have been translated into English
It is surprising that Latin America has not produced more anti-authoritarian writers of late, given that a veritable wave of anti-statist movements has swept the region. We can only hope that others will follow in Zibechi’s footsteps.
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