From Publishers Weekly
The authors of The Central America Fact Book examine a less prominent but perhaps more destructive side of the war in Central America: economic aid from the United States, which they call "intervention with a smile," and its relationship to the military doctrine of Low Intensity Conflict. The focus is primarily on the Agency for International Development and its central role in the economics and politics of the region. The basic argument is that the injection of large sums of aid, while providing short-term stability, deepens the region's dependency on outside capital and works against the interests of the Central American poor. According to the authors, American taxpayers' money is "being liberally handed out to oligarchs, financiers, and U.S. investors" throughout the region. Barry and Preusch conclude that U.S. economic aid programs in Central America, far from being instruments of peaceful revolution, make violent revolution inevitable.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
If the media are preoccupied with the question of military aid to the contras, they say comparatively little about direct economic assistance. The authors ( Central American Fact Book ) deplore this silence and denounce U.S. humanitarian aid as nothing more than an adjunct to military policy. Despite massive injections of U.S. cash since 1980, the Central American poor are worse off than ever. The authors have few laudatory words for U.S. foreign aid, suggesting that the supposed beneficiaries would be better off were aid to cease altogether. An important, well-argued book. Recommended. Ian Wallace, Agriculture Canada Lib., St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
