65 pages • 2 hours read
Eduardo GaleanoOpen Veins of Latin America
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1971A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
IntroductionChapter Summaries & Analyses
Introduction Summary: “120 Million Children in the Eye of the Hurricane”
In the introduction to Open Veins of Latin America, author Eduardo Galeano describes Latin America as “the region of open veins” (18) as all its resources flow outward towards the US and Europe. Galeano proceeds to discuss the historical development of this relationship between the US, Europe, and Latin America.
In 1961, US President John F. Kennedy established the Alliance for Progress to facilitate peaceful economic relations between the US and Latin America. This relationship was based on the US administering economic aid through the establishment of loan programs. While aid generally has positive connotations, the loan programs ultimately create a system of dependency between Latin America and the US and Europe. In reality, a history of colonialism had set a precedent for the economic exploitation of Latin America. Furthermore, economic dependency not only exists between the US, Europe, and Latin America, but also within Latin America, where larger countries wield control of smaller ones. This “endless chain of dependency” (19) has a deep origin that begins with colonialism and extends into the present as a more complicated series of inequities.
The present-day world attitude towards Latin America is that the region is “menial” and “in service of others’ needs” (18), namely US and European ventures. Latin America has been deemed “a second-class America of nebulous identity” (18), which exists for other countries’ benefits. As the populations continue to grow in Latin America, this expansion has “become the greatest obstacle to progress in Latin America” (22) as living conditions worsen and resources become less available to growing numbers. Yet for the US, population growth in Latin America signals a higher probability of revolutionary activity that might disrupt the nation’s control over economic relations in the region.
Galeano proposes that revolution is the only way to forge structural change in the Latin American region. Citing Cuba’s socialist government under Fidel Castro as an example of moving away from foreign aid towards economic independence, Galeano suggests that the only means forward for Latin America is to take up arms. Furthermore, he insists that revolution is the only way to recover what Latin America has lost to US and European intervention, stating, “Recovery of the resources that have always been usurped is recovery of our destiny” (24).
Introduction Analysis
Galeano employs the metaphor of Latin America as the “region of open veins” (18), which inspired the title of the book, to illustrate the relationship of control and exploitation between the US, Europe, and Latin America. Portraying Latin America as a body with veins where the blood flows towards US and Europe, Galeano creates the image of a body that does not feed or sustain itself first, but rather channels its blood to other bodies. While Latin America is abundant with resources such as sugar and coffee, it is not the main recipient of these materials. Rather, these resources become valuable exports for the US and European countries to monetize and grow their own economies.
The metaphor of the open veins is an apt description for the “endless chain of dependency” (19) that Galeano explores throughout the book through his comprehensive historical account of Latin American political and economic development. From early Spanish colonialism to present-day US intervention through loans and political intervention, Latin America remains tethered to the interests of other countries while its own marginalized people continue to suffer. Galeano shows that the current state of poverty, high rates of unemployment, and exploitative labor practices have historical precedent from Latin America’s violent beginnings leading to the present.
With the knowledge of this historical basis, Galeano makes a case for a social revolution that might change the terms of control in Latin America. For many years, Latin America’s resources have always belonged to US and European multinational corporations. Galeano urges a social revolution where the Latin American people can recover their own resources and have autonomy over their economy outside of foreign intervention.
