The Open Veins of Latin America - Eduardo Galeano

"The open veins of Latin America" is a book written by Eduardo Galeano. Here he reveals the historical reality of our America, and provides us with a perspective on the political context specifically of America, where the reader can make pertinent comparisons with respect to the culture of the United States and that of Latin America. So this text turns out to be a historical study that shows us the losses we have suffered during civilization. In this way, the presence of various characters has gradually led us to total poverty.

Summary and synopsis of "The Open Veins of Latin America"

This work tells us about our history as Latin Americans. It shows us the reality in a clear and precise way, pointing out that all of Latin America is absolutely manipulated and directed by various countries that compete between products from Africa and Latin America so that products can be sold at the lowest price.

Which is a great obstacle to achieving the development of Latin American nations, and it turns out to be detrimental when these powerful countries that acquire these low prices, develop and grow at the expense of vulnerable countries. So there are fewer opportunities every day for employment and to improve the quality of life of Latinos.

But, Latin America has been sustained due to the great natural wealth. This is a great advantage, but the fact of having such low prices is superimposed, since the great industrialization that exists in powerful countries with their technological advances is required. In this way, you cannot compete with good quality products, because you do not have a grounded industrialization. In addition, all that is exported are largely agricultural and handicraft products.

"The open veins of Latin America" ​​also reveals to us the cruelty of the colonizers when they arrived in these lands, since instead of culturing us and providing us with technology, they enslaved and exploited us. And over time, despite having achieved independence, and we celebrate July 20, we continue to be dominated by powerful countries that, having access to scientific advances and more opportunities, continue to enslave us. Thus we remain subject to the yoke of the world power of the United States.

"The open veins of Latin America" ​​provides us with a more realistic reading of who we are as a nation and of the historical events that have marked us over time, leaving us at the expense of the most powerful countries, who have us with their hands tied , since they have the technology required for the industrialization of various products.

However, Latin America has exceptional natural resources that are the key to being able to evolve as a Nation and to modernize so as not to depend on the Empire. This may be a utopia, but today, many countries are developing.

Analysis of the work

"The open veins of Latin America", more than a novel, is a historical and journalistic essay offered by an author with a very broad vision of our Latin America. It provides us with chronicles and stories that also offer clear evidence of the constant looting of natural resources that the entire Latin American continent suffered for years.

The author himself has indicated his position regarding the reasons why he wanted to relate through this book, the historical events that marked Latin America. This with the purpose of propagating other people's thoughts and their own experiences, in order to answer questions regarding our Nation and the subjugation that it has suffered throughout history.

Such questions can define the reason for our poverty, for the dominance that the powerful have achieved, and on various topics that are of great interest to put together the puzzle of our idiosyncrasy.

Finally, this book was written to highlight the real history of Latin America, where very cruel events come to light that have marked the general population with blood, leaving the mark of an Empire eager to dominate the entire world, especially the natural resources of vulnerable countries, just as the so-called world power of the United States has done.

It remains on the part of the leaders of the Latin nations not to allow themselves to be dragged into this domain, and to always seek to advance towards real independence, asserting human rights and our natural wealth. In this way, the yoke can be overcome.

However, this is not easy in a world where there is power struggle, personal interests and visible corruption. The people remain at the expense of the powerful, who dominate not only from developed countries, but from the throne of Latin countries. Which continues to sink Latin America's ideals of freedom.

Verbatim quotes from "The Open Veins of Latin America"

"We have everything prohibit, except cross each other arms? Poverty is not written in the stars; underdevelopment is not the fruit of a dark design of God. ”

"History is a prophet with a look back: for what was, and against what was, announces what will be."
“Now America is, to the world, nothing more than the United States: we inhabit, at most, a sub-America, a second-class America, of nebulous identification. It is Latin America, the region of open veins. ”

 "The right is right when it identifies itself with tranquility and order: it is the order, in effect, of the daily humiliation of the majority, but order at last: the tranquility that injustice continues to be unjust and hunger hungry. ”

 “The slave ships no longer cross the ocean. Slave traffickers now operate from the Ministry of Labor. African wages, European prices. ”
 "The more coveted by the world market, the greater the misfortune that a product brings with it to the Latin American people who, with their sacrifice, create it."

 "The international division of labor is that some countries specialize in winning and others in losing."

 "With oil, it happens, as with coffee or meat, that rich countries earn much more for taking the trouble to consume it, than poor countries for producing it."