ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book shows how the progressive wave emerged from popular rebellions which affected power relations across South America. It identifies various extractive sectors, including the usual ones in mining, hydrocarbons, and monocultural agriculture, but others as well such as intensive fisheries, shrimp farms, and traditional crops such as sugar cane or coffee. The book describes the social economy as both complement to the mainstream development strategies and an integral element of the anti-capitalist movement. It focuses on the concept of Buen Vivir from an Ecuadorian perspective, which encapsulates the most radical alternative development strategy to have emerged from Latin America. The book aims to reconstruct the Bolivian experience following ten years of the Movement Towards Socialism government in that country. It addresses the struggle for land and territorial rights as exemplified by Via Campesina.
