Bolivia in the Age of Gas

Evo Morales, Bolivia's first Indigenous president, won reelection three times on a leftist platform championing Indigenous rights, anti-imperialism, and Bolivian control over natural gas reserves. In "Bolivia in the Age of Gas," Bret Gustafson explores how the struggle over natural gas has reshaped Bolivia and the rise and fall of the country's first Indigenous-led government. He argues that fossil-fuel political economies worldwide are central to the reproduction of militarism and racial capitalism and suggests that progressive change demands moving beyond fossil-fuel dependence and the social and ecological ills that come with it.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 328 pages
Publication date: 18 September 2020
Publisher: Duke University Press

Evo Morales, the first Indigenous president of Bolivia, secured re-election three times on a leftist platform that advocated for Indigenous rights, anti-imperialism, and Bolivian control over the country's natural gas reserves. In his book, "Bolivia in the Age of Gas," Bret Gustafson delves into how the struggle over natural gas has profoundly impacted Bolivia, alongside the rise and eventual downfall of the country's first Indigenous-led government. By reevaluating current events within the broader context of oil and gas politics and military intervention, Gustafson demonstrates how the newfound wealth derived from natural gas has brought about economic independence and redistribution, albeit at the cost of reproducing political and economic structures that contradicted popular and Indigenous aspirations for radical change. While the book is rooted in the specific complexities of Bolivia, its central argument extends to fossil-fuel political economies worldwide, contending that they are integral to the perpetuation of militarism and racial capitalism. Furthermore, it suggests that achieving progressive change necessitates a departure from fossil-fuel dependence and the attendant social and ecological ills.

Evo Morales, the first Indigenous president of Bolivia, secured re-election three times on a leftist platform that advocated for Indigenous rights, anti-imperialism, and Bolivian control over the country's natural gas reserves. In his book, "Bolivia in the Age of Gas," Bret Gustafson delves into how the struggle over natural gas has profoundly impacted Bolivia, alongside the rise and eventual downfall of the country's first Indigenous-led government. By reevaluating current events within the broader context of oil and gas politics and military intervention, Gustafson demonstrates how the newfound wealth derived from natural gas has brought about economic independence and redistribution, albeit at the cost of reproducing political and economic structures that contradicted popular and Indigenous aspirations for radical change. While the book is rooted in the specific complexities of Bolivia, its central argument extends to fossil-fuel political economies worldwide, contending that they are integral to the perpetuation of militarism and racial capitalism. Furthermore, it suggests that achieving progressive change necessitates a departure from fossil-fuel dependence and the attendant social and ecological ills.

Weight: 482g
Dimension: 152 x 228 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781478010999