Theatres of Accumulation

4 ___­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_Accumulation andLatin American cities __­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_­_

Introduction

We begin our more empirical examination by drawing attention to two aspects of the accumulation-urbanization relationship in Latin America. The first concerns the impact since the Second World War of expanding international capitalism on the continent. The second examines the interaction between this expansion and the evolving internal social, economic and political forces and the implications for urban development.

Historically, capital accumulation in the continent has been closely associated with foreign penetration through piracy and plunder, mercantilist commerce, portfolio ...