Taking sides: clashing views on Latin American issues / selected, edited, and with introductions by Analisa DeGrave, Eva L. Santos-Phillips, Jeff DeGrave.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction, history and politics: Is Latin America making progress toward integration? ; Is democracy threatened by social unrest and the rise of Latin America's left? ; Is Latin America starting to embrace Cuba's humanitarian aid? ; Is Plan Colombia effectively combating the drug industry in Colombia? ; Is "enhanced commonwealth" the solution to Puerto Rico's colonial status? -- Society , human rights, and culture: Has Mexican governmental involvement helped stop the killings in Ciudad Ju�arez? ; Immigration: should illegal immigrant gang members be granted legal clemency from U.S. law? ; Is Latin America loosening its restrictive abortion laws? ; Does race matter? ; Do volunteer border patrol groups represent a reasonable and just way to address immigration across the Mexican-U.S. border? ; Is Latin America becoming protestant? -- People, land, and the environment: Should DDT be given another chance? ; Do the economic benefits of a "dry canal" in Nicaragua outweigh the financial, human, and environmental costs? ; Is plant biotechnology the solution to hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean? ; Is expropriating land and giving it to the poor a good economic and cultural policy? -- Economics and development: Do the social and economic costs of privatization outweigh its benefits? ; Is the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) good for Latin America? ; Is international aid successfully promoting development and stability in Latin America?

[This] is a debate-style reader designed to introduce students to controversies in Latin American studies. The readings, which represent the arguments of leading scholars and commentators, reflect a variety of viewpoints and have been selected for their liveliness and substance and because of their value in a debate framework. For each issue, the editors provide a concise introduction and postscript summary. The introduction sets the stage for the debate as it is argued in the "yes" and "no" readings, and the postscript briefly reviews the opposing views and suggests additional readings on the controversial issue under discussion. -Back cover.