The World that Latin America Created: UN CEPAL, Development, and Global Capitalism

• Department of History

This session in the framework of the ERC ECOINT-CAPASIA projects summer talks features a book presentation by Margarita Fajardo (Sarah Lawrence College).

The World that Latin America Created tells the story of the intellectual movement whose ideas about development and capitalism and political projects transformed the region and the world in the post-WWII era. The book shows how 'cepalinos' and 'dependentistas', members of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America (CEPAL) established their own form of hegemony, outpacing the United States and the International Monetary Fund as the agenda setters for a region traditionally held under the orbit of Washington and its institutions. By doing so, 'cepalinos' reshaped both regional and international governance and set an intellectual agenda that still resonates today.

Bio

Margarita Fajardo is a Professor at Sarah Lawrence College. She specialises in modern Latin American history, especially, Chile, Brazil, and Colombia, and on the history of economics and economic life. Her research focuses on international development, global institutions, and the intellectual history of capitalism. Her first book, The World that Latin America Created: The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America in the Development Era, was published by Harvard University Press in 2022. She is currently working on a second book project on the transition to a neoliberal order in Latin America.