This volume is published annually by Inforpress Centroamericana, which also produces the Central American Report, a weekly review of economics and politics. It presents a synthetic overview of events during 1981 and early 1982, which is designed to serve as a guide for the short-term (1-3 year) future. The target audience includes businessmen, bureaucrats, diplomats, and scholars, both within and outside the Central American region. Compiled by a team of journalists, the volume represents their collective judgment concerning significant developments during the year. The presentation depends heavily on statistics from a variety of standard national and international sources.
The authors begin with an overview of regional developments and follow with individual country analyses. Central America is seen as experiencing economic crisis because of longterm structural problems of dependency, maldistribution of wealth, and exhaustion of the import-substitution phase. This overview is the weakest part of the analysis, oscillating between general statements concerning long-term regional dynamics and specifics concerning the year’s events. Observations about regional political developments are largely limited to the activities of external actors like the United States. Individual country sections are much stronger, however, offering a variety of useful insights and information.
Although designed to serve a number of purposes, this volume seems best suited for short-term political risk analysis. It provides solid historico-descriptive treatments of the current political situation in each country. There is extended discussion of guerrilla activities and maps of conflict zones in countries where this is a significant aspect of political life. While not a substitute for more in-depth scholarly analysis of regional events, this volume will prove valuable to those who can afford to purchase it.
