Relentless Persistence: Nonviolent Action in Latin America

In the face of enormous disparities of wealth and despite brutal repression, Latin America is alive with movements for change. Struggles for human rights, community organization and political participation have enabled Latin Americans to assume their role as authors of their own history. 'Relentless Persistence' illustrates in human terms the vitality and diversity of these movements - and their often astonishing results. How did popular pressure in Uruguay drive the military dictatorship into retreat? How are the indigenous people of Peru continuing their 450-year-old tradition of resistance to subjugation and acculturation? What are base community organizers doing to create real democracy in Chile? In answering these questions, 'Relentless Persistence' gives us inspiring examples of human creativity and commitment, explores the rich relationship between faith and politics, and demonstrates the dynamic integration of reflection, strategy and action that can lead to liberation. Here are the stories of cement workers in Brazil who maintained militant nonviolence throughout a successful twelve-year strike; of four women whose hunger strike brought Bolivia to a standstill until tin miners' rights were restored; of Honduran peasants whose land occupations enable them to feed their families; of the Argentinean 'Madres de Plaza de Mayo', whose bold actions awakened the conscience of their nation. Through case studies and personal testimonies, Relentless Persistence offers both the fascination of remarkable success stories and a deeper understanding of how ordinary people can create dramatic change. For North Americans, conditioned to expect quick results, Relentless Persistence provides perspective for the long haul - a healthy antidote to easy discouragement. It is above all a strength-giving book, full of moving examples of people acting with great determination and a profound joy of life.

Gerald Schlabach is a professor emeritus of theology at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, USA, and a veteran of social development and peace and justice education projects in Central America during the 1980s. He renewed his relationship with Guatemala in 2000, when he began leading courses in the country on the Church in Latin America for US students.