This work portrays Latin America's peoples in their fight for a brighter future. It explores the region's economic crisis and the desecration of the environment. The author shows how injustice and conflict in the countryside have unleashed an exodus to the slums that encircle the major cities. He analyzes the roles of the main actors in the continent's history - both those in power and the poor majority who, through their social movements in the countryside and shanty towns, struggle for their vision of Latin America's future. This text explores various facets of life in Latin America, from industrialization, the environment, the left, women's issues, the role of the church and the question of land and ownership.