Beyond Mexico

David A. Lenarcic is an assistant professor of history at Wilfrid
Laurier University.

The first in a series of annual reviews, this volume consists of
articles written by experts on Canada and Latin America. The focus is on
Canadian–Mexican relations in the context of NAFTA and on Canadian
policy as it relates to Haiti, the democratization of Central America,
the Organization of American States, urban development, security issues,
and the role of nongovernmental organizations. Collectively, the
articles identify the problems and prospects of Canadian–Latin
American relations as an integral first step in developing a coherent
Canadian policy that fits their changing nature.

The first part of the book would have benefited from some examination
of the Canada–Mexico matrix in the context of NAFTA’s actual
negotiating process. And although some of the articles in Part 2
describe events in the recent past, a historical survey of the themes
and patterns that have characterized Canadian–Latin American relations
(similar to the one provided for Canada and Mexico in Part 1) would have
provided background information.

Overall, however, in covering the political, economic, and social
dimensions of hemispheric relations, this book fills a “profound
knowledge gap” about the subject for Canadians, and achieves its main
goal of “stimulat[ing] debate on the issues, challenges and policy
alternatives facing Canada in the Americas.”