Uruguayan journalist and writer Eduardo Galeano published “Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent” in 1971, a book that provides readers with a left-winged perspective of the history of the post-colonial Americas. Galeano presents the argument that the development of the region of Latin America was originally impeded on by the conquerors, and later the United States so that they would be able to achieve their own development. Though once banned under right-wing military governments in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, this book became highly popular after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez gave a copy to his U.S. counterpart President Barack Obama. In his book, Galeano states, “Open Veins seeks to portray the past as something always convoked by the present, a live memory of our own day” (266). His book takes readers on a journey about the underdevelopment of Latin America as a result of exploitation, but also provides insight for other ideas of this region.…show more content… Their only concern was to gain riches for themselves, but mainly for their country. In Latin America, the Spanish and Portuguese brought their own culture, enslaved the people, and plundered their mineral resources. Resources such as sugar, cotton, coffee, and other products were given to Spain and Portugal, the first countries to colonize, and later to Britain and the United States. Because Latin America had an abundance of materials produced by indigenous people, conquerors took all their materials to benefit their own lands. Galeano claims in Open Veins that these conquerors justified their actions by making it seem as though they were bringing economic prosperity to their land that did not have much