Conflicts and struggles like urbanization processes and the productive use of water have impacted the relationship of Latin American and Caribbean societies with water for centuries. This volume of the Handbook »The Anthropocene as Multiple Crisis« focuses on water in the main macro-regions of Latin America from the colonial regime to the contemporary era of the Anthropocene. The contributions enrich contemporary debates surrounding the genealogy of the Anthropocene in Latin America with critical perspectives from the social sciences and the humanities.

Este libro invita a ahondar en el estudio de la riqueza en América Latina, un campo de conocimiento aún incipiente en las agendas regionales y que resulta indispensable para ampliar el debate sobre las desigualdades, el desarrollo sostenible y la justicia social. La primera sección del volumen, titulada “Economía de la riqueza”, analiza desde diferentes perspectivas los factores estructurales y los mecanismos institucionales que explican la producción y acumulación de riqueza en América Latina.

Multiple environmental crises and persistent patterns of intersecting inequalities are major global concerns. This edited volume contributes to a better understanding of environments of inequality by examining their various formations and expressions, from the colonial period to the present, with a strong (but not exclusive) focus on the Americas. The nine case studies especially reflect on the interrelationship between social inequality and the natural environment. The authors address crises, conflicts, and comparisons of inequalities from various disciplinary and regional perspectives.