Conzelman, a professor of cultural anthropology at the University of Colorado at Boulder concurs.

Thus, independent of what the Open Veins author thinks of the work now, its impact on academia is not diminished. Billingsley reminds us that Latin America sparked dependency theory, a neo-Marxist idea supported by Galeano’s arguments, which is taught in universities all over the world. The reaction of the global left has been mainly positive, calling his public revelation “intellectually brave.”3 Lloyd Billingsley of asserts that Galeano’s confession could be in the face of the new reality of globalization, reforming his thesis from one of neocolonialism in order to apply to today’s actualities. When speaking to Menezes Galeano he is still a man of the left, calling Chavez a “saint” and praising leftward leaning governments in his home country of Uruguay as well as of Brazil and Chile.2 Does he no longer support social democracy? Does he find his thesis of dependency theory to be wrong? Several interviews have pointed toward no. The sudden ideological change in this famous leftist has left progressives puzzled about Galeano’s thoughts about today’s Latin American left. He has also condemned his hard-hitting leftist rhetoric as too heavy for him to bear anymore, that the strong prose “haunts” him to this day.1

In an interview with Cynara Menezes of the Monthly Review, he admits “I am not as attached to that book as when I wrote it.” Although he intended it to be a book on political economy, he now confesses he didn’t have “the necessary economic training,” but nonetheless does not regretting having written it. Galeano, now 73, published the book in 1971. Open Veins is one of the most popular pieces of leftist literature taught in university coursework and has sold over one million copies translated in more than 20 languages. Recently, world-renowned writer Eduardo Galeano, author of Open Veins of Latin America, denounced his most popular book due to inadequate knowledge when he published the book back in his early 1930s.

Open veins of america