Introduction

The book Financialization of Nature in Latin America: From Neo-Extractivism to Financial Alternatives examines the relationship between the dominant economic model and its environmental impact. It highlights how economic logics driven by financialization have played a significant role in exacerbating the climate crisis, particularly in the Global South. At the same time, it prioritizes the exploration of viable alternatives to this scenario. The book also seeks to study the connections between the financial sphere, the constraints to social-economic development, and environmental preservation from the perspective of heterodox economics, especially inspired by post-Keynesian and Marxist debates on financialization, Latin American (LA) structuralist discussions on underdevelopment and dependency, and radical political ecology. The chapters in this volume focus on two key issues in the LA context: (a) the various manifestations of the financialization of nature, especially through the operations of transnational mining companies and the consequences of an increasingly financialized neo-extractivism; and (b) new forms of financial mechanisms to support the energy transition. These themes form the structure of the book, dividing it into its two main sections.