The '90s: End of cycle / The return to contradiction is based on three elements as a starting point to fire off, in front of the readers and in a controversial way, a number of assessments and questions.

The marks and transformations left by this period of decline in the workers' and mass movements were profound enough, both materially and ideologically, to warrant taking the time to analyze them.

The attacks of 9/11, the war in Iraq, Afghanistan and the conflict in the Middle East, the large mass mobilizations that toppled "democratic" governments as in Argentina, Bolivia or Ecuador and the resurgence of workers' struggles, to cite some examples, have once again put "contradiction" at the center of the stage.

And that the voices that converse in this book, from different places and projects, have opposed, during that period, accepting what surrounded them as natural and immutable.

The reader will find that this book, with its diverse perspectives and themes, aims to contribute to understanding the transformations that have occurred in recent decades. It offers a critical overview of the cultural landscape, contrasting the Latin American boom, influenced by the Cuban Revolution, with subsequent decades. It examines the NGO-ization of the feminist movement in the 1990s and the co-optation methods employed by the new Latin American governments. Several articles analyze these new governments and regimes, along with the transformations and struggles of the Argentine working class. The book also explores a philosophy of poverty, an unavoidable element resulting from widespread unemployment. Finally, it culminates with a discussion of the changes in the nature of warfare since the 1990s.

We hope this serves as a catalyst, encouraging authors and readers to engage in dialogue, respond to one another, and ultimately, spark debate. This necessary debate must be the starting point for rebuilding critical thinking, a favorite ideological target of the 1990s.