Dog Leashes: An Autobiography
(Amarres perros. Una autobiografía)

The testimony of a main player in Mexico’s political and intellectual scene since the 1970s.  

Dog Leashes is a critical and thorough political and historical analysis of Mexico, underaken by a man who has been key in Mexico’s path towards democracy: academic, journalist, and Secretary of State Jorge G. Castañeda. Among other stories, the author recounts the 1968 movement, his years in Paris, his left-wing start in education, and his visits to Cuba and Nicaragua. He offers accounts on topics and personalities of national and international relevance, such as George Bush, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, Bill Clinton, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Carlos Salinas de Gortari, the Free Trade Agreement (tlc), Cuba and the Castro family, his appontment as Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and the Iraq War. On a broader level, Castañeda reflects upon the difficulties faced in Mexico because of capitalism, the wealthy years of the Pemex oil industry in the hands of President José López Portillo, and his intention to put himself forward as an independent candidate for Mexico’s presidency. Jorge G. Castañeda’s memoirs are not self-satisfying: his perspective on his own actions and lifestyle is strongly judgemental.

An upfront autobiographical take from a pragmatic man of debate who has not always given «the correct answer».

This edition has been specially crafted for an international readership, and is based on the book by Jorge G. Castañeda, Amarres perros: una autobiografía (Alfaguara, November 2014).