Outlaw Capital: Everyday Illegalities and the Making of Uneven Development (Geographies of Justice and Social Transformation Ser. Book 59)

The Outlaw Capital of Ciudad del Este is a groundbreaking ethnography that sheds light on the largest contraband economy in the Americas, located in Paraguay.

This book uncovers the intricate web of illegal activities that fuel the city's thriving popular economy and how they are intertwined with state power.

Through an in-depth examination of the everyday illegalities of both elite traders and ordinary workers, Tucker reveals how racialized narratives of economic legitimacy across scales - not legal compliance - sort whose activities count as formal and legal and whose are targeted for reform or expulsion. The Outlaw Capital of Ciudad del Este offers a fresh perspective on globalized capitalism, highlighting the role of transgressive economies and gray spaces in shaping the social distribution of wealth.

By navigating the labyrinthine street economy of Ciudad del Este, Tucker shows how licit and illicit flows of goods become entangled with state power to produce shifting boundaries of (il)legality.

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the complexities of globalization and the ways in which uneven development shapes economic systems.