We feel both pleasure and relief in completing our tasks as the editors of the CLAG Yearbook 1989. It has been our objective to maintain the high schollarly standards that the Yearbook has established in its previous editions and to bring together a range of quality articles representing the diverse methoddological and regional foci of Latin Americanist geographers and other Latin Americanist scholars studying geographic questions. The papers in this volume represent the scholarly research of not only geographers, but also a biologist, an economist, a historian, and a sociologist. The papers include contributions from scholars based in Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United States. Two papers are published in Spanish and all papers include abstracts in Spanish and/or Portugese and English.

A large number of high quality papers were submitted to the editors for publication, and the competition for inclusion in the volume was parrticularly keen. We received forty-three research papers and two research notes. Ten research papers and one research note were accepted for publicaation, representing an acceptance rate of about 25 percent. The CLAG Yearbook remains committed to the process of peer review of research papers and the editors depended heavily upon the consciientious work of numerous reviewers. In so far as possible, each paper submitted for publication was sent to two or three external reviewers utilizing the double-blind method. The decision on a paper's suitability for publication was based on the editors' evaluation of the manuscript and the evaluation of the external reviewers. We, however, assume full responsibility for the final decisions a nd these were often difficult. The decisions on the acceptance for publication of the research notes were made solely by the editors.

We appreciate the reviewers' efforts because only with the assistance of a wide range of scholars, including nongeographers, can informed and fair decisions be reached and the scholarly quality of the Yearbook be mainntained. We wish to thank the following individuals for their time and effort: Daniel D. Arreola, Homer Aschmann, John Augelli, Conrad J. Bahre, Fran~ois J. Belisle, Eric Belsky, Charles F. Bennett, Waltraud A. Brinkmann, Jill Brody, Ray Bromley, John Browder, Lawrence Brown, Rod Burgess, Cesar N. Caviedes, Juan M. Oark, Colin Clarke, David L. Clawson, PJan K. Craig, William K. Crowley, N. Ross Crumrine, David J. Cuff, William Davidson, William M. Denevan, Paul-Yves Denis, Joshua Dickinson, William E. Doolittle, Gary S. Elbow, Elizabeth Erickson, Ronald Foresta, Alan Gilbert, Brian Godfrey, Linda Greenow, Ernest Griffin, Robert N. Gwynne, Carolyn Hall, Lawrence A. Herzog, Frank C. Innes, Stephen C. Jett, P. P. Karan, Thomas Klak, James S. Kus, Greg Knapp, Eric Langer, David J. de Laubenfels, Vicctoria A. Lawson, Sheldon Liss, Tom L. Martinson, Kent Mathewson, Janice Monk, Charles B. Monroe, Bernard Nietschmann, Mary Lee Nolan, James J. Parsons, Rafael Pico, Susan E. Place, Bonnham C. Richardson, David J. Robinson, Clara E. Rodriquez, Dennis A. Rondinelli, James S. Saeger, Charles Sargent, Joseph L. Scarpaci, Robert H. Schmidt Jr., Robert B. South, Charles F. Stansifer, Hilgard O'R. Sternberg, Norman R. Stewart, Rolf Sternberg, Robert J. Tata, Bradford L. Thomas, Robert N. Thomas, John Treacy, B. L. Turner, Thomas T. Veblen, Bob 1. Walter, Peter M. Ward, Rolf Wesche, Gene Wilken, Barbara J. Williams, Lynden S. Williams, Martha Works, Eric Van Young, and Robert Voeks.

We also wish to acknowledge the strong instiitutional support we received from the University of Akron. Dean Claibourne E. Griffin of the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences provided significant financial support to the Yearbook which permitted the electronic typesetting of the manuscripts here [end p. 1] and also helped to offset some of the other costs borne by the Geography Department. Dr. Allen G. Noble, head of the Geography Department, proovided office space for the Yearbook's activities and covered other incidental expenses-postage, teleephone, and secretarial assistance. Margaret Geib, our department cartographer, drafted the maps for several of the manuscripts. Alexis R. Williams was primarily responsible for the electronic typesetting but was assisted on occasion by Hilda Kendron and Carol Ryan. Adrian Calvo and Maria Elena Kent assisted in processing and editing the Spanish language materials.

Finally, we wish to thank the authors of the papers for their time and effort. They complied professionally and in a timely manner to our reequests for revisions of their manuscripts. It is only through their efforts and those of future contribbutors that publication of the CLAG Yearbook is possible. [end p. 2]