[3] Open Veins illustrates Latin America's resistance literature of the twentieth century, characterized by opposition to imperialism and a heightened Pan-American sentiment.

"[5] Before gaining international recognition for Open Veins of Latin America, Galeano was a commentator on social and political issues, journalist, novelist, essayist, historian, and also a writer of children’s literature.

Although some Latin American countries, such as Argentina and Brazil, previously had complex histories of military dictatorships, this time period was characterized by regional integration and an expansive character of repression.

[1] The integration of Latin America’s military dictatorships occurred through international programs, such as Operation Condor, that sought to eradicate from the region all influences from the left, communism, and revolutionary utopianism.

[1] This integration led to widespread violence and repression, and a massive effort to “destroy, torture, and make disappear” the ideological left from Latin American politics.

[1][9] Open Veins of Latin America has a foreword written by Chilean writer Isabel Allende, followed by a preface by Galeano titled “In Defense of the Word” and a series of acknowledgments.

The book also discusses the progress indigenous communities had achieved by the time the colonizers arrived and seeks to explain why the West, which Galeano refers to as the “North,” is developed whereas the Global South remains underdeveloped.

Galeano also criticizes the corruption of the “creole oligarchy,” which refers to the political system in which the distribution of power is concentrated among a few people, often belonging to privileged families from the colonial period.

In Part II, Galeano explains the origin of Colombia’s lengthy armed conflict, driven by the wealth generated by land exploitation and coffee production, and how the ambitions of the American United Fruit Company ignited the Guatemalan Civil War.

Throughout this part, Galeano continues to narrate tragic historical events encouraged by the United States and corporations that have led to war, poverty, and suffering.

Latin America has a long history of expressing its culture of resistance through various means; for instance, during colonization, oral tradition allowed indigenous communities to share their dissent.

[4] In the twentieth century, this notion was coupled with an increased Pan-American sentiment and led to detailed literature analyzing Latin America’s resistance culture.

"[citation needed] Since its publication in the early 1970s, Open Veins has been taught extensively in American universities, including in geography, economics, history, and anthropology courses.

"[13][14]In his analysis of the impact of Open Veins, Director of Georgetown University’s Center for Latin American Studies, Marc Chernik, stated that Eduardo Galeano’s worldview in the book has had transformational consequences for an entire generation of intellectuals, students, and politicians.

One consequence was the rise of a new approach to marginalized communities, who were no longer perceived as “underdeveloped” regions but rather as areas that were striving to overcome the negative impact colonization and imperialism had in the subcontinent.

"[16] Open Veins also was and continues to be part of the battle of ideas that initiated during the Cold War, by becoming a symbol of opposition to the intervention of the United States and other foreign powers in Latin American affairs.

[21][22] In the opinion of El Espectador the core ideas of Open Veins have not been able to retake the central position they once had in Latin American discussions of political economy and development.