Neruda's political poetry was always at its best when he had a personal connection to the subject matter. (See, for example, his poetry of the Spanish Civil War.) When he didn't, it moved towards the uninspiring or the embarrassing. (See his '40s odes to Stalin.)

Sadly, too much of the politically-oriented poems in this volume are of the latter sort: international events to which Neruda has no personal attachment. Thankfully, there's nothing as embarrassing as his earlier Stalin poetry, and in fact there is a cycle of poems that, quite belatedly, denounces him. (And Mao, for that matter. Placing Neruda in advance of many of the European writers of the time.) But, on the other hand, you have things like his poem on Vietnam, obviously written by someone on the outside of the event, bringing nothing new to the table.

In the end, he's at his best in this volume when he moves away from the global politics and towards the local and the personal. Sadly, there's not quite enough of that to make this a suggested volume for anyone other than confirmed Neruda fans. ( )

En 1969 Pablo Neuda publica este poemario. Es declarado, por la Universidad Católica de Chile, Doctor Scientiae et Honoris Causa. El mes siguiente, el Senado de la República lo condecora con la medalla de plata que se otorga a los hijos ilustres de Chile. En ese año también es designado precandidato a la presidencia de la República. ( )