Includes bibliographical references and index.

Pt. 1. From bananas to palm oil -- The Aguan Valley: land for the people -- The decline of agriculture and the rise of the maquila -- Grabbing land and power: the new agro-oligarchs -- Militarization and the war on drugs: security for whom? -- The war on peasants -- Pt. 2. Palm oil and the corporate food regime -- The making of a "food like substance" -- Subsidizing corporate expansion -- Free trade and fast food -- Greening the regime, part 1: fueling the "green" economy -- Greening the regime, part 2: ecotourism or eco-colonialism? -- Pt. 3. The new Aguan movements: land, resistance and food sovereignty -- The new cycle of struggle: a sketch of two Aguan movements -- Fighting fragmentation, constructing unity -- Peasant-controlled palm oil: the case of Salam? -- From palm oil to food sovereignty -- Conclusion: grabbing power back.

Grabbing Power explores the history of agribusiness and land conflicts in Northern Honduras focusing on the Agu n Valley, where peasant movements battle large palm oil producers for the right to land. In the wake of a military coup that overthrew Honduran president Manuel Zelaya in June 2009, rural communities in the Agu n have been brutally repressed, with over 60 people killed in just over two years. United States military aid--spent in the name of the War on Drugs--fuels the Honduran government's ability to repress its people. A strong and inspiring movement for land, food and democracy has grown over the last two years, and it shows no sign of backing down.