The Politics of Latin American Development

by Gary W. Wynia

• ISBN13: 9780521389242
• ISBN10: 0521389240
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1990-01-26
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This popular introduction to Latin American politics probes behind the current events and reveals the fundamental economic and political dynamics shaping events and driving policy. Using the paradigm of politics as a game, domestic and foreign players are identified and the rules that govern their interaction are described. This analytical framework is then used in detailed analyses of the strategies of development that have dominated Latin American politics. Chapters are devoted to democratic reform, military authoritarianism, and revolutionary politics with detailed examples from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, and Venezuela. This third edition brings all national cases up to date, analyzing the rise of democratic governance as well as the challenges presented by unprecedented foreign debts. Special attention is given to the restoration of constitutional democracy in Argentina and Brazil, and a systematic comparison of the movements in those countries is developed. More information and analysis on Cuba and Nicaragua are provided and emphasis is given to the 1988 election in Mexico. New material on the foreign debt crisis, the Roman Catholic Church, and the armed forces is also given.

Table of Contents

List of maps and tables	ix
Preface to the third edition	xi
Preface to the second edition	xiii
Preface to the first edition	xv
Part I Understanding Latin American Politics
The Latin American predicament	3	(21)
Problems and progress: a presidential assessment	3	(18)
Social conditions	5	(5)
Economic underdevelopment and its causes	10	(3)
Political life: Past, present, and future	13	(5)
Where do we go from here?	18	(3)
Getting started	21	(1)
Further reading	22	(2)
The rules of the Latin American game	24	(22)
A political game	24	(3)
Identifying political rules in Latin America	27	(1)
How public office is won and lost	28	(7)
How rules affect presidential conduct	35	(3)
How rules affect political opposition	38	(4)
Choices: pluralism, corporatism, authoritarianism, and communism	42	(2)
The next step	44	(1)
Further reading	45	(1)
Players -- I	46	(27)
Rural elites	47	(6)
Business elites	53	(3)
Middle sectors	56	(2)
The masses	58	(12)
Organized labor	59	(4)
Campesions	63	(7)
Further reading	70	(3)
Players -- II	73	(31)
Political parties	73	(8)
The military	81	(6)
The Roman Catholic Church	87	(4)
Government bureaucrats	91	(2)
Foreign players	93	(7)
Further reading	100	(4)
The stakes in the game	104	(35)
Economic underdevelopment	104	(4)
Managing an economy	108	(4)
Economic development strategies	112	(17)
Progressive modernization	113	(7)
Conservative modernization	120	(4)
Socialist revolution	124	(5)
Large populations and enormous debts	129	(6)
Further reading	135	(4)
Part II: The political games played in Latin America
Mexico: Whose game is it?	139	(28)
The revolt: 1910--17	139	(5)
The consolidation of power	144	(2)
The Mexican state	146	(2)
The rules of the Mexican game	148	(5)
Unrevolutionary economics	153	(8)
A new era?	161	(3)
Is Mexico unique?	164	(2)
Further reading	166	(1)
Chile: democracy destroyed	167	(26)
Democratic rules	167	(3)
Christian democracy in Chile	170	(4)
Reform politics and policy	174	(5)
The limits of Chilean democracy: the Allende years	179	(11)
Another chance	190	(1)
Further reading	191	(2)
Venezuela: democracy preserved	193	(21)
Accion Democratica	193	(3)
Party government and reform policy	196	(7)
The price of petroleum	203	(5)
Democracy and reform: lessons learned	208	(4)
A new democratic era?	212	(1)
Further reading	213	(1)
Brazil: populists, authoritarians, and democrats	214	(35)
Why military authoritarianism?	214	(3)
Starting with an emperor	217	(3)
Getulio Vargas: populist politician	220	(4)
Military authoritarianism: 1964--85	224	(6)
Economic miracles: real and imagined	230	(6)
Abertura: the transition to democracy	236	(8)
Lessons from Brazil	244	(2)
Further reading	246	(3)
Argentina: populists, authoritarians, and democrats	249	(35)
Peronist populism	250	(10)
Military authoritarianism I: 1966--73	260	(3)
Military authoritarianism II: 1976--83	263	(6)
Democratic rules restored	269	(6)
An exception in Peru?	275	(5)
Military authoritarianism: lessons learned	280	(2)
Further reading	282	(2)
Cuba: a communist revolution	284	(25)
The 26th of July Movement	287	(5)
The new political order	292	(2)
Communist rules	294	(6)
Socialist economics	300	(5)
Cuba's future	305	(2)
Further reading	307	(2)
Nicaragua: revolution the Sandinista way	309	(26)
The rebellion	309	(5)
Sandinista political reconstruction	314	(4)
Political friends and enemies	318	(5)
An economic struggle	323	(4)
Nicaragua's prospects	327	(2)
The revolutionary game: lessons learned	329	(3)
Looking ahead	332	(1)
Further reading	333	(2)
Appendix: Tables	335	(2)
Index	337