Latin America Today
Anderson, Charles W.
Latin America Today The Struggle for Democracy in Latin America, by Charles O. Porter and Robert J. Alexander. Macmil-lan. 208 pp. $4.50. Reviewed by Charles W. Anderson This book opens with the...
...Illiteracy and the persistence of the antidemocratic tradition are two...
...Robert J. Alexander of Rutgers is one of the most prominent authorities on Latin American economics...
...The forces of democracy are on the ascendancy throughout Latin America...
...As the world wars curtailed the economic contact between Latin America and industrialized nations, Latin America began a process of internal industrial and commercial development...
...The quest of industrial powers for the markets and raw materials of Latin America "opened up" the continent, and "quickened the way of life of the region...
...The forces opposing democracy in Latin America include the old economic elite, the armed forces, ambitious politicians, and totalitarian political parties...
...These forces are classified and discussed by the authors under the general headings of democratic political parties, trade unions, progressive middle class elements, intellectuals, and some sectors within the Roman Catholic Church...
...In my judgment, the authors have been too harsh on the Odria regime in Peru...
...political process and the formulation of that policy...
...The English political tradition and less restrictive economic ties between America and the mother country provided this region with a foundation for future democratic government that was absent in the southern half of the hemisphere linked to the Iberian colonial powers...
...The bulk of the book consists of essays on "recent democratic victories" and "remaining tyrannies" in individual Latin American nations...
...The distinction between the colonial political experience of North and Latin America is pointed out...
...Political challenge to this oligarchy arose out of Twentieth Century economic conditions...
...As the authors discuss the problem of Latin America's comprehension of the full implications of democracy, one comes to a greater realization of the importance of certain subtle attitudes held by leaders and citizens alike in making democracy an effective political way of life...
...One of the most difficult things for Latin America to learn is that it is honestly possible to lose an election...
...The work concludes with a discussion of United States policy toward Latin America, one of the most interesting parts of which is a commentary on the U.S...
...His interest in Latin America began about four years ago when he undertook an investigation of the mysterious disappearance of his constituent, Gerald Murphy, inside the Dominican Republic...
...Furthermore, to categorize the Castillo Armas government in Guatemala as a "brutal dictatorship" is a judgment which many authorities could not support...
...The authors desire that we establish more consistent long-range policy of objectives toward Latin America, to include the abandonment of our attitude of taking Latin America for granted...
...Certain all-permeating social conditions also hinder the growth of democracy in Latin America...
...However, at times the authors seem to fall into the fatal trap of Latin Americanists by making oversimplified categorical distinctions between "dictators" and "democrats" without full appreciation of the complexities of individual situations...
...This is one of the few works on Latin American politics which seems truly to comprehend the importance of recent political developments in Honduras in paving the way for more democratic government in that land...
...support for democracy rather than for dictatorship, and a program of genuine economic cooperation for Latin American development...
...The judgment that Fidel Castro is "the man who betrayed a great revolution" seems to this reviewer to put the matter most succinctly and accurately...
...The result of their joint labors is a book written in a brisk and terse style, which provides new insights to the specialist and also serves as a fine introduction to Latin American politics...
...Some of these are excellent studies...
...Such factors led to the growth of strong forces favoring democratic government in Latin America...
...Its foreign policy toward these lands must take account of these new conditions...
...The book begins with a quite conventional account of the historical development of democracy in Latin America...
...His work on Latin American trade unions, political parties, and Communist movements is widely known and highly respected...
...Particularly revealing is the discussion of the armed forces as a pressure group for military aid to Latin American armies...
...The result of these diverse jwlitical pressures has been that U.S...
...policy toward Latin America has been "fitful" and "inconsistent...
...The authors are men of competence in Latin American affairs...
...In such a milieu, democracy could not flourish...
...The sections on Argentina and the Dominican Republic are outstanding...
...The authors attempt to demonstrate that it is no longer adequate for the United States to think of Latin American politics in terms of petty dictatorships and comic opera revolutions...
...While the oppressive and at times brutal policies of the regime must be admitted, many feel that Odria served to stabilize a chaotic internal situation, and perhaps established the conditions under which the current democratic achievements of Peru could be realized...
...Reviewed by Charles W. Anderson This book opens with the straightforward and optimistic announcement, "Latin America is ready for democracy...
...The United States confronts a changing Latin America...
...In Latin America, with the achievement of independence, political control passed to a small elite, composed of the landholding oligarchy, small mercantilist classes, the army, and the Church...
...This led to the emergence of middle and urban working classes in the region...
...Former Representative Charles Porter of Oregon has received international attention for his work on hemispheric problems in Congress...
...The notice taken of the Church's increasingly vital role as a champion of democracy is a major contribution of this book...
...However, the authors have underestimated or disregarded the important role of the junior officer cadres of Latin American armies as prime movers in establishing the conditions for political activity by other democratic forces...
...Although the authors have occasionally oversimplified complex political events in the interest of presenting their thesis, they emphasize many things that have needed saying concerning political change toward more democratic government in Latin America...
...The commentary on the Somoza regime in Nicaragua is well balanced and quite accurate...
...The authors develop the interesting concept of the "Jacobin" political party—the emergence of political forces almost xenophobic in their nationalism and program of reform...
...Such movements would include those supporting Getulio Vargas in Brazil, Juan Peron in Argentina, and Fidel Castro in Cuba...
Vol. 25 • July 1961 • No. 7
