Political Science 221, Latin American Politics
Spring Term 2004
SYLLABUS
Professor: Alfred P. Montero
Office: Willis 407
Phone: x4085 (Office) 645-9603 (Home)
Email: Amontero@carleton.edu
Class Web Page: http://www.acad.carleton.edu/curricular/POSC/faculty/montero/lapols.htm
Office Hours: 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Tuesday and Friday or by appointment.
"[Latin] America is ungovernable!"
- Simón Bolívar, on his deathbed in 1830.
Course Description
More than 150 years after the great liberator of Latin America, Simón Bolívar, uttered these
immortal words, many scholars of the region opine that the caudillo's sentiments have proven
prophetic. The 20th century history of Latin America has been plagued by some of the worst
afflictions of the human condition: persistent poverty, authoritarianism, social violence, and
economic chaos. The search for governability in this region is a struggle that has led many Latin
American countries to an array of different economic and political "experiments." These
experiments have evolved as pendulum swings between competing modes of governance. Latin
American countries have tried democracy and authoritarianism; state interventionist
development models and market-oriented programs; economic policies fostering income
distribution and others deepening inequality; reformist and revolutionary change.
The purpose of this course is to train students to think critically about the Latin American reality.
In general, the course serves as an introduction for those who are unfamiliar with the history,
politics, and social structure of the region. Instruction in this class, however, will go beyond a
mere introduction to Latin American political history. It will challenge students to analyze
complex problems in Latin American politics and development and encourage them to provide
informed arguments on these matters. In addition to reading and listening to lectures, this class
will invite students to write and orally communicate their observations about the substantive
questions in the course.
This course begins with an introduction to Latin American political history and some of the main
theoretical approaches to understanding the region. After considering the colonial foundations
and the modern development experience of the Latin American countries, students will examine
particular country cases: Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, the Central American countries, Chile, Cuba,
Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, and the Caribbean nations. The study of these countries will
be embedded in a broader discussion of thematic questions: transitions from authoritarianism to
democracy, the causes of inequality, the prevalence of political violence, U.S. foreign policy in
the region, and the failures of revolutionary change. In the final section of the course, students
will analyze and discuss recent research on some of these persisting problems in Latin American
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politics and development with a focus on Brazil.
What is Expected of Students
Students will be expected to read, think, criticize, and form arguments. That will require keeping
up on reading assignments and attending class regularly. Students must be fully prepared at all
times to discuss the readings and concepts from previous lectures. The best students will be
critical but balanced in their assessments, and will develop coherent arguments that they can
defend in their writing and their in-class discussion.
Reading Materials
The four required and one recommended book for this course have been ordered and are
presently on sale at the college bookstore. All are paperbacks. The texts are:
Ernesto Che Guevara. 1995. The Motorcycle Diaries: A Journey Around South America. New
York, NY: Verso. “Das Kapital meets Easy Rider.”
Larry Diamond, Jonathan Hartlyn, Juan J. Linz, and Seymour Martin Lipset, eds. 1999.
Democracy in Developing Countries: Latin America. 2nd Edition. Boulder: Lynne Rienner.
Peter R. Kingstone and Timothy J. Power, eds. 2000. Democratic Brazil: Actors, Institutions,
and Processes. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.
Douglas Chalmers, Carlos Vilas, Katherine Hite, Scott Martin, Kerianne Piester, and Monique
Segarra, eds. 1997. The New Politics of Inequality in Latin America: Rethinking Participation
and Representation. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Thomas E. Skidmore and Peter H. Smith, eds. 2001. Modern Latin America. 5th Edition. New
York, NY: Oxford University Press. (Recommended).
In addition to these texts, this course requires your study of a number of other readings from
diverse sources. In order to facilitate your access to these materials, I have placed these materials
on either e-reserves or on physical closed reserve at the library. Also, in order to reduce your
costs, I have placed the required books on closed reserve. Students are advised to download or
make readable copies of these materials early during the course.
In addition to the readings, this course recommends your use of select video materials. These
items include the Annenberg/CPB “Americas” Collection on closed reserve and an assortment of
of feature-length films and documentaries, most of which will be presented during designated
showing times. Brief portions of these and other multimedia items will be presented during class
as a part of the lectures.
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I will occasionally distribute electronic handouts and clippings from The New York Times, the
Economist, the Miami Herald, the Minneapolis/St. Paul newspapers, and the internet prior to
class sessions. Students are also invited to check out links to course relevant web pages on the
professor’s web page and the class page. Materials on the course’s web page will be updated
during the semester and will supplement rather than duplicate the substance of the lectures and
the readings.
Grading
Assessment of the students in this course will be based on their performance on two short writing
assignments, a single, long writing assignment, a comprehensive examination, and in-class
participation. The grade breakdown follows:
Paper #1
20%
Paper #2
20%
The Comprehensive
Exam (each answer)
40%
(20%)
Class Participation
20%
The Writing Assignments
The purpose of the writing assignments is to provide the students with an opportunity to reflect
more thoughtfully on both the theories and empirical cases of the course. These assignments
must be turned in before or on the due date specified below. Late work will receive no credit.
Paper #1: Students will be asked to prepare a short critical essay of five-six pages in
length (typed, double-spaced, 12cpi, one-inch margins, paginated) on a particular author’s
approach, a concept, theory, or the interpretation of an empirical case on any of the
comprehensive themes discussed in this first section of the course (e.g., political culture,
development, ethnic identity, dependency, etc.). The short essay must evaluate the consistency
and usefulness of the author’s main argument(s), pointing out strengths and weaknesses, and
concluding with at least a one-page alternative approach, concept, theory or interpretation that
would minimize the weaknesses of the author’s main argument(s). The purpose of this exercise is
to encourage the students to apply critical analysis rather than descriptive skills to the conceptual
materials in the course. A brief handout will provide details on this assignment at least one week
before the paper is due.
Paper #2: Students will choose two of the following eight countries: Argentina, Brazil,
Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, and Bolivia. In a short critical essay of five-six pages
in length (typed, double-spaced, 12cpi, one-inch margins, paginated), students will compare the
selected countries to test at least one of the analytical approaches/theories discussed in the first
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section of the course. As with the first paper assignment, a brief handout will provide details at
least one week before the paper is due.
The Floating Comprehensive Exam
Format: take-home essay exam. Beginning with session 4 and ending with session 7, students
will be presented with a set of questions and may choose one per session and compose a 5-6 page
answer. The comprehensive exam will “float” until we conclude our study of particular countries.
Students will have two weeks after the session outline containing the exam questions is
distributed in class to complete the assignment. The difficulty level of the questions will increase
over time.
The comprehensive exam will test the ability of the student to (1) become familiar with particular
empirical cases, (2) build and apply simple causal arguments about issues and problems specific
to these cases, and (3) identify similarities and differences in the politics of addressing these
questions across national cases. The format of the exam provides students with the opportunity to
divide their workload so as to accommodate their assignment schedules in other courses. A
handout will answer frequently asked questions regarding the floating exam at the top of session
2.
Class Participation
Communicating your insight into the subjects analyzed in this course is an integral part of the
learning experience. In no way do I consider class participation a residual category for
subjectively determining the final grade. In this course, I will evaluate your performance in both
formal, scheduled presentations and informal class discussion. All oral arguments and
presentations will be assessed on structure, relevance, insight, and style. The following are
structured presentation formats that will be used in this course:
(1) Debates on neoliberal reform and Chiapas.
(2) Simulations on “delegative democracy” and U.S. intervention.
(3) Small group discussions on numerous topics.
Attendance
Consistent attendance in the course is required. If you know you will be absent due to a
scheduling conflict involving athletic events, Model U.N., forensics, job interviews, or any other
activity, please communicate that to me as soon as possible. Keep in mind that given the unique
aspects of a class, you can't really "make up" an absence.
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The Grading Scale
I will be using the following grading scale in this course:
98-100 A+
94-97 A
91-93 A88-90 B+
83-87 B
79-82 B76-78 C+
72-75 C
68-71 C67/below D/F
Academic Misconduct
Given the fact that academe relies upon the ethical conduct of scholars, students are held to the
same standards in their own work. Any act of academic dishonesty or misconduct will be referred
to the Office of the Associate Dean. For further information, see Carleton College’s Academic
Honesty in the Writing of Essays and Other Papers and the section on “academic honesty” in
Academic Regulations and Procedures, 2003-04. Both are available in Laird 140 or on-line on
the Office of the Dean page.
Special Needs
Students requiring access to learning tools/special schedules approved by Carleton’s Office of
Disability Services (ODS) should contact me at the beginning of the course. These students
should also consult Disability Services for Students: Policies, Procedures and Resources, which
is distributed by ODS.
NOTE: Readings must be completed for the dates assigned below.
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PART ONE:
CONCEPTS AND APPROACHES
Session 1: Breaking Stereotypes: In Search of the "Real" Latin America
What are America’s stereotypes of Latin America and its people? (March 29,
Monday)
Web page: Cartoons from George Black, The Good Neighbor (New York, NY: Pantheon, 1988).
“South of the Border,” by Gene Autry, sung by Frank Sinatra.
What are the political sources of American stereotypes of Latin America
and its people? Must these stereotypes be broken? If so, how? (March 31,
Wednesday)
Robert Pastor, “The Lessons and Legacy of Omar Torrijos.” Chapter 1 of Exiting the Whirlpool:
U.S. Foreign Policy Toward Latin America and the Caribbean. Boulder: Westview Press, 2001.
Mark Falcoff, “America’s Culture Wars and the Cuban Revolution.” Chapter 13 of A Culture of
Its Own: Taking Latin America Seriously. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1998.
Skidmore and Smith, Prologue (Recommended).
Assessing Latin America from the U.S. Perspective: The problem of objectivity and
ethnocentrism. (April 2, Friday).
Lawrence E. Harrison, The Pan-American Dream: Do Latin America’s Cultural Values
Discourage True Partnership with the United States and Canada? Boulder: Westview, 1997,
Chapter 1.
Session 2: Colonial History and the Cultural Foundations of Latin American Politics
Are Latin American politics shaped by a path dependent legacy from the colonial
past? (April 5, Monday)
Diamond et al., pp. 1-43.
Skidmore and Smith, Chapter 1 (Recommended).
What are the cultural (ascriptive) foundations of Latin American politics? (April 7,
Wednesday)
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Howard Wiarda, “Social Change, Political Development, and the Latin American Tradition,” in
Peter F. Klarén and Thomas J. Bossert, eds., Promise of Development: Theories of Change in
Latin America. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1986.
How strong are historical and cultural path dependencies? Can they be broken?
(April 9, Friday)
Lívia Neves de H. Barbosa, “The Brazilian Jeitinho: An Exercise in National Identity,” in David
J. Hess and Roberto A. DaMatta (eds.), The Brazilian Puzzle: Culture on the Borderlands of the
Western World. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1995.
Ernesto Che Guevara, The Motorcycle Diaries (All).
Film: “Nine Queens (Nueve Reinas)” (Argentina). (Showing at a time and place TBA).
Recommended: Video #4, The Annenberg/CPB “Americas” Collection: “Mirrors of the Heart:
Race and Identity.” (Approximately one hour in length).
Session 3: Development and Crisis in the 20th Century
How did patterns of development shape Latin American politics in the 20th century?
(April 12, Monday)
Diamond et al., pp. 44-53.
Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Enzo Faletto, Dependency and Development in Latin America.
Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1979, Chapter 2.
Bolívar Lamounier, “Brazil: Inequality Against Democracy,” in Diamond et al.
Skidmore and Smith, Chapter 2. (Recommended).
How was Latin American society incorporated into development models? (April 14,
Wednesday)
Eliana Cardoso and Ann Helwege, “Import Substitution Industrialization,” in Jeffry Frieden,
Manuel Pastor, and Michael Tomz, eds. Modern Political Economy and Latin America: Theory
and Policy. Boulder: Westview Press, 2000.
Rosemary Thorp, Progress, Poverty and Exclusion: An Economic History of Latin America in
the 20th Century. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998, Chapter 7.
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Gary Gereffi, “Paths of Industrialization,” in Gary Gereffi and Donald L. Wyman, eds.
Manufacturing Miracles: Paths of Industrialization in Latin America and East Asia. Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 1990, 3-23.
Recommended: Video #2, The Annenberg/CPB “Americas” Collection: “Capital Sins.”
Is the neoliberal development model an improvement on the past? (April 16, Friday)
John Williamson, “What Washington Means by Policy Reform,” in Jeffry Frieden, Manuel
Pastor, and Michael Tomz, eds. Modern Political Economy and Latin America: Theory and
Policy. Boulder: Westview Press, 2000.
Rudiger Dornbusch, “The Case for Trade Liberalization in Developing Countries,” in Jeffry
Frieden, Manuel Pastor, and Michael Tomz, eds. Modern Political Economy and Latin America:
Theory and Policy. Boulder: Westview Press, 2000.
Duncan Green, Silent Revolution: The Rise of Market Economics in Latin America. London:
Cassell, 1995, Chapters 6-7.
Debate #1: Neoliberalism.
PAPER #1 DUE (April 19, Monday)
PART TWO:
COUNTRY EXPERIENCES
Session 4: Transitioning To and Deepening Democracy: Argentina, Brazil, and Chile
Why did democracies collapse into authoritarianism in Brazil and the Southern
Cone during the 1960's and 1970's? (April 19, Monday)
Arturo Valenzuela, “Chile: Origins and Consolidation of a Latin American Democracy,” in
Diamond et al.
Alfred Stepan, “Political Leadership and Regime Breakdown: Brazil,” in Juan J. Linz and Alfred
Stepan, eds., The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes: Latin America, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
University Press, 1978.
Recommended: Video #1, The Annenberg/CPB “Americas” Collection: “The Garden of Forking
Paths.”
How was authoritarianism organized in these countries? (April 21, Wednesday)
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Carlos H. Waisman, “Argentina: Capitalism and Democracy,” in Diamond et al., 76-103.
Marguerite Feitlowitz, A Lexicon of Terror: Argentina and the Legacies of Torture, New York:
Oxford University Press, 1998, pp. 19-51.
Film: “Missing” (Showing time and place TBA).
How were transitions from authoritarianism to democracy possible in the 1980's?
(April 23, Friday)
J. Samuel Valenzuela, “Democratic Consolidation in Post-Transitional Settings: Notion, Process,
and Facilitating Conditions,” in Scott Mainwaring, Guillermo O’Donnell, and J. Samuel
Valenzuela, eds., Issues in Democratic Consolidation: The New South American Democracies in
Comparative Perspective, Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1992.
Foro Latinoamericano, Athenaeum, 4-6 and 7-9 p.m. and 9:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Saturday.
How can Brazil and the Southern Cone cope with the legacy left by
authoritarianism? (April 26, Monday)
Articles on “el caso Pinochet” and the hunt for the Argentine generals.
Wendy Hunter, “Assessing Civil-Military Relations in Postauthoritarian Brazil,” in Kingstone
and Power.
Timothy J. Power, “Political Institutions in Democratic Brazil,” in Kingstone and Power.
Recommended: Video #5: The Annenberg/CPB “Americas” Collection: “In Women’s Hands”
Session 5: Neoliberal Reform and Its Discontents: Mexico
How did the institutionalization of the Mexican Revolution unravel in the Lost
Decade of the 1980's? (April 28, Wednesday)
Daniel C. Levy and Kathleen Bruhn, “Mexico: Sustained Civilian Rule and the Question of
Democracy,” in Diamond et al., pp. 519-560.
Joy Langston, “Breaking Out is Hard to Do: Exit, Voice, and Loyalty in Mexico’s One-Party
Hegemonic Regime,” Latin American Politics and Society 44:3 (Fall 2002).
Why did the Mexican state fail to deal with these persisting problems? (April 30,
Friday)
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Jonathan Fox, “The Difficult Transition from Clientelism to Citizenship: Lessons from Mexico,”
in Chalmers et al.
Film: Frontline: “Murder, Money, and Mexico.” (Showing time and place TBA).
Mid-term Break (May 3, Monday)
Are Mexico’s problems too deep for the state to matter? The causes and meaning of
the Chiapas revolt. (May 5, Wednesday)
Tom Barry, Zapata’s Revenge: Free Trade and the Farm Crisis in Mexico, Boston, MA: South
End Press, 1995, Chapters 4, 7, & 9.
June Nash, "The Reassertion of Indigenous Identity: Mayan Responses to State Intervention in
Chiapas," Latin American Research Review 30:3 (1995).
Film: “In the Country Where Nothing Happens” (Mexico) (Showing time and place TBA).
Debate #2: Chiapas.
Reconsidering the Neoliberal Reform Agenda (May 7, Friday)
Kerianne Piester, “Targeting the Poor: The Politics of Social Policy Reforms in Mexico,” in
Chalmers et al.
María Lorena Cook, “Regional Integration and Transnational Politics: Popular Sector Strategies
in the NAFTA Era,” in Chalmers et al.
Session 6: Democratization and The Problem of Governability: Venezuela, Colombia, and
The Central Andean Countries (Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador)
What are the threats to sovereignty in Venezuela, Colombia, and the Central
Andean states? (May 10, Monday)
Jonathan Hartlyn and John Dugas, “Colombia: The Politics of Violence and Democratic
Transformation” OR Cynthia McClintock, “Peru: Precarious Regimes, Authoritarian and
Democratic,” in Diamond et al.
Philip Mauceri, State Under Siege: Development and Policy Making in Peru, Boulder, CO:
Westview Press, 1996, Chapter 7, “Sendero Luminoso [Shining Path]: Ideology and the State in
the Andes.”
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Kenneth M. Roberts, “Social Correlates of Party System Demise and Populist Resurgence in
Venezuela,” Latin American Politics and Society 45:3 (Fall 2003).
Film: “Killing Pablo” (History Channel) (Showing time and place TBA).
What are the causes and consequences of the internal crisis of Latin American
states? (May 12, Wednesday)
Miguel Centeno, Blood and Debt: War and the Nation-State in Latin America, University Park:
Penn State University Press, 2002, Chapter 1.
Guillermo O’Donnell, “On the State, Democratization, and Some Conceptual Problems: A Latin
American View with Glances at Some Postcommunist Countries,” in Guillermo O’Donnell, ed.,
Counterpoints: Selected Essays on Authoritarianism and Democratization, Notre Dame:
University of Notre Dame Press, 1999.
Maxwell A. Cameron, “Political and Economic Origins of Regime Change in Peru: The
Eighteenth Brumaire of Alberto Fujimori,” in Maxwell A. Cameron and Philip Mauceri, eds.,
The Peruvian Labyrinth: Polity, Society, and Economy, University Park: Penn State University
Press, 1997.
Do the failures of these states open the way to alternative systems of governance?
(May 14, Friday)
Philip Mauceri, State Under Siege: Development and Policy Making in Peru, Boulder, CO:
Westview Press, 1996, Chapter 6, “Villa El Salvador: Popular Organization and the State in a
Lima Shantytown.”
Monique Segarra, “Redefining the Public/Private Mix: NGOs and the Emergency Social
Investment Fund in Ecuador,” in Chalmers et al.
Merilee S. Grindle, “Shadowing the Past? Policy Reform in Bolivia, 1985-2002,” in Merilee S.
Grindle and Pilar Domingo, eds., Proclaiming Revolution: Bolivia in Comparative Perspective,
London: ILAS, 2003.
Can democracy survive attacks on the sovereignty of these states? (May 17,
Monday)
Guillermo O’Donnell, “Delegative Democracy,” in Guillermo O’Donnell, ed., Counterpoints:
Selected Essays on Authoritarianism and Democratization, Notre Dame: University of Notre
Dame Press, 1999.
Aldo Panfichi, “The Authoritarian Alternative: >Anti-Politics’ in the Popular Sectors of Lima,”
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in Chalmers et al.
Jo-Marie Burt, “Political Violence and the Grassroots in Lima, Peru,” in Chalmers et al.
Simulation #1: Delegative Democracy
Session 7: Dealing with the U.S.: Cuba, the Caribbean, and Central America
Are the small states of Latin America hopelessly dependent? (May 19, Wednesday)
Rosario Espinal and Jonathan Hartlyn, “The Dominican Republic: The Long and Difficult
Struggle for Democracy,” in Diamond et al.
Skidmore and Smith, Chapters 8, 9, or 10. (Recommended).
Is revolution a way out of dependency? (May 21, Friday)
Susan Eckstein, Back from the Future, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994, Chapter
2.
Robert Pastor, Exiting the Whirlpool: U.S. Foreign Policy Toward Latin America and the
Caribbean. Boulder: Westview Press, 2001, Chapters 8-9 (“Succession Crises” and
“Revolutionary Regimes”).
Recommended: Video #9, The Annenberg/CPB “Americas” Collection: “Fire in the Mind:
Revolutions and Revolutionaries.” (Approximately one hour in length).
Can the U.S. play a productive role in the Latin American small states? (May 24,
Monday)
Film: “Frontline: The Drug War.”
Simulation #2: U.S. Intervention in Latin American Revolutions
PART THREE:
A CLOSER LOOK AT A CONSOLIDATING DEMOCRACY: BRAZIL
Session 8: The Fragility of Democracy and Institutional Responses (May 26, Wednesday)
Kurt Weyland, “The Brazilian State in the New Democracy,” in Kingstone and Power.
Alfred P. Montero, “Devolving Democracy? Political Decentralization and the New Brazilian
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Federalism,” in Kingstone and Power.
Session 9: Democratic Actors and Regime >Consolidation’ (May 28, Friday)
William R. Nylen, “The Making of a Loyal Opposition: The Workers’ Party (PT) and the
Consolidation of Democracy in Brazil,” in Kingstone and Power.
Kenneth P. Serbin, “The Catholic Church, Religious Pluralism, and Democracy in Brazil,” in
Kingstone and Power.
Kathryn Hochstetler, “Democratizing Pressures from Below? Social Movements in the New
Brazilian Democracy,” in Kingstone and Power.
Film: “City of God” (Brazil) (Showing time and place TBA).
Session 10: Economic and Social Change in the New Brazilian Democracy (May 31,
Monday)
Anthony W. Pereira, “An Ugly Democracy? State Violence and the Rule of Law in
Postauthoritarian Brazil,” in Kingstone and Power.
Timothy J. Power and J. Timmons Roberts, “A New Brazil? The Changing Sociodemographic
Context of Brazilian Democracy,” in Kingstone and Power.
PAPER #2 DUE (May 31, Monday)
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