Democracy in Latin America: Visions and Realities

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Recent events throughout Latin America have placed issues of democracy at centre stage. Collected here are articles that evaluate different models of democracy, challenging the realities and myths of the practice of democracy in various countries throughout the region. Through the writings of leading Latin American and US scholars, including James Petras, Pablo Gonzalez Casanova and Max Azicri, the book addresses such important topics as whether Washington's "Model Democracies" are truly democratic, and how Guatemala's civilian regime compares to Nicaragua's revolutionary democracy. By covering countries as diverse as Cuba, Argentina and Guatemala, the collection adds to an understanding of different models of democracy and challenges traditional methodologies used to evaluate them. Several essays put the issue of democratization in the context of economic crisis, resulting in political redefinitions, and the emergence of the social movements.

Reviews

"This small edited collection of ten articles deals in various ways with the democratization of Latin America. In view of recent events throughout the world the topic is certainly a worthy one. . . . [T]he interview with Fidel Castro by the veteran Mexican newsman Regino Diaz is excellent; it goes a long way toward explaining the Latin American view of the debt crisis. The two chapters by editors Jonas and Stein on Nicaragua and Guatemala are outstanding. One is left with the feeling that more from these authors would have strengthened the entire book. Useful for students in Latin American politics and economics."-Choice
This small edited collection of ten articles deals in various ways with the democratization of Latin America. In view of recent events throughout the world the topic is certainly a worthy one. . . . [T]he interview with Fidel Castro by the veteran Mexican newsman Regino Diaz is excellent; it goes a long way toward explaining the Latin American view of the debt crisis. The two chapters by editors Jonas and Stein on Nicaragua and Guatemala are outstanding. One is left with the feeling that more from these authors would have strengthened the entire book. Useful for students in Latin American politics and economics.-Choice

Author Bio

SUSANNE JONAS teaches Latin American studies at the University of California at Santa Cruz. She has written extensively on Central America and is currently working on a book on Guatemala, as well as analytical articles concerning recent developments in Central America based on firsthand observation. NANCY STEIN has researched and written extensively on U.S. policy toward Latin America with a focus on Central America and U.S. military policy. She is a former president and current board member of Global Options, a San Francisco-based research organization.