Latin American Politics

Course description

This course is intended to provide students with an in-depth understanding of current and past political changes in Latin America, both in the region as a whole and in the 20 nations that make it up. We will begin the course by examining the historical developments that led to the formation of nation-states in Latin America: the pre-Columbian (Indian) civilizations; the Catholic religion; and the links to Spain, Portugal, and France dating back to the colonial era. We will then address the basic issues related to comparative politics, such as democratization, state institutions and authority, regime changes, and ideologies. In the next part of the course we will apply the tools of comparative analysis to examine the political systems in the various countries on an individual basis. Finally, we will study international relations in Latin America and discuss contemporary policy issues such as debt, narcotics, poverty, and future prospects.

Textbooks:

REQUIRED:
Howard Wiarda and Harvey Kline (eds.), Latin American Politics and Development, 5th ed. (Westview, 2000)

OPTIONAL REQUIRED (pick ONE):
Forrest D. Colburn, Latin America at the End of Politics (Princeton University Press, 2002) ~ A series of essays on various subjects by a leading political scientist, linked by the common theme that the old ideological controversies in Latin America are no longer relevant.

Alma Guillermoprieto, Looking for History (Vintage, 2002) ~ Observations of daily life in various Latin American countries by a respected New York Times correspondent who was born in Mexico.

Carlos Fuentes, The Buried Mirror: Reflections on Spain and the New World (Houghton-Mifflin / Mariner, 1992) ~ A beautifully illustrated cultural history of the Ibero-American civilization by a renowned novelist. Note that some of the chapters deal with Spain, not Latin America.

In addition, there will be occasional assignments of feature news stories and/or opinion-editorial pieces in the Washington Post or other newspapers or magazines. All students should read such a nationally-recognized newspaper to keep up with current events in Latin America. There will be a few current events questions on the quizzes and exams.

Topics & countries

This section serves as a preview of the topics and countries covered in each successive week. It supplements material found in the Wiarda & Kline textbook ("W & K"), but does not summarize it.

PART ONE: BACKGROUND

LINKS: Maps ~ Background ~ Arg. ~ Brazil ~ Chile ~ Col. ~ Peru ~ Bol. ~ Ven. ~ Mex. ~ Cuba ~ Guat. ~ Contemporary

Jan. 13: Ch. 1-2 Regional overview

• Culture: identity crisis due to "incomplete conquest" -- mixed ethnicity
• Geography: Isolation from rest of world; internal transportation barriers
• History: broad awareness of long colonial and pre-colonial period; nostaliga

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Jan. 20: Ch. 3-4 Institutions & policy

• Interest groups
• Political parties
• Government

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Jan. 27: Ch. 5* The Latin American tradition and the struggle for democracy
* (plus the early chapters of Colburn, Guillermoprieto, OR Fuentes)

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PART TWO: COUNTRIES

To compare basic facts and key aspects of each country, you can jump from one section to another by clicking on the name abbreviation links above each flag. For each country there is a color-coded table of major political parties and their leaders, along with each party's percentage share of seats in the lower house of the legislature. Right-vs.-left positions indicate each party's approximate ideological orientation, but note that in some cases such descriptions are imprecise because the parties' own political stance is often rather nebulous. Minor parties are not shown.

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LINKS: Maps ~ Background ~ Arg. ~ Brazil ~ Chile ~ Col. ~ Peru ~ Bol. ~ Ven. ~ Mex. ~ Cuba ~ Guat. ~ Contemporary

Feb. 3: Ch. 6 Argentina

President	Population	GDP per capita
Nestor Kirchner (2003-2007)	37 million	$10,200

• European culture (esp. Italian), tango music
• Strong nationalistic and populistic sentiment, deep frustration
• Agricultural economy, based on grain and beef exports
• Institutionalized political party system
• Weak democratic institutions, frequent coups

Socialist Union	Radical Civic Union	Justicialista / Peronista
	Fernando de la Rua	Nestor Kirchner (& Eduardo Duhalde, Carlos Menem)
2%	32%	50%
		Party Web site en español

Chronology

	1800-1899	1900-1949	1950-1974	1975-1989	1990-1999
KEY EVENTS:	Civil wars; Econ. boom, Baring crisis	Democratization, military coups	Econ. boom, bust; military coups	Dirty war, Malvinas war, hyperinflation	Neoliberal reform, scandals
KEY LEADERS:	Rosas	Irigoyen	Peron	Videla	Menem

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LINKS: Maps ~ Background ~ Arg. ~ Brazil ~ Chile ~ Col. ~ Peru ~ Bol. ~ Ven. ~ Mex. ~ Cuba ~ Guat. ~ Contemporary

Feb. 10: Ch. 7 Brazil

President	Population	GDP per capita
Luiz Inacio ("Lula") da Silva (2003-2011)	178 million	$7,600

• Portuguese-speaking
• Relaxed, liberal social mores
• Big economic and geopolitical potential
• Political parties lack discipline and clear agenda

Workers	Democratic Workers	Brazilian Democratic Movement	Liberal	Party of National Reconstruction
"Lula" da Silva			Hernando Enrique Cardoso
35%?	9%	22%	18%	8%

Chronology

	1800-1899	1900-1949	1950-1974	1975-1989	1990-1999
KEY EVENTS:	Empire replaced by Republic	"New State," World War II	Modernization; military government	Democratization, hyperinflation	Neoliberal reform, scandals
KEY LEADERS:	Emperor Pedro II	Vargas	Kubitschek	Geisel	Cardoso

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LINKS: Maps ~ Background ~ Arg. ~ Brazil ~ Chile ~ Col. ~ Peru ~ Bol. ~ Ven. ~ Mex. ~ Cuba ~ Guat. ~ Contemporary

Feb. 17: Ch. 8 Chile

President	Population	GDP per capita
Michelle Bachelet (2006-2012)	16 million	$10,000

• Strong German influence in armed forces, etc.
• Tradition of democratic stability shattered by 1973 coup
• Economy based on copper exports; government controls mines
• Prosperity since 1980s, but at heavy human cost

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• Uruguay, Paraguay?

Communist	Socialist	Christian Democrat	National Renewal
	Ricardo Lagos

Chronology

	1800-1899	1900-1949	1950-1974	1975-1989	1990-1999
KEY EVENTS:	War of Pacific (expansion); Civil war	Democratization, military coups	Stability, progress; socialism, bloody coup	Dirty war, neoliberal "shock" reform	Democratization
KEY LEADERS:	Portales	Alessandri	Frei, Allende	Pinochet	Frei

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LINKS: Maps ~ Background ~ Arg. ~ Brazil ~ Chile ~ Col. ~ Peru ~ Bol. ~ Ven. ~ Mex. ~ Cuba ~ Guat. ~ Contemporary

Feb. 24: Ch. 9 Colombia

President	Population	GDP per capita
Alvaro Uribe (2002-2010)	44 million	$6,500

• Economy based on exports of coffee and cocaine
• Lush tropical river valleys separated by mountain ranges
• Legacy of brutal violence, ongoing civil war
• Two-party system based on pact among rival elites
• Conservative social norms, strong role of Catholic Church

Democratic Alliance M-19	New Democratic Force	Liberal	Conservative / Movement of National Salvation

Chronology

	1800-1899	1900-1949	1950-1974	1975-1989	1990-1999
KEY EVENTS:	Breakup of "Great Colombia," solitude	Civil war, econ. growth	"La Violencia" (1948-1957)	Guerrilla war, narcotics	Guerrilla war, narcotics, U.S. role
KEY LEADERS:	Bolivar	Gaitan	Rojas Pinilla		Gaviria

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LINKS: Maps ~ Background ~ Arg. ~ Brazil ~ Chile ~ Col. ~ Peru ~ Bol. ~ Ven. ~ Mex. ~ Cuba ~ Guat. ~ Contemporary

Mar. 2: Ch. 10 Peru

President	Population	GDP per capita
Alan Garcia (2006-2011)	27 million	$4,800

• Nostalgia for glory days of Inca Empire and Spanish Empire
• Strong nationalist spirit but confused national identity
• Economy based on exports of copper, sugar, coca, etc.
• Corruption, widespread sense of alienation from government
• Ambitious foreign policy: military buildup of 1970s raised tensions

We Are Peru / Democratic Cause	APRA: American Popular Revolutionary Alliance	Independent Reform Front	Peru Possible	National Unity [Popular Christian]
Henry Pease Garcia	Alan Garcia	Fernando Olivera	Alejandro Toledo	Lourdes Flores Nano
5.8%	19.7%	11.0%	26.3%	13.8%

Chronology

	1800-1899	1900-1949	1950-1974	1975-1989	1990-1999
KEY EVENTS:	Guano boom; War of Pacific	Social tumult, military coups	Military coups, radical reforms	Debt crisis, hyperinflation	Neoliberal reform, scandals
KEY LEADERS:	Castilla	Leguia	Odria, Velasco	Belaunde, Garcia	Fujimori

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LINKS: Maps ~ Background ~ Arg. ~ Brazil ~ Chile ~ Col. ~ Peru ~ Bol. ~ Ven. ~ Mex. ~ Cuba ~ Guat. ~ Contemporary

Mar. 16: Ch. 14 Bolivia

President	Population	GDP per capita
Evo Morales (2006-2010)	9 million	$2,500

• Economy based on exports of tin, natural gas, & coca
• Mountains make transportation difficult
• Deep social division between wealthy whites and poor Indians
• Legacy of military coups and political instability

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• Ecuador?

Movement Toward Socialism	Revolutionary Leftist Movement	National Revolutionary Movement	National Democratic Action	New Republican Force
Evo Morales	Jaime Paz Zamora	Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada	Roberto MacLean	Manfred Reyes Villa

Chronology

	1800-1899	1900-1949	1950-1974	1975-1989	1990-1999
KEY EVENTS:	War of Pacific: loss of Pacific seacoast	Chaco War, Revolution	Military coups	Debt crisis, hyper- inflation, neoliberalism	Progress and stability...
KEY LEADERS:			Paz Estenssoro, Banzer	Meza, Paz Estenssoro	Paz Zamora, Banzer

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LINKS: Maps ~ Background ~ Arg. ~ Brazil ~ Chile ~ Col. ~ Peru ~ Bol. ~ Ven. ~ Mex. ~ Cuba ~ Guat. ~ Contemporary

Mar. 23: Ch. 11 Venezuela

President	Population	GDP per capita
Hugo Chavez (1999- ? )	26 million	$5,500

• Economy based on petroleum exports
• Prosperity during 1960s-1980s expanded middle class, established democracy
• State ownership of petroleum paved way for stagnation when prices declined.
• Government of Hugo Chavez (former coup leader) is radical, friendly to Castro

Bolivarian Revolutionary Party	Radical Cause	Democratic Action	Christian Socialist (COPEI)
Hugo Chavez

Chronology

	1800-1899	1900-1949	1950-1974	1975-1989	1990-1999
KEY EVENTS:	None	Oil exports, econ. growth		Econ. boom, decline	Econ. crisis, attempted coups
KEY LEADERS:	Bolivar	Gomez	Jimenez Perez	C. A. Perez	C. A. Perez

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LINKS: Maps ~ Background ~ Arg. ~ Brazil ~ Chile ~ Col. ~ Peru ~ Bol. ~ Ven. ~ Mex. ~ Cuba ~ Guat. ~ Contemporary

Mar. 30: Ch. 16 Mexico

President	Population	GDP per capita
Felipe Calderon (2006-2012)	103 million	$9,000

• Liberal tradition of separation of church and state
• Lingering nationalist resentment of United States
• Widespread cynicism about betrayed ideals of Revolution
• Industrial progress in north, poverty and instability in south
• Economy based on oil exports, farm produce, manufactured goods
• Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) used to dominate, still controls much of economy.

Party of Democratic Revolution	Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)	National Action Party
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador	Francisco Labastida Ochoa	Vicente Fox
95 seats	224 seats	152 seats

Chronology

	1800-1899	1900-1949	1950-1974	1975-1989	1990-1999
KEY EVENTS:	Loss of Texas & Calif.; Liberal reforms	Revolution, nationalization of oil	Econ. growth, stability	Debt crisis, inflation	NAFTA, political reform
KEY LEADERS:	Santa Anna, Juarez,	Cardenas	Echeverria	de la Madrid	Salinas

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LINKS: Maps ~ Background ~ Arg. ~ Brazil ~ Chile ~ Col. ~ Peru ~ Bol. ~ Ven. ~ Mex. ~ Cuba ~ Guat. ~ Contemporary

Apr. 6: Ch. 17 Cuba

President	Population	GDP per capita
Fidel Castro (1959- ? )	11 million	$2,300

• Exports of sugar, tobacco (but not to U.S. - embargo!)
• Socialist paradise (health, educ.) came to an end after Soviet subsidies stopped
• Now depends heavily on money from European tourists

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• Dominican Republic, Haiti?

Communist

Fidel Castro

Chronology

	1800-1899	1900-1949	1950-1974	1975-1989	1990-1999
KEY EVENTS:	Colony of Spain until U.S. war in 1898	U.S. occupation; Platt Amendment	Revolution, missile crisis	Intervention in Africa, econ. stagnation	Decay
KEY LEADERS:	Marti	Batista	Castro

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LINKS: Maps ~ Background ~ Arg. ~ Brazil ~ Chile ~ Col. ~ Peru ~ Bol. ~ Ven. ~ Mex. ~ Cuba ~ Guat. ~ Contemporary

Apr. 13: Ch. 21 Guatemala

President	Population	GDP per capita
Oscar Berger (2004-2008)	12 million	$3,700

• Economy based on exports of bananas, coffee
• Deep social division between wealthy whites and poor Indians
• Legacy of military coups and political instability

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• Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama?

Chronology

	1800-1899	1900-1949	1950-1974	1975-1989	1990-1999
KEY EVENTS:		Growing social tensions	Leftist reforms halted by CIA-aided coup	Guerrilla war, repression
KEY LEADERS:	Carrera	Arbenz	Arevalo,	Rios Montt, Cerezo

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PART THREE: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES

LINKS: Maps ~ Background ~ Arg. ~ Brazil ~ Chile ~ Col. ~ Peru ~ Bol. ~ Ven. ~ Mex. ~ Cuba ~ Guat. ~ Contemporary

Apr. 20 Economic and social policy

Apr. 27 Foreign relations

Assignments

The table below explains in detail all the assignments that will be used to determine your grade for the course. It does not list separately the in-class essays, All exams will consist entirely of objective questions (multiple choice, matching, true/false), with the answers entered on optically scanned sheets. Bring your own #2 pencil! Students must sign and return their question sheets, or else they will not get credit for the exam. There is a penalty of 10% per week for late quizzes, exams, or individual assignments, unless the student provides a written excuse from a doctor or other responsible party. Students must notify the professor immediately if they anticipate not being able to take exams or fulfill other class requirements on time.

In-class essays

Every two or three weeks ten minutes will be set aside during which students will write paragraph-length essays about the current week's country or topic. The professor will ask a specific question about the subject, testing the students' understanding of the issue, rather than simple knowledge of facts.

Book discussion

Every student will choose one of the "optional required" books and participate in two discussions about it. As part of this exercise, students should write a report (about two pages in length) that briefly summarizes the main theme(s) of each chapter. This report should conclude with a long paragraph that responds to the main points that the author was trying to make (was it persuasive or not?) and then evaluates the positive and negative aspects of the book.

BOOK:	Feb. 3	Mar. 18	Apr. 1
Fuentes, Buried Mirror	Ch. 1, 5, 6, 9, 11, & 12	Ch. 13, 14, 15, 16, 18
Colburn, End of Politics?	Ch. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 10		Ch. 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
Guillermoprieto, Looking for History		"Eva Peron," "Che Guevara," "Colombia," & "Mario Vargas Llosa"	"Cuba," "Mexico"

Research project

Students have two general options for outside research, and the decision depends on their own prior course work and their future plans. In either case, the total amount of written material should be about 10 to 12 pages. All topic choices are subject to approval in advance by the professor. Whenever doing outside research, it is extremely important to keep tabs with the professor, to avoid wasted effort and to make sure you stay focused on a topic that can be addressed adequately in the paper. That is the purpose of the prospectus (see below). The research project is worth 15% of the final grade.

OPTION A: Policy briefings

These are short papers (3-5 doubled-spaced pages) that should focus on current issues such as narcotics interdiction, trade policy, or democratization, either in one country, a subregion, or Latin America overall. They should summarize the background of the particular issue, emphasizing the controversies that exist in the policy-making world. Policy briefings should carefully weigh the differing points of view and should conclude with a recommendation based on facts and sound reasoning. Students who choose this option should consult with the professor to schedule their projects throughout the semester. One of the policy briefings should be submitted BEFORE spring break.

OPTION B: Term paper

This "traditional" research project (total length of 10-12 doubled-spaced pages) is focused not on the advocacy of particular policies, but rather on broader academic issues. Ideally, they should focus on politics in a single country or subregion (such as the Andes), or about some general topic (such as democratization), but other suggestions will be considered. Some students may wish to focus on some specific problem in the country, or about some particular historical era. Students should become familiar with the country or issue, they should come up with a working hypothesis to guide their research. Properly designed research papers can lead to significant conclusions that may serve to persuade policy makers. Thus, this project is an opportunity to learn and apply social science research methods, and it should not be taken lightly. The rewards, however, may be great, in terms of in preparation for graduate level work, or to qualify for a job with a policy research organization. For students who are curious but lack previous knowledge about the country they are studying, one or more of the recommended books listed in the syllabus would be a good place to begin research. The professor will help students clarify the topic in order to narrow down the list of materials they need to research. You should probably use about 10 to 15 books and/or journal articles as reference materials.

Research prospectus

Whichever option is chosen, the prospectus should begin with one short paragraph describing one's own interests in the country or the topic. Have you been there? What motivates your interest? For those who are doing the policy briefings option, there should be one medium paragraph on each of the proposed topics, keeping in mind that you have a limited space to address the topic. For those who are doing the term paper option, there should be an outline that will serve as the organizational structure of the paper, with explanations for each detailed line, where necessary. For either option, you should explain what kinds of books or articles you intend to read, and at the end, list (in single-spaced format) a few preliminary sources you have come across. The main body of your prospectus should be 1.5 line spacing, preferably in 12 point Times Roman font, with 1 inch margins (NOT 1.5 inch). Try to keep everything to within one page, or perhaps one and a half. The prospectus is worth 2% of the final grade.

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ITEM:	DESCRIPTION:	DUE DATE:	WEIGHT:	CLASS AVG. %	YOUR SCORE:
Quiz #1	Basic world knowledge, map	Feb. 10	5%	76%
Prospectus	Summary of research plans	Feb. 17	2%
Midterm exam	(multiple choice, matching, fill-in-blank, 1 essay)	Mar. 4?	20%
Quiz #2	Covers Andean countries	Apr. 13	5-8%
Book discussions	Semiformal group critiques / discussions of the optional books.	(Feb.-Mar.)	10%
In-class essays	Essays about textbook readings	(Jan.-Apr.)	5%
Class participation	Participation in discussions (includes attendance)	(Jan.-Apr.)	5%
Research project	Term paper, policy brief, multimedia show, news log, etc.	Apr. 27?	15%
Final exam	Covers the whole semester, but emphasizes second half. (multiple choice, matching, fill-in-blank, 2 essays)	May 4?	30-35%
Go figure!		Start over (reset) ...

NOTE: Dates or text in RED (if any) have been changed. The scores you enter in the form above do not get transmitted anywhere, so don't worry about confidentiality. You can play around by entering hypothetical future scores, but bear in mind that the professor will apply a contingent adjustment formula to the cumulative aggregated percentages at the end of the semester (see below), so there is no way to determine in advance exactly what score you will need on the final exam, etc. to attain a given course grade.

Grading

The purpose of grading, as I see it, is to reward superior scholarly achievement without inducing undue anxiety. A given class's grading system should provide a clear incentive so that students can decide how much effort to put into it, relative to other classes. I try to be as scrupulously impartial and objective as possible in grading. On every assignment, I indicate the raw point total and percentage score, but no letter grade. In class I announce the class average for each assignment (which will be shown in the table above), so that everyone will have a rough idea of where they stand. The final grade for the course is determined by weighting together the percentage scores for each assignment, as indicated, rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent, and then using the the standard scale of A (90-100), B (80-89), C (70-79), D (60-69). I do not assign letter grades until the end of the semester, although provisional midterm grades will be given to freshmen, as required by the University. If the class average of that "raw" cumulative percentage score is less than 75% (middle C), I generally apply an across-the-board adjustment formula, using a factor that is a multiple of the square root of the difference between the nominal maximum possible percentage score (100% at the end of the semester, excluding any extra credit) and the student's cumulative aggregated percentage score (the result you get when you click on the "Go figure!" button). In other words, the lower the student's total score, the bigger the upward adjustment he or she gets. I choose a factor that will ensure a reasonable overall grade distribution, i.e., slightly more above-C grades than below-C grades. I avoid calling this adjustment formula a "curve," because that term means different things to different people. For one thing, I would never penalize a class for doing better than expected, so I would not use this formula to limit the number of high grades. This procedure has two advantages: it benefits lower-scoring students more than higher-scoring students (thus reducing the often-huge gap between top and bottom), and it virtually eliminates any discretion that I have in choosing the cutoff points from one grade level to the next.

Nobody is perfect: I will rectify any scoring or tabulation errors I may have made, as long as the student brings them to my attention promptly. If any student ever has a question about my grading policies, I will be glad to explain this in more detail.

Latin American Web sites:

NOTE: More to come...

CNN en Español - Las Americas (CNN in Spanish)

Miami Herald

Latin Focus Up-to-date economic data and reports.

Latin American Information Center Links to newspapers, etc. (University of Texas)

Political database of Latin America Elections, constitutions, etc. (Georgetown University)

Beautiful Horizons, a new Web log on Latin America by Randy Paul, focusing on Brazil.

National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade, a pro-NAFTA & FTAA group.

Inter-American Dialogue, a private foundation that sponsors periodic meetings, seminars, and policy papers on Western Hemisphere issues.

planeta.com, a resource for choosing eco-tourist adventure vacation packages in Latin America.

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Other Web sites:

Research / information links

Newspapers, magazines

Washington Post

New York Times

The Wall Street Journal

The Washington Times

Christian Science Monitor

Time magazine

The Economist (British)

Financial Times (British)

Associated Press

Reuters

Broadcasters

MS-NBC -- includes Newsweek magazine

Cable News Network

PBS ~ Public broadcasting, funded by viewers like you.

C-SPAN

The BBC ~ Public broadcasting, funded by British taxpayers.

Government sources

CIA World Factbook ~ Everything you ever wanted to know about every country.

U.S. State Department

United Nations

U.N. Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN)

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Back to top | Course description | Maps | Topics & Countries | Assignments | Grading | Links

Any questions? JUST ASK!!

I have tried to make this web site as accessible and comprehensive as possible, to help students learn what is most important in this course. Nevertheless, there are bound to be a few issues that need clarification, both in terms of how the course is run and in terms of the subject material itself. Whatever it is that you need to ask, you are always welcome to contact me via e-mail (email) or telephone (555-1234), or to stop by and visit during my office hours (see above). Please don't wait until the last minute before coming to talk to me!