Philip tackles the major problems posed by military radicalism in Peru between 1968 and 1976. He discusses the ideology of the military, the commitment of the officer corps to reform, the degree of reformism, and the limits of popular participation, and attempts to answer why it was possible for a radical military government to arise in Peru. The answers contribute not only to an understanding of modern Peru but also to the general study of the military in politics.
The conservative attacks on the welfare system in the United States over the past several decades have put liberal defenders of poverty relief and social insurance programs on the defensive. In this no-holds-barred look at the reality of American social policy since World War II, William Epstein argues that this defense is not worth mounting&—that the claimed successes of American social programs are not sustained by evidence. Rather than their failure being the result of inadequate implementation or political resistance stemming from the culture wars, these programs and their built-in limitations actually do represent what the vast majority of people in this country want them to be. However much people may speak in favor of welfare, the proof of what they really want is in the pudding of the social policies that are actually legislated. The stinginess of America&’s welfare system is the product of basic American values rooted in the myth of &“heroic individualism&” and reinforced by a commitment to social efficiency, the idea that social services need to be minimal and compatible with current social arrangements.
This comprehensive case study of the modern Peruvian military examines the professional development of South America's most controversial military establishment from the early 1930s to the present. Based on extensive research in Peruvian military archives and numerous interviews with active and retired members of the Peruvian armed forces, this study is placed in the context of Peruvian national politics and South American military affairs. Particular emphasis is given to the impact of France and U.S. military theory upon the Peruvian military mentality. Revolutionary politics from the Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana (APRA) in the 1930s to the present day's Sendero Luminoso also figure prominently. This study also explores the rationale behind General Velasco's social and economic reforms (1968-1975) and assesses the Velasco government's legacy for contemporary Peru. For the first time, the Soviet Union's heavy involvement in Peru is examined. As the only comprehensive case study in English of the modern Peruvian military, this volume will be of interest to students and scholars of contemporary Latin America. This is a detailed historical study of the highly complex Peruvian military establishment and its place in Peruvian society. It includes a review of the 1930s; an in-depth analysis of the armed forces from the late 1930s to the first Belaunde regime (1963-1968); the immediate antecedents of Peru's 12-year military government (1968-1980) known as the Docenio; preliminary overview of the Docenio and its troubled legacy; an assessment of the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) insurgency; and a critique of the armed force's counter terrorism campaign. Militarism and Politics in Latin America draws extensively on Latin American and U.S. archival sources, and personal interviews, and includes rare photographs.
This thoughtful text describes how Latin America's authoritarian culture has been and continues to be reflected in a variety of governments, from the near-anarchy of the early regional bosses (caudillos), to all-powerful personalistic dictators or oligarchic machines, to contemporary mass-movement regimes like Castro's Cuba or Peron's Argentina. Taking a student-friendly chronological approach, Paul Lewis also analyzes how the internal dynamics of each historical phase of the region's development led to the next. He describes how dominant ideologies of the period were used to shape, and justify, each regime's power structure. Balanced yet cautious about the future of democracy in the region, this accessible book will be invaluable for courses on contemporary Latin America.
Traveling through Peru, tracing the history of the Incas from their royal cities of Cusco and Machu Picchu to their mythic origin in Lake Titicaca, Ronald Wright explores a country of contrasts—between Spanish and Indian, past and present, coastal desert and mountainous interior. In his highly entertaining and perceptive account, Wright brings to life a complex culture, a land of ancient traditions seeking its place in the modern world. Embracing history, politics, anthropology, and literature, Cut Stones and Crossroadsis a fascinating travel memoir and the study of a civilization by a writer who has won international awards as both a novelist and a historian.
This bibliography of more than 2,000 titles contains both books and journal articles, primarily those published since 1970. Most of the entries are annotated. The material is classified according to forty-eight categories, and there is also a list of relevant titles for each major country in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
"Examines relations between Peru and the United States for the period 1960-1975. Focuses on the roles of both nations' ambassadors in trying to deal with the difficult foreign policy issues that arose in these years"--Provided by publisher.
On October 3, 1968, a military junta led by General Juan Velasco Alvarado took over the government of Peru. In striking contrast to the right-wing, pro–United States/anti-Communist military dictatorships of that era, however, Velasco’s “Revolutionary Government of the Armed Forces” set in motion a left-leaning nationalist project aimed at radically transforming Peruvian society by eliminating social injustice, breaking the cycle of foreign domination, redistributing land and wealth, and placing the destiny of Peruvians into their own hands. Although short-lived, the Velasco regime did indeed have a transformative effect on Peru, the meaning and legacy of which are still subjects of intense debate. The Peculiar Revolution revisits this fascinating and idiosyncratic period of Latin American history. The book is organized into three sections that examine the era’s cultural politics, including not just developments directed by the Velasco regime but also those that it engendered but did not necessarily control; its specific policies and key institutions; and the local and regional dimensions of the social reforms it promoted. In a series of innovative chapters written by both prominent and rising historians, this volume illuminates the cultural dimensions of the revolutionary project and its legacies, the impact of structural reforms at the local level (including previously understudied areas of the country such as Piura, Chimbote, and the Amazonia), and the effects of state policies on ordinary citizens and labor and peasant organizations.
This study views the peasantry in the context of the historical experience of conquest and domination. Since the 1950s the community of Chilca has become more mobilized and confident, and increasingly affected by capitalism, urbanization, the Peruvian Revolution and agrarian reform.
