Latin America: A New Interpretation

309 Pages·2006·1.028 MB·English

by  Laurence Whitehead (auth.)

LATIN AMERICA
STUDIES OF THE AMERICAS
Edited by James Dunkerley
Institute for the Study of the Americas
University of London
School of Advanced Study
Titles in this series published by Palgrave Macmillan:
Cuba’s Military 1990–2005: Revolutionary Soldiers during
Counter-Revolutionary Times
By Hal Klepak
The Judicialization of Politics in Latin America
Edited by Rachel Sieder, Alan Angell, and Line Schjolden
Latin America: A New Interpretation
By Laurence Whitehead
Latin America: A New
Interpretation
Laurence Whitehead
LATINAMERICA
© Laurence Whitehead,2006.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2006 978-1-4039-7131-9
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ISBN 978-0-230-61996-8 ISBN 978-1-4039-7722-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781403977229
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First edition:January 2006
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Acronyms ix
Introduction: Latin America in Comparative Perspective 1
I. Introduction 1
II. Latin America Compared to Other Large World Regions 3
III. Latin America and Europe 7
IV. Configurative Characteristics 10
V. Themes and Organization 18
Chapter 1 Latin America as a
“Mausoleum of Modernities” 23
I. Introduction 23
II. Latin America’s Distinctive Relation
to “Modernity” 27
III. Successive Waves of “Modernity” in
Latin America 34
IV. The Littered Landscape 43
V. How Durable A Break with the Past? 53
VI. Conclusion: Reflections on Multiple Modernities 64
Chapter 2 Latin American State Organization 69
I. Introduction 69
II. Territorial Control 83
III. Administration 91
IV. “Cognitive” Capacity 96
V. Command Over Resources 103
VI. Postscript on Citizenship 113
VII. Conclusion 114
Chapter 3 The Politics of Expertise 119
I. Introduction 119
II. Antecedents 123
III. Actualities 126
IV. Conclusion 133
vi CONTENTS
Chapter 4 Economics in Mexico: The Power
of Ideas and Ideas of Power 137
I. Introduction 137
II. Origins of the Profession 138
III. The Rise of the Economic Technocrats 140
IV. Comparisons 144
V. The Profession 146
VI. The “NeoLiberal” Ascendancy 149
VII. External Derivations 153
VIII. The Authoritarian Style 155
IX. Performance 158
X. Conclusion: The Prospects 160
Chapter 5 Privatization and the Public Interest:
Partial Theories, Lopsided Outcomes 163
I. Introduction 163
II. “Privatization” and “The Public Interest” 166
III. Alternative Styles of Privatization: Timing
and Sequencing 174
IV. The Contemporary Scene: Momentum and Resistance 179
V. Lopsided Theories 182
VI. Conclusion: Partial Outcomes 192
Chapter 6 Democracy, Inequality, and
Insecurity: A Paradoxical Configuration 195
I. Introduction 195
II. Inequality and Social Injustice 197
III. Democracy and Insecurity 208
IV. Conclusions 216
Conclusion: On Characterizing Latin America 221
Notes 237
Bibliography 269
Index 283
Acknowledgments
T
his book of essays would never have seen the light of day but for
the steady encouragement and warm support of James Dunkerley,
who persisted when most others would have lost patience. I am also
indebted to the London Institute of Latin American Studies in
another sense. As coeditor of the Journal of Latin American Studies
between 1988 and 2000, I worked regularly with the Institute’s team
(especially with James’s predecessor, Victor Bulmer-Thomas), who
made me feel that ILAS was a home from home. Several of the longer
(and better footnoted) essays were inspired by my experience of
editing a Journal that is, after all, dedicated to “characterizing Latin
America.” Attentive readers may note the heavy reliance of these
chapters on the many carefully documented and precisely focused
Journal articles to support my own more sweeping and speculative
interpretations.
These essays were written during the 1990s, with various disparate
audiences in mind. It was the challenge posed by S. N. Eisenstadt, at
a very stimulating workshop in Martin Luther’s old stamping ground
of Erfurt, that provoked me into writing the first version of the
“Mausoleum” paper (Chapter 1 here), and that guided my efforts to
redraft all the pieces so that they more explicitly focus on what was
always my underlying preoccupation: how to characterize this large
region, and to differentiate it from all others. The central tenets of his
argument are therefore given due attention in the conclusion.
Another critical debt is to Alexandra Barahona de Brito, who
deployed her own very considerable expertise (both editorial and sub-
stantive) to help turn a relatively disjointed collection of essays into
a more integrated volume. (Certain passages owe so much to her
advice that her name ought to appear as their author, but since they
also express my own views she advised me to claim them.) Guillermo
O’Donnell also played a catalytic role, always prompting me to aim
alittle higher.
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As always, my college provided me with the ideal environment for
study and writing, and allowed me to indulge in a type of work, which
is quite tangential to its dominant antispeculative ethos. It also
provided me with the administrative and secretarial support of Sarah
McGuigan, without whom I would be lost. The love and support of
my family was, as always, indispensable. They tolerated my bouts of
distractedness, and in return I coaxed the spiders out of the house. At
short notice my sister, Miriam Wood, came to the rescue over the
index. None of the above has any responsibility for the oddities and
flights of fancy here. They are all my own.
LAURENCEWHITEHEAD
Nuffield College, Oxford, April 1, 2005
Acronyms
APRA Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Peruana(Popular
Peruvian Revolutionary Alliance)
ARENA Alianza Republicana Nacionalista(Nationalist
Republican Alliance)—El Salvador
BONOSOL Bono Solidario(Solidarity Bonus)—Bolivia
CANTV Compañía Anónima Nacional Teléfonos de
Venezuela(National Telephone Company of
Venezuela)
CARICOM Caribbean Common Market
CBF Corporación Boliviana de Fomento(Bolivian
Development Corporation)
CFE Comisión Federal de Electricidad(Federal Electricity
Commission)—Mexico
CIEPLAN Corporación de Investigación Económica para
América Latina(Research Corporation for Latin
America)—Chile
CNG Conselho Nacional de Geografia(National Council
of Geography)—Brazil
CODELCO Corporación del Cobre—Chile(Copper
Corporation)—Chile
COMIBOL Corporación Minera de Bolívia(Bolivian Mining
Corporation)
CORFO Corporación de Fomento de Chile(Chilean
Development Corporation)
CPPD Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia
(Concertation of Parties for Democracy)—Chile
CTC Telefónica de Chile(Chilean Telephone Company)
CVF Corporación Venezolana de Fomento(Venezuelan
Development Corporation)
CVRD Companhia Vale do Rio Doce(Vale do Rio Doce
Company)—Brazil
DASP Departamento Administrativo do Serviço Público
(Administrative Department of the Civil Service)—
Brazil