Review: Latin America: Constructing Democracy
| Published date | 01 June 1998 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070209805300221 |
| Date | 01 June 1998 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
Reviews
des
the
age
of
caudillos
and
compre-
CONSTRUCTING
DEMOCRACY
hensively
covers
the
revolution
and
Human
rights,
citizenship,
and
soci-
the
establishment
of
the
modern
ety in
Latin America
state.
Disappointingly,
the
modern Edited
by
era
is
less
fulsomely
presented, Elizabeth
Jelin
&
Eric
Hershberg
although
the
story
of
President
Diaz
Boulder
CO:
Westview,
1996,
238pp,
Ordaz's
infamous
repression
of
the
US$73.00
1968
student
protest, including
the
massacre
ofTlatelolco,
is
com-
Latin American
and
American
pellingly
told.
Here
Krauze
weaves
authors
examine
four primary
into
the
tale,
using the
third
person, themes:
human
rights
and
transi-
his
own
engagement
in
the
student
tion
to
formal
democracy
(focussing
protest
era
which
heralded
the
birth
on
the
Southern Cone
and
issues
of
of
the
modern
reform
movement,
accountability),
international
Mexican
history
has
been
central
dimensions
(particularly the
role
of
to
its
nation-building
process
and
international
networks), citizenship
hangs
heavily
over
modern
attempts
(including
the
tension
between
at reform,
whether
it
is
reflected
in
market
economics
and
democracy),
the name
of
the
leader
of
the
left-of-
and
the
differentiated
challenges
of
centre
Partido
de
la
Revoluci6n
individual
and
collective
rights.
The
Deomcritica
(PRD),
Cuauhtimoc
co-editors
conclude
with
a
useful
Cirdenas
(the
son
of
a
former
presi- review
of pending
issues
for
further
dent
named
after
the
last
Aztec
research.
emperor),
or the title
embraced
by
The
book
makes
an
important
the Chiapas
insurgent movement,
contribution
to
an
evolving
under-
Ejercito
Zapatista
de
Liberaci6n
standing
of
democracy
with
impli-
Nacional
(EZLN).
'To
continue
the cations
much wider
than
its
Latin
theatre
of
history,'
Krauze
argues,
'is
American
context.
Canadians,
for
to
be
condemned
and
to
condemn
example,
can
draw
much
from
the
country,
dramatically
or
Rodolfo
Stavenhagen's
thoughtful
grotesquely,
to
endless
repetition.'
survey
of
how
indigenous
struggles
Rather,
the
challenge
is
to
reconcile
in
Latin
America
(though
he
draws
Mexican
society
with
its
origins
and on
wider
global
experiences
too)
to
be
less
pious
towards
its
modern
force
a
questioning
of
whether
cur-
leaders.
The
overarching
goal
then
rent
national and
international
becomes
democratization,
measures
for
the
protection
of
This
useful
volume
boasts
a
very
minorities
are
adequate
to
protect
good
index, historical
chronology,
the
human
rights
of
indigenous
illustrations,
and
maps.
peoples.
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
Spring 1998
367
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