Democracy and Development in Latin America - Kenyon College

Department of Political Science Spring 2010

Joseph L. Klesner 3 Horwitz House PBX 5311 [email protected]

PSCI 347 DEMOCRACY AND DEVELOPMENT IN LATIN AMERICA In the past quarter century Latin America has experienced a twin transition: from nondemocratic to democratic rule and from an inward-oriented, state-led economic development strategy to an outward-focused, market-oriented model sometimes called neoliberalism. These political and economic changes have caused social upheaval for many Latin Americans and have given many others new opportunities to improve their lives. This course will study the political, economic, and social changes that have taken place in five large Latin American countries – Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil and Venezuela – since the early to mid 1980s. Hence, this course focuses on contemporary Latin American politics. In each case we will review the salient features of the nation‟s political history, explore the imposition of market-oriented economic policies, examine the transition to democratic rule, and consider the reactions to these changes from social groups. Prominent leaders of the transition to democracy and proponents of neoliberal economic policies will be profiled as will the contending political forces in the country and their perspectives on neoliberalism. Public opinion about economic policy and democracy will be considered. Requirements. This course will make ample use of video resources and will expect student participation in class discussions, so attendance and class participaton are critical. Fifteen (15) percent of the final course grade will depend on class participation. Students with excessive absences may be asked to leave the course. There may be three or four pop quizzes during the semester that will count toward the participation grade. Students will have three writing assignments for the course, one of which will be a critical review of books related to issues studied in the course. A separate handout will explain how to write such reviews, which will be of about seven pages in length and count toward 25 percent of the final grade. The second writing assignment will be a profile of a political leader or activist in one of the countries being studied in the course. The due dates for these two assignments are March 3 and April 23. You may choose to write the two assignments in either order so long as each one addresses different countries from among those we are studying this semester. The third writing assignment will be a final take-home exam of about ten pages‟ length due at the time scheduled for the final exam, i.e., May 12, 6:30 p.m. It will count toward 35 percent of the course grade. I reserve the right to expel a student from this course for

excessive absences or to fail a student who does complete the assigned course work. Readings: The schedule of topics and readings includes both required and recommended readings. The required readings are available for purchase at the bookstore and will be on reserve at Olin Library. The recommended readings are listed as suggestions for further study or for the critical reviews and profiles.

PSCI 347: Democracy and Development In Latin America

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Books available for purchase at the Bookstore: Javier Auyero, Routine Politics and Violence in Argentina: The Gray Zone of State Power (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007). Fernando Henrique Cardoso, The Accidental President of Brazil: A Memoir (New York: PublicAffairs, 2006). Stephen Haber, Herbert S. Klein, Noel Maurer, and Kevin J. Middlebrook, Mexico Since 1980 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008). Jennifer L. McCoy and David J. Myers (eds.), The Unraveling of Representative Democracy in Venezuela (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004). Patricia Politzer, Fear in Chile: Lives Under Pinochet, trans. Diane Wachtell (New York: New Press, 2001 [1989]). Peter H. Smith, Democracy in Latin America: Political Change in Comparative Perspective (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005). I will construct a course website using the Moodle course management program that the College is introducing this semester. Go to moodle.kenyon.edu and follow the links for PSCI 347. I will post course materials there. Academic honesty: Students should be reminded of Kenyon's expectations regarding academic honesty. You are responsible for reading and understanding those pages of the Course of Study that define plagiarism and discuss academic honesty. Disabilities: If you have a disability and therefore may have need of some type of accommodation(s) in order to participate fully in this class, please feel free to discuss your concerns in private with me and also self identify yourself to Erin Salva, Coordinator of Disability Services, at PBX 5453 or via e-mail at [email protected]. Classroom etiquette: Drinks (coffee, tea, water, soft drinks) are permitted in the classroom, but please don‟t bring food as it litters the classroom and distracts others. Sending texts and email from cell phones during class time shows disregard for our common learning experience; please turn cell phones off when you enter the room. Office hours: I will hold office hours MWF 10:00-12:00 in 3 Horwitz House. If you cannot see me at those time, please let me know and we‟ll make other arrangements. You can contact me by email or at PBX 5311; if you have an emergency, my home phone is 4272274.


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Course Outline Date

Topic

January 18

Introduction: Themes and Countries Peter H. Smith, Democracy in Latin America: Political Change in Comparative Perspective (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), Introduction and Ch. 1, pp. 1-43. Part I: Legacies

January 20

Corporatism Howard J. Wiarda, “Toward a Framework for the Study of Political Change in the Iberic-Latin Tradition: The Corporative Model,” World Politics 25, 2 (January 1973): 206-235. Glen C. Dealy, “The Tradition of Monistic Democracy in Latin America,” Journal of the History of Ideas, 35, 4 (October 1974): 625-46.

January 22

Import-Substituting Industrialization and Populism Werner Baer, “Import Substitution and Industrialization in Latin America: Experiences and Interpretations,” Latin American Research Review 7, 1 (Spring 1972): 95-111.

January 25

Military Authoritarianism Alfred Stepan, “The New Professionalism of Internal Warfare and Military Role Expansion,” in Authoritarian Brazil: Origins, Policies, and Future, ed. Alfred Stepan (Yale University Press, 1973), pp. 47-65. Smith, Democracy in Latin America, Ch. 3, pp. 73-106.

January 27

U.S. Influence and Intervention Smith, Democracy in Latin America, Ch. 4, pp. 107-33. Part II: Comparative Perspectives on Democracy

January 29

Democratization Smith, Democracy in Latin America, Ch. 2, pp. 44-72. Terry Lynn Karl, “Dilemmas of Democratization in Latin America,” Comparative


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Politics, 23, 1 (October 1990), pp. 1-21. February 1

Institutional Choices for Latin American Democrats Smith, Democracy in Latin America, Chs. 5-6, pp. 137-82. Part III: Chile: Neoliberal Model?

February 3

The Allende Experiment Peter A. Goldberg, “The Politics of the Allende Overthrow in Chile,” Political Science Quarterly, 90, 1 (Spring 1975), pp. 93-116. View for discussion: The Battle of Chile: The Struggle of an Unarmed People, written and directed by Patricio Guzman. Begin reading Patricia Politzer, Fear in Chile: Lives Under Pinochet, trans. Diane Wachtell (New York: New Press, 2001 [1989]).

February 5

Pinochet‟s Coup Continue reading Politzer, Fear in Chile.

February 8

Chicago Boys and Others Continue reading Politzer, Fear in Chile. Marcus J. Kurtz, “Chile‟s Neo-Liberal Revolution: Incremental Decisions and Structural Transformation, 1973-89,” Journal of Latin American Studies, 31 (May 1999): 399-427.

February 10

Social Movements and the Opposition to Pinochet Continue reading Politzer, Fear in Chile. Philip Oxhorn, “The Popular Sector Response to an Authoritarian Regime: Shantytown Organizations Since the Military Coup,” Latin American Perspectives, 18, 1 (Winter, 1991), pp. 66-91.

February 12

Is Chile an Economic Model for Latin America to Emulate? Julia Hiscock and David E. Hojman, “Social Policy in a Fast-growing Economy: The Case of Chile,” Social Policy & Administration, 31, 4 (December 1997), pp. 354–370. Arturo Valenzuela and Lucía Dammert, “Problems of Success in Chile,” Journal of


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Democracy, 17, 4 (October 2006), pp. 65-79. February 15

Democracy, Undemocratic Institutions, and Alienation View for discussion: Chile, Obstinate Memory, a coproduction of Les Films d'Ici and the National Film Board of Canada/La Sept ARTE; a film by Patricio Guzmán ; produced by Yves Jeanneau, Eric Michel (1997). Paul W. Posner, “Local Democracy and the Transformation of Popular Participation in Chile,” Latin American Politics and Society, 46, 3 (Autumn 2004), pp. 55-81. Margota Olavarría, “Protected Neoliberalism: Perverse Institutionalization and the Crisis of Representation in Postdictatorship Chile,” Latin American Perspectives 30, 6 (November 2003), pp. 10-38.

February 17

Settling Up with Human Rights Abusers? View for discussion: The Pinochet Case, a film by Patricio Guzman; Les Films d'ici; screenplay and direction Patricio Guzmán; produced by Yves Jeanneau (2001). Part IV: Argentina: Neoliberal Failure?

February 19

The Legacy of Peron Peter H. Smith, “Social Mobilization, Political Participation, and the Rise of Juan Perón,” Political Science Quarterly, 84, 1 (March 1969), pp. 30-49. View: Garden of the Forking Paths, a production of WGBH Boston and Central Television Enterprises for Channel 4, UK; executive producer, Judith Vecchione; written and directed by David Ash (1993).

February 22

Argentine Military Authoritarianism David Pion-Berlin, “The National Security Doctrine, Military Threat Perception, and The Dirty War In Argentina,” Comparative Political Studies, 21, 3, (October 1988): 382-407.

February 24

Democratic Transition under Alfonsín: Dealing with Human Rights Abusers David Pion-Berlin, and Craig Arceneaux, “Tipping the Civil-Military Balance: Institutions and Human Rights Policy in Democratic Argentina and Chile,” Comparative Political Studies, 31, 5 (1998), pp. 633-661.

PSCI 347: Democracy and Development In Latin America February 26

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Menem and Neoliberalism in Argentina Manuel Pastor and Carol Wise, “Stabilization and Its Discontents: Argentina‟s Economic Restructuring in the 1990s,” World Development, 27 (March 1999): 477503.

March 1

Economic Meltdown Manuel Pastor and Carol Wise, “From Poster Child to Basket Case,” Foreign Affairs, 80, 6 (November/December 2001): 60-72. Javier Corrales, “The Politics of Argentina's Meltdown,” World Policy Journal, 19, 3 (Fall 2002): 29-42. View: The Empty ATM, an October Films Ltd. production for Thirteen/WNET in association with the BBC; directed and produced by Angus Macqueen (2002).

March 3

Social Movements and the Resistance to Politics as Usual Javier Auyero, Routine Politics and Violence in Argentina: The Gray Zone of State Power (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007). We will discuss the Auyero book in this and the next class session.

March 5

Social Movements and the Resistance to Politics as Usual View for discussion: The Take, directed by Avi Lewis, written by Naomi Klein, produced by Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein (National Film Board of Canada, 2004). Part V: Mexico: Liberalizing Markets before Freeing Politics

March 22

The PRI and the Mexican Miracle Stephen Haber, et al., Mexico Since 1980 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008), Chs. 1-2, pp. 1-65. View: Mexico, From Boom to Bust: 1940-1982 a production of WGBH/Boston, written and produced by Austin Hoyt (1989), first half.

March 24

End of the Mexican Miracle View: Mexico, From Boom to Bust: 1940-1982 a production of WGBH/Boston, written and produced by Austin Hoyt (1989), second half.

PSCI 347: Democracy and Development In Latin America March 26

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Salinas, Neoliberalism, and NAFTA Haber, et al., Mexico Since 1980, Chs. 3-4, pp. 66-122. Maxwell A. Cameron and Carol Wise, “The Political Impact of NAFTA on Mexico: Reflections on the Political Economy of Democratization,” Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue Canadienne de Science Politique, 37, 2, (June 2004): 301323.

March 29

Resistance to Neoliberalism: Chiapas and other Social Movements Chris Gilbreth and Gerardo Otero, “Democratization in Mexico: The Zapatista Uprising and Civil Society,” Latin American Perspectives, 28, 4 (July 2001): 7-29. View for discussion: A Place Called Chiapas, by Nettie Wild; produced by Canada Wild Productions Ltd. in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation; produced by Nettie Wild, Kirk Tougas, Betsy Carson; written by Nettie Wild, Manfred Becker (1998).

March 31

Something on urbanization and migration Haber, et al., Mexico Since 1980, ch. 6, pp. 161-200. View: Continent on the Move, executive producer, Judith Vecchione; produced and directed by Raymond Telles and Marc De Beaufort (WGBH Boston and Central Television Enterprises for Channel 4, 1993).

April 2

Contending Forces in the 1990s Haber, et al., Mexico Since 1980, Ch.5, pp. 123-60.

April 5

The PAN and Mexico‟s New Democracy Chappell Lawson, “Mexico's Unfinished Transition: Democratization and Authoritarian Enclaves in Mexico,” Mexican Studies/Estudios Mexicanos, 16, 2 (Summer 2000): 267-87. Joseph L. Klesner, “Electoral Competition and the New Party System in Mexico,” Latin American Politics and Society, 47, 2 (Summer 2005): 103-142. Haber, et al., Mexico Since 1980, ch. 7, pp. 201-220.


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Part VI: Brazil: The Impossibility of Reform? April 7

Military Authoritarianism and Brazil‟s Miracle Review Stepan, “The New Professionalism of Internal Warfare and Military Role Expansion,” in Authoritarian Brazil. Peter B. Evans, “The Military, the Multinationals and the „Miracle‟: The Political Economy of the „Brazilian Model‟ Of Development,” Studies in Comparative International Development, 9, 3 (Fall 1974): 26-45. Begin reading Fernando Henrique Cardoso, The Accidental President of Brazil: A Memoir (New York: PublicAffairs, 2006). View: Capital Sins, a production of WGBH Boston and Central Television Enterprises for Channel 4, UK; executive producer, Judith Vecchione ; written, produced, and directed by Rachel Field (1993).

April 9

Building a New Democracy: Problematic Institutions Frances Hagopian, “Democracy by Undemocratic Means? Elites, Political Pacts, and Regime Transition in Brazil,” Comparative Political Studies, 23, 2 (July 1990): 147-66. Scott Mainwaring, “Multipartism, Robust Federalism, and Presidentialism: The Case of Brazil,” in Scott Mainwaring and Matthew Shugart (eds.), Presidentialism and Democracy in Latin America (Cambridge University Press, 1997), pp. 55-109. Continue reading Cardoso, The Accidental President of Brazil.

April 12

The Politics of Race in Brazil Howard Winant, “Rethinking Race in Brazil,” Journal of Latin American Studies, 24, 1 (February 1992), pp. 173-192. View: Brazil in Black and White: Skin Color and Higher Education, a production of Thirteen/WNET New York by Robert Stone productions (2007).

April 14

Cardoso and the Introduction of Neoliberalism in Brazil Finish Cardoso, The Accidental President of Brazil.

April 16

The Landless Workers Movement Wilder Robles, “Beyond the Politics of Protest: The Landless Rural Workers


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Movement of Brazil,” Canadian Journal of Development Studies, 21 (2000), pp. 657691. George Meszaros, “No Ordinary Revolution: Brazil‟s Landless Workers‟ Movement,” Race and Class, 42, 2 (October 2000): 1-18. Wendy Wolford, “Producing Community: The MST and Land Reform Settlements in Brazil,” Journal of Agrarian Change, 3, 4 (October 2003): 500-520. View: Brazil: Cutting the Wire; Witnessing a Land Occupation, Frontline Rough Cut, reported and produced by Adam Raney and Chad Heeter (2005). April 19

Lula: Is a Working Class President Really Different? Wendy Hunter, “Latin America's Lost Illusions: Brazil‟s New Direction,” Journal of Democracy, 14, 2 (April 2003). Wendy Hunter and Timothy J. Power, “Rewarding Lula: Executive Power, Social Policy, and the Brazilian Elections of 2006,” Latin American Politics and Society, 49, 1 (Spring 2007) 1-30. Part VII: Venezuela: The Deterioration of Democracy

April 21

The Pact of Punto Fijo and Venezuelan Democracy Terry Lynn Karl, “Petroleum and Political Pacts: The Transition to Democracy in Venezuela,” Latin American Research Review, 22, 1 (1987), pp. 63-94. David J. Myers, “The Normalization of the Punto Fijo Democracy,” in The Unraveling of Representative Democracy in Venezuela , ed. Jennifer L. McCoy and David J. Myers, (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004), pp. 11-29. Read also McCoy and Myers‟s introduction, pp. 1-8.

April 23 (This class will be rescheduled)

Domestic Actors in Venezuelan Politics

April 26

The Unraveling of Representative Democracy and the Rise of Chávez

McCoy and Myers (eds.), The Unraveling of Representative Democracy in Venezuela, chs. by Damarys Canache, Harold A. Trinkunas, Nelson Ortiz, Luis Salamanca, and Richard S. Hillman, pp. 33-129.

Ronald D. Sylvia and Constantine P. Danopoulos, “The Chávez Phenomenon: Political Change in Venezuela,” Third World Quarterly, 24, 1 (February 2003), pp. 63-76. McCoy and Myers (eds.), The Unraveling of Representative Democracy in Venezuela, chs.


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by Carlos A. Romero and José E. Molina, pp. 130-78. April 28

Explaining Chávez‟s Success View: May I Speak? Portrait of a Movement, a documentary film by Mo Masterson, Magee McIlvaine, and Christopher Moore; written and produced by Christopher Moore (Sol Productions, 2007). McCoy and Myers (eds.), The Unraveling of Representative Democracy in Venezuela, chs. by Rafael de la Cruz, Janet Kelly and Pedro A. Palma, and José Antonio Gil Yepes, pp. 181-260. Part VIII: Where Has Democracy Taken Latin America?

April 30

Shift to the Left? The 2006 Elections and Beyond Smith, Democracy in Latin America, Ch. 7, pp. 183-209. Jorge G. Castaneda, “Latin America‟s Left Turn,” Foreign Affairs, 85, 3 (May/June 2006). Hector E. Schamis, “Populism, Socialism, and Democratic Institutions,” Journal of Democracy, 17, 4 (October 2006), pp. 20-34.

May 3

Neoliberal Development, Inequality, and Democracy Kelly Hoffman and Miguel Angel Centeno, “The Lopsided Continent: Inequality in Latin America,” Annual Review of Sociology, 29 (2003), pp. 363-390. Smith, Democracy in Latin America, Ch. 8-9, pp. 213-62.

May 5

Liberal or Illiberal Democracies in Latin America? Guillermo O‟Donnell, “Delegative Democracy,” Journal of Democracy, 5, 1 (January 1994), pp. 55-69. Jennifer L. McCoy, “From Representative to Participatory Democracy? Regime Transformation in Venezuela,” ,” in The Unraveling of Representative Democracy in Venezuela , ed. McCoy and Myers, pp. 263-95. Smith, Democracy in Latin America, Ch. 10, pp. 263-84.

May 7

Citizen Views of their New Democracies: Democratic Resilience? Smith, Democracy in Latin America, Chs. 11-12, pp. 285-345.