Latin American Reviews
by COL James J. Dunphy
Two recent books on Latin America provide some useful information about
both history and culture. While each has its faults, they serve a useful purpose for
Latin American Specialists.
The first is John Charles Chasteen's Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise
History of Latin America. Emphasis is placed on concise, as he moved from
pre Colombian times to post Cold War times in a mere 321 pages. His thesis is
that while development was different throughout Latin America (a term which he
notes ironically was derived from the French and their attempt to catch British
trade supremacy) there were specific themes throughout periods of history. An
interesting timeline at the beginning of the book shows the differing ways
development took place during these periods in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.
He demonstrates how cultural development differed in Latin America than in
the United States. In the latter, differing cultures were melded through a melting
pot into the dominant culture. However, in Latin America, Chasteen argues that
the dominant Spanish culture was changed by the native Indian culture instead of
the other way around. He notes the importance of Nationalism in the wars of
Liberation in the early 19th Century, but demonstrates how the unity
of creole and mestizo designed to drive out the Peninsulares did not last long past
independence.
Throughout Latin American history, the influence of foreign powers, initially
Spain, then after independence England, and finally and currently, the United
States, is stressed. In each case, however, Chasteen argues that the foreign model
was changed by the interplay of nativist influences. He also notes the shift in
governing philosophies, from initially at least stated liberalism, to conservatism, to
scientific management, through populism, to the current model based on
nationalism and democracy. Even within this model, development did not occur at
a similar rate. Moreover, given the paternalist style of leadership, often leadership
style was more determined by who was the leader at a particular time and not what
the winds sweeping Latin America were.
When he enters the 20th century, particularly in the Cold War
era, he reaches conclusions that very well may be at odds with many of the readers
of this journal. Chasteen places much of the ills of modern Latin America at the
feet of "National Security Doctrine" -- a catchall which covers every form of
repression. He specifically argues that US involvement in Latin America did not
lead to democracy, "but helped trigger dictatorship." Even when attempting to be
even handed, he shows a predilection for leftist regimes. Speaking of Cuba, he
notes "It remained authoritarian, and the Army constituted one of its chief
pillars. But the revolutionary state worked steadily to improve the lives of Cuba's
poor majority, and it never committed the wholesale mayhem so characteristic of
anticommunist military governments." He even continues to (although couching it
in the terms of "Many in Latin America believed ") profess that the School of the
Americas taught torture techniques.
This slanted approach to recent history mars an otherwise worthwhile review
of Latin American history. While, in a volume this thin, in depth analysis is
impossible, the work nevertheless remains thought provoking, and serves as a
good introduction to Latin American history. Therefore, it can be recommended,
with reservations.
A second new volume Conquistadors,by Michael Wood, is an
interesting combination of travelogue and history. A companion to a BBC series,
the concept is for Wood to travel in the footsteps of Cortes, Pizarro and the other
conquerors of the New World, telling their story that way.
This is a lavishly illustrated volume, and I was quite impressed by the work
Wood put into mapping and then following the routes taken not only of Cortes and
Pizzaro, but of Francisco Orellena up the Amazon River and Cabeza de Vaca
through the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico. The story he tells
of the conquistadors is, as can be assumed, bloody in the telling. What makes this
volume useful for FAO, however, is his analysis of the effects, 400 years and more
later, of these actions on current day Latin America.
This book is not an academic work by any means. However, the illustrations
and the well written comments on current Latin American society and the effect of
the conquistadors on that society make it a useful book for a FAO's coffee table.
2001, Foreign Area Officer
Association
Springfield, Virginia
Maintained by LTC Steve
Gotowicki.
http://www.faoa.org