Dictatorships in Twenty-First-Century Latin America - by Osvaldo Hurtado (Paperback)
About this item
Highlights
- This book explores the most important Latin American political phenomenon to emerge in the twenty-first century: democratic governments have become autocratic governments not by military coups but by politicians' manipulation of the system after a fair election.
- About the Author: Osvaldo Hurtado is an Ecuadorian author and politician who served as president of Ecuador from 1981 to 1984.
- 308 Pages
- History, Latin America
Description
About the Book
This book explores the most important Latin American political phenomenon to emerge in the twenty-first century: democratic governments have become autocratic governments not by military coups but by politicians' manipulation of the system after a fair election. Through five c...Book Synopsis
This book explores the most important Latin American political phenomenon to emerge in the twenty-first century: democratic governments have become autocratic governments not by military coups but by politicians' manipulation of the system after a fair election. Through five countries, the book examines this new generation of Latin American dictators.
Review Quotes
As a politician, former president of Ecuador, and an active and lucid observer of the ways in which democracy is being undermined, Osvaldo Hurtado has acquired a unique and invaluable perspective on the onslaught against democracy. In these pages, President Hurtado offers a well-documented and alarming synthesis of the state of democracy in Latin America. A must-read.
Form and function, style and content merge in elegant harmony in this English rendering of Osvaldo Hurtado's seminal work. The subject matter is profoundly serious, and the reader can expect to be dazzled by the sheer brilliance of the analysis, which is matched by a degree of academic objectivity that is remarkable in one who spent fifty years fighting the evils of dictatorship and promoting, defending, and implementing the principles of democracy in his own country and throughout Latin America. This book is a cry of warning and a call to arms. A warning against the disastrous mistakes of the past and a call to all to be vigilant against future threats to the freedoms that only democracy can bring.
It is a luxury to have a whole book on Ecuadorian and Latin American politics by one of the most respected authors in the field of language. Former President Hurtado possesses the intelligence, the language, and the academic instruments to achieve what he sets out to do.
This study of Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Venezuela illuminates how democratic breakdowns and autocratic impositions occurred in these nations. Osvaldo Hurtado, a former president of Ecuador, was among the first to understand and oppose these populist regimes and to identify their shared tendencies and techniques. He shows how democratic governance decayed and why that matters for its future.
About the Author
Osvaldo Hurtado is an Ecuadorian author and politician who served as president of Ecuador from 1981 to 1984.
