Authoritarian Regimes in Latin America

"Taking a student-friendly chronological approach, this accessible text begins with a brief overview of Latin America's Iberian heritage, then describes the general breakdown of order and the rise of the caudillos following independence. Paul H. Lewis shows how the internal dynamics of caudillo politics have produced, in one country after another, either strong personalistic dictatorships or oligarchies that ruthlessly imposed order on their societies. Order made economic growth and urbanization possible, yet created great social injustices that spurred the development of mass politics. The author describes the twentieth-century upheavals that brought the people into the political arena, resulting in a variety of revolutionary and counterrevolutionary regimes that borrow their inspiration from fascism and communism. Balanced yet cautious about the future of democracy in the region, this accessible book will be invaluable for courses on contemporary Latin America."--Jacket.