Contemporary Latin America

Contemporary Latin America presents the epochal political, economic, social, and cultural changes in Latin America over the last 40 years and comprehensively examines their impact on life in the region, and beyond.

• Provides a fresh approach and a new interpretation of the seismic changes of the last 40 years in Latin America
• Introduces major themes from a humanistic and universal perspective, putting each subject in a context that readers can understand and relate to
• Focuses on ‘Ibero-America'--Brazil and the eighteen countries that were formerly Spanish possessions- while offering valuable comparative views of the non-Iberian areas of the Caribbean
• Emphasizes the global, regional and national dimensions of the region's recent past

Series Editor’s Preface viii

Acknowledgments x

Part I Latin America in a World Setting 1

Introduction 3

1 What Is Latin America? 5

2 Beliefs 20

Part II Government 41

Introduction 43

3 The Demise of Social Revolution 48

4 The Armed Forces Bow to Civilian Rule 67

5 The Turning toward Democracy 97

6 Religion, Politics and the State 113

7 Lawless Violence, Impunity and the Democratic Transition 127

Part III Wealth 143

Introduction 145

8 The Challenge of Sustained Growth 148

9 Poor Countries, Rich Countries 161

10 Agonies of Underdevelopment 185

Part IV Culture 207

Introduction 209

11 Education 211

12 Research and Communications 225

13 Literature and the Visual Arts 249

14 Cinema and Sports 263

Part V Communities 275

Introduction 277

15 The Family, Women and Sexuality 281

16 Indigenous Peoples and Their Movements 304

17 Toward a Latin American Community of Nations? 322

Sources Consulted 332

Index 342

"Summing up: Recommended. General readers and undergraduate students." -CHOICE, November 2013

Robert H. Holden teaches Latin American history at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. He is the author of, among others, Armies without Nations: Public Violence and State Formation in Central America, 1821–1960 (2004) and co-editor of Latin America and the United States: A Documentary History (with Eric Zolov, 2010), and has written numerous scholarly articles.

Rina Villars is the author of three books in Spanish on the history and political culture of Central America, and of scholarly articles on Spanish linguistics and women.

Contemporary Latin America presents the epochal changes in the cultures, governments, economies and societies of Latin America at a critical moment in the region’s history. Beginning in 1970, a decade before the tumultuous changes of the 1980s, Holden and Villars analyze the decline of the old era in order to fully highlight the significance of later developments.

The authors identify the central tendency of these changes as liberalization or openness, and present them in the context of the Latin American nations’ rich history both as overseas kingdoms of the Spanish and Portuguese monarchies, and as self-emancipated republics. They emphasize the global, national and local dimensions of the region’s recent past, while highlighting the persistence of deep-seated historical legacies that have continued to shape contemporary Latin America.

Each chapter is divided into sections covering relevant pre-1970s trends, post-1970s trends and the particular experiences of individual countries. The book focuses on “Ibero-America” – Brazil and the eighteen countries that were formerly Spanish possessions – while offering valuable comparative views of the non-Iberian areas of the Caribbean.

‘It is not easy to write a contemporary history of a region as large and complicated as Latin America. Yet this clearly written book succeeds admirably in its aims, providing the reader with an excellent understanding of politics, economics, and society. … This is a welcome addition to the literature of a region whose recent changes have not yet been fully understood.’—Professor Victor Bulmer-Thomas, former Director of the Institute of Latin American Studies, London University, and of Chatham House

‘Rigorous but never pedantic, compactly comprehensive but never over-simplified, Holden and Villars have given us a fresh, lively introduction to a region that many non-Hispanics approach with a set of inaccurate preconceptions. Highly recommended.’—Lars Schoultz, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

‘This book offers an interesting new perspective on contemporary Latin American history, focusing on the 1970s as a decisive returning point. The book is scholarly and well researched and will add an extra dimension to our understanding of the region.’—George Philip, London School of Economics and Political Science