Political Science 221, Latin American Politics Winter Term 2005

Session 4: Transitioning To and Deepening Democracy: Argentina, Brazil, and Chile

I. Why did democracies collapse into authoritarianism in Brazil and the Southern Cone during the 1960's and 1970's?

A. Overview: Types of Democracy and Authoritarianism (definitions) (democracy types) (authoritarian types)

B. Culturalist Theories

C. Economic Theories

1) The Rise of Bureaucratic-Authoritarianism (graphic) (graphic)

2) Critiques of the Theory

D. Institutionalist Theories

1) Why the Military Becomes Involved in Politics (graphic)

2) What the Military Wants From Politics

II. How was authoritarianism organized in these countries?

A. The Structure of Military Authoritarianism

1) The Despotic Apparatus

a) The Importance of Intelligence

b) The Role of Physical Repression

2) The Infrastructural Apparatus

3) The Executive Command Structure

4) The Cooptation Structure

III. How were transitions from authoritarianism to democracy possible in the 1980's?

A. Types and Causes of Regime Transitions from Authoritarianism to Democracy

1) Definitions: Transition/Democratization, Liberalization/Consolidation (graphic)

2) Types of Transition: From Above and From Below; Gradual and Sudden (graphic)

B. The Key Issues During Transition

1) Redefining The Role of the Military (graphic)

2) Handling The Issue of Justice (Pinochet's supporters)

3) The Economy (graphic)

IV. How can Brazil and the Southern Cone cope with the legacy left by authoritarianism?

A. What Is A Culture of Fear?

B. Viewing of "Missing"

Key Concepts: LECTURES: "democracy with adjectives"; oligarchical democracy; populist democracy; incomplete democracy; established democracy; personalist dictatorships; military dictatorships; bureaucratic authoritarianism; "constellation"; exhaustion of easy ISI; demands-performance gap; mass praetorianism; "coup coalition"; perception of threat; technocrats; military-as-institution v. military-as-government; the "new professionalism"; military prerogatives; civilian ministerial control; hard-liners v. soft-liners; legitimacy; regime transition; liberalization v. democratization; the "paradox of success"; the "resurrection of civil society"; transition from below v. transitions pacted from above; transitions through transaction (transitions through pacts); transitions after collapse; "return to the barracks"; "organizational mission" of the military; military contestation; the threat of retribution (revanchismo - Sp.); consolidation of democracy.

BRAZIL: poder moderador (Port.); the politics of "coffee and milk" (café com leite, Port.); The New State (Estado Novo); institutional acts; ARENA v. MDB; the "New Republic"; the Cruzado Plan; the Workers' Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores - PT); Real Plan.

ARGENTINA: the pampas; the Argentine "golden age"; Generation of 1880; the Radicals; the Sáenz Peña law; Group of Unified Officers (Grupo de Oficiales Unidos); General Confederation of Work (Confederación General de Trabajo); the Justicialista Party (Peronists); the "Cordobazo" (1969); the "dirty war"; the disappeared (desaparecidos, Sp.); the War of the Malvinas (Falklands); the Austral Plan; the Cavallo Plan (Convertibility Plan); the "painted faces" (carapintadas, Sp.); FREPASO.

CHILE: the copper sector; the War of the Pacific (1879-1883); the "bourgeois aristocracy" (la fronda aristocrática, Sp.); the residence law (ley de residencia, Sp.); the Patriotic Leagues; CORFO (Corporación de Fomento); the Radicals; the Conservatives; the Christian Democrats (PDC); the Socialist-Communist alliance or Popular Action Front (FRAP); Popular Unity (Unidad Popular); "Revolution in Liberty"; Chileanization; Anaconda and Kennecott; popular promotion (promoción popular, Sp.); the "peaceful road to socialism" or "transition to socialism"; the "invisible blockade"; Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR); Fatherland and Liberty (Patria y Libertad); the carabineros (paramilitaries); the "Chicago Boys"; Concertación (concertation).

Key Individuals: LECTURES: Guillermo O'Donnell; Alfred Stepan.

BRAZIL: Getúlio Vargas; Carlos Lacerda; Juscelino Kubitschek; João Goulart ("Jango"); General Ernest Geisel; José Sarney; Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva; Fernando Collor de Mello; Itamar Franco; Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

ARGENTINA: Juan Manuel de Rosas; Hipólito Yrigoyen; General José F. Uriburu; Juan Perón; Eva Perón; Arturo Frondizi; Isabel "Isabelita" Perón; General Juan Carlos Onganía; Dr. Héctor Cámpora; General Jorge Rafael Videla; José Martínez de Hoz; General Leopoldo Galtieri; Raúl Alfonsín; Carlos Saúl Menem; Domingo Cavallo; Fernando de la Rua; Carlos "Chacho" Alvárez.

CHILE: Diego Portales; Arturo Alessandri; Colonel Carlos Ibáñez; Jorge Alessandri; Eduardo Frei (Montalva); Salvador Allende; Agusto Pinochet; Orlando Letelier; Eduardo Frei, Jr. (Ruiz-Tagle); Ricardo Lagos.

Discussion Questions:

(Monday, January 24)

How do democracies break down into authoritarianism in Latin America? Using the Stepan reading, indicate at least two salient conditions that accompany breakdown.

Why did democracy break down in one of the most stable democracies in Latin America, Chile? Was the breakdown inevitable? Did the Pinochet regime prove more successful than the Allende government in dealing with Chile's persisting problems?

(Wednesday, January 26)

What are the historical and structural factors that explain the persistent weakness of Argentine democracy in the 20th century? Be ready to list at least three.

How was the military regime of the Proceso different from the Brazilian and Chilean variants? What were the similarities?

(Friday, January 28)

According to Valenzuela, what are the chief elements of "democratic transition" and "democratic consolidation"? How would we know if any given country were in one phase and not the other?

Assess the causes of transitions to democracy. Compare approaches that focus on elite "pacts" and others that focus on the role of civil society. Which perspective do you find the more convincing?

(Monday, January 31)

The brutality of the early authoritarian period in Chile, as depicted in the movie "Missing," emphasizes what aspects of the authoritarian apparatus? Is there any evidence in the film that the regime has a "national project" for the country?

What are the salient reasons for a successful negotiation between civilians and military officers that "returns the soldiers to the barracks"? Prepare to discuss at least three factors based on the Brazilian case.

What are some of the key weaknesses of the consolidation of democratic institutions in Brazil? What are some of the more general lessons of the Brazilian example for other new democracies in Latin America?

Floating Comprehensive Exam Questions: Answer One (Due Tuesday, February 8)

(A) Compare O'Donnell's "bureaucratic-authoritarian" theory and Stepan's "military institutional" theory for explaining the breakdown of democracy in two of the following three countries (Argentina, Brazil, and Chile). What were the main causes of the breakdown of democracy in your two cases and do these circumstances support one of the theories more than the other?

(B) Scholars of democratization in Latin America tend to argue that transitions are composed through pacts among authoritarian and democratic elites or they argue that transitions are forged “from below” through the mobilization of civil society. Based on a comparison of two of the following three countries (Argentina, Brazil, and Chile) determine which of these propositions is the more persuasive.