The Soul of Latin America: The Cultural and Political Tradition - Softcover

Howard J. Wiarda is Leonard Horwitz Professor of Iberian and Latin American Studies, professor of political science, and professor of comparative labor relations at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is also senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., and senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Wiarda's scope, to say the least, is wide: he covers a broad range of Iberian and Latin American history in a rather compact text, swiftly and with a surprising and impressive amount of detail. It is a puzzle and a paradox, then, that he can at once provide many specifics concerning, say, Jos‚ Enrique Rodą, the early 20th century Uruguayan writer, while at the same time insisting on treating Latin America "as a whole, as a civilization, as a culture area," often returning to the idea that his efforts are "aimed at presenting the big picture." Something about Wiarda's tone becomes quickly irksome. His explanations are at times too generalized to swallow whole. His theory, simply put, is that the Latin American political structure grew out of the Spanish and Portuguese structures that were based primarily on feudal, top-down philosophies of government. Latin America has continued this tradition, he says, as well as the El Cid/Don Quixote tradition of the caudillo the military leader riding his great white charger, saber raised high which is how Wiarda describes Fidel Castro. What stands out in Wiarda's text, however, is his analysis of the revolutions, why they succeeded, and why they more often failed, and his descriptions of the four major "ism"s present in 19th- and 20th-century Latin America positivism, nationalism, Marxism, corporatism. Clearly, Wiarda, a professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, hopes to clarify the Latin American political situation, making it easier for North Americans to understand. With his strengths in political, rather than historical, analysis, he provides an insightful beginning text for anyone interested in Latin America or any of its very different countries.

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