LATIN AMERICA

STUDIES OF THE AMERICAS Edited by James Dunkerley Institute for the Study of the Americas University of London School of Advanced Study

Titles in this series published by Palgrave Macmillan: Cuba’s Military 1990–2005: Revolutionary Soldiers during Counter-Revolutionary Times By Hal Klepak The Judicialization of Politics in Latin America Edited by Rachel Sieder, Alan Angell, and Line Schjolden Latin America: A New Interpretation By Laurence Whitehead

Latin America: A New Interpretation

Laurence Whitehead

LATIN AMERICA

© Laurence Whitehead, 2006. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2006 978-1-4039-7131-9 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published in 2006 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™ 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-0-230-61996-8 DOI 10.1057/9781403977229

ISBN 978-1-4039-7722-9 (eBook)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: January 2006 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Contents

Acknowledgments

vii

Acronyms

ix

Introduction: Latin America in Comparative Perspective 1 I. Introduction 1 II. Latin America Compared to Other Large World Regions 3 III. Latin America and Europe 7 IV. Configurative Characteristics 10 V. Themes and Organization 18 Chapter 1 Latin America as a “Mausoleum of Modernities” I. Introduction II. Latin America’s Distinctive Relation to “Modernity” III. Successive Waves of “Modernity” in Latin America IV. The Littered Landscape V. How Durable A Break with the Past? VI. Conclusion: Reflections on Multiple Modernities

23 23 27 34 43 53 64

Chapter 2 Latin American State Organization I. Introduction II. Territorial Control III. Administration IV. “Cognitive” Capacity V. Command Over Resources VI. Postscript on Citizenship VII. Conclusion

69 69 83 91 96 103 113 114

Chapter 3 The Politics of Expertise I. Introduction II. Antecedents III. Actualities IV. Conclusion

119 119 123 126 133

vi

CONTENTS

Chapter 4 Economics in Mexico: The Power of Ideas and Ideas of Power I. Introduction II. Origins of the Profession III. The Rise of the Economic Technocrats IV. Comparisons V. The Profession VI. The “NeoLiberal” Ascendancy VII. External Derivations VIII. The Authoritarian Style IX. Performance X. Conclusion: The Prospects Chapter 5 Privatization and the Public Interest: Partial Theories, Lopsided Outcomes I. Introduction II. “Privatization” and “The Public Interest” III. Alternative Styles of Privatization: Timing and Sequencing IV. The Contemporary Scene: Momentum and Resistance V. Lopsided Theories VI. Conclusion: Partial Outcomes

137 137 138 140 144 146 149 153 155 158 160 163 163 166 174 179 182 192

Chapter 6 Democracy, Inequality, and Insecurity: A Paradoxical Configuration I. Introduction II. Inequality and Social Injustice III. Democracy and Insecurity IV. Conclusions

195 195 197 208 216

Conclusion: On Characterizing Latin America

221

Notes

237

Bibliography

269

Index

283

Acknowledgments

T

his book of essays would never have seen the light of day but for the steady encouragement and warm support of James Dunkerley, who persisted when most others would have lost patience. I am also indebted to the London Institute of Latin American Studies in another sense. As coeditor of the Journal of Latin American Studies between 1988 and 2000, I worked regularly with the Institute’s team (especially with James’s predecessor, Victor Bulmer-Thomas), who made me feel that ILAS was a home from home. Several of the longer (and better footnoted) essays were inspired by my experience of editing a Journal that is, after all, dedicated to “characterizing Latin America.” Attentive readers may note the heavy reliance of these chapters on the many carefully documented and precisely focused Journal articles to support my own more sweeping and speculative interpretations. These essays were written during the 1990s, with various disparate audiences in mind. It was the challenge posed by S. N. Eisenstadt, at a very stimulating workshop in Martin Luther’s old stamping ground of Erfurt, that provoked me into writing the first version of the “Mausoleum” paper (Chapter 1 here), and that guided my efforts to redraft all the pieces so that they more explicitly focus on what was always my underlying preoccupation: how to characterize this large region, and to differentiate it from all others. The central tenets of his argument are therefore given due attention in the conclusion. Another critical debt is to Alexandra Barahona de Brito, who deployed her own very considerable expertise (both editorial and substantive) to help turn a relatively disjointed collection of essays into a more integrated volume. (Certain passages owe so much to her advice that her name ought to appear as their author, but since they also express my own views she advised me to claim them.) Guillermo O’Donnell also played a catalytic role, always prompting me to aim a little higher.

viii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

As always, my college provided me with the ideal environment for study and writing, and allowed me to indulge in a type of work, which is quite tangential to its dominant antispeculative ethos. It also provided me with the administrative and secretarial support of Sarah McGuigan, without whom I would be lost. The love and support of my family was, as always, indispensable. They tolerated my bouts of distractedness, and in return I coaxed the spiders out of the house. At short notice my sister, Miriam Wood, came to the rescue over the index. None of the above has any responsibility for the oddities and flights of fancy here. They are all my own. LAURENCE WHITEHEAD Nuffield College, Oxford, April 1, 2005

Acronyms

APRA ARENA BONOSOL CANTV

CARICOM CBF CFE CIEPLAN

CNG CODELCO COMIBOL CORFO CPPD CTC CVF CVRD DASP

Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Peruana (Popular Peruvian Revolutionary Alliance) Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (Nationalist Republican Alliance)—El Salvador Bono Solidario (Solidarity Bonus)—Bolivia Compañía Anónima Nacional Teléfonos de Venezuela (National Telephone Company of Venezuela) Caribbean Common Market Corporación Boliviana de Fomento (Bolivian Development Corporation) Comisión Federal de Electricidad (Federal Electricity Commission)—Mexico Corporación de Investigación Económica para América Latina (Research Corporation for Latin America)—Chile Conselho Nacional de Geografia (National Council of Geography)—Brazil Corporación del Cobre—Chile (Copper Corporation)—Chile Corporación Minera de Bolívia (Bolivian Mining Corporation) Corporación de Fomento de Chile (Chilean Development Corporation) Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia (Concertation of Parties for Democracy)—Chile Telefónica de Chile (Chilean Telephone Company) Corporación Venezolana de Fomento (Venezuelan Development Corporation) Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (Vale do Rio Doce Company)—Brazil Departamento Administrativo do Serviço Público (Administrative Department of the Civil Service)— Brazil

x

DDR ECLAC

EDC EDESUR ENARSA ENDESA ENE ENTEL EU FMLN

FOBAPROA FUSADES

GATT GDP HDI IBGE ICE IDB IDEA IIK ILO IMF INS

ACRONYMS

Deutsche Demokratische Republik (German Democratic Republic) Economic Commission for Latin America (also cited as CEPAL—Comisión Económica para América Latina) Electricidad de Caracas—Venezuela Empresa Distribuidora Sur Sociedad Anónima (South Distribution Company)—Chile Energía Argentina SA (Argentine Energy Company) Empresa Nacional de Electricidad (National Electricity Company)—Chile Escuela Nacional de Economía (National Economics School)—Mexico Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (National Telecommunications Company)—Argentina European Union Frente Farabundo Marti de Liberación Nacional (Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front— now Partido de Liberación Nacional (National Liberation Party, PLN)—El Salvador Fondo Bancario de Protección al Ahorro (Bank Fund for Savings Protection)—Mexico Fundación Salvadoreña Para el Desarrollo Económico y Social (Salvadorean Foundation for Economic and Social Development) General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs Gross Domestic Product Human Development Index (of the UNDP) Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (Costa Rican Electricity Institute) Inter-American Development Bank (also cited as BID—Banco Interamericano para el Desarrollo) Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance— Sweden Institut für Iberoamerica-Kunde (Institute for Ibero-American Studies)—Hamburg, Germany International Labour Organisation International Monetary Fund Immigration and Naturalisation Service (now Immigration and Customs Enforcement)—USA

ACRONYMS

ITAM IUDOP

KMT MERCOSUR

MIT NAFTA OAS OECD OXFAM PAN PDC PDVSA PEMEX PETROBRÁS PNC PRD PRI PRTC PT SINPAS

SPP TELESP TELMEX UCA UCV

xi

Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico) Instituto Universitario de Opinión Pública (University Institute of Public Opinion)— El Salvador Kuomintang (Taiwan) Mercado Común del Sur (Southern Common Market)—Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay Massachusetts Institute of Technology—USA North American Free Trade Agreement Organization of American States Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Oxford Committee for Famine Relief Partido Autonomista Nacional (National Autonomist Party)—Mexico Partido Demócrata Cristiano (Christian Democratic Party)—Chile Petroleos de Venezuela (Venezuelan Petroleum) Petroleos Mexicanos (Mexican Petroleum) Petróleo Brasileiro SA (Brazilian Petroleum) Policia Nacional Civil (National Civil Police)— El Salvador Partido Revolucionario Democrático (Democratic Revolutionary Party)—Mexico Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolutionary Party)—Mexico Puerto Rico Telephone Company Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers Party)—Brazil Sistema Nacional de Previdencia y Asistencia Social (National System of Welfare and Social Assistance)—Mexico Secretaría de Progamación y Presupuesto (Secretariat for Planning and Budget)—Mexico Telecomunicações de São Paulo (São Paulo Telecommunications) Teléfonos de México (Mexican Telephone Company) Universidad Centroamericana (Central American University)—El Salvador Universidad Central de Venezuela (Central University of Venezuela)

xii

UN UNAM UNDP USAID USIP WB WOLA YPF YPFB

ACRONYMS

United Nations Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (National Autonomous University of Mexico) United Nations Development Programme United States Agency for International Development United States Institute of Peace World Bank Washington Office in Latin America Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (Fiscal Petroleum Deposits)—Argentina Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (Bolivian Fiscal Petroleum Deposits)