Please note: At your instructor's discretion,
there may be minor alterations to the reading
assignments listed below. One of the major advantages to
providing you with an on-line readings archive is that
timely articles can be added or substituted when
appropriate. Opening documents downloaded from this
website will require that your computer have
Acrobat Reader . You will also need the
class-specific password to open individual files.
Unit 2: The Slow and Uneven Democratization of Latin
America
Some resources for the rest of the term:
-
Citation instructions for papers
in Setzler courses (on-line handout).
Just familiarize yourself with this so that you are
aware of what will be expected of you in papers. For
example, as you are taking notes on reading or
summarizing readings for future use in papers, you
should note page numbers for ideas since you will be
asked to include page-specific citations in papers
(but not on tests, of course).
Topic 1 (February 18, 20)—Why has democracy continued
to struggle to take root in Latin America? Populism and
the political incorporation of historically marginalized
groups
-
Remember that the paper for Unit 1 is
going to due a week after our exam, at the
start of class. The topic and
instructions are in the PPT file.
-
Tuesday in class:
We will watch most or all of Our Brand is Crisis
(Koch Lorber Films, 2006). We will watch this
documentary (not the terrible, feature-length film) in
class. Trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V3mE5beWuQ
-
After class, partially read Vanden and Provost, Chp.
4, "The Other Americans." Review the sections relevant
to African-descendant Latin Americans (Pp. 90-98,
starting with "The Role of Sugar and Slavery" through
the section "Contemporary Afro-Descendant Movements").
pay close attention to the section, "Concept of Race."
You are welcome to read the sections on indigenous
history and group politics, too, but the Van Cott
article covers similar concepts in much less detail,
and is better suited for the purposes of this class.
.
-
Raul Madrid, "The Rise of
Enthopopulism in Latin America (World Politics,
2008, 32pp). Read this article quickly, just focussing
on the big ideas, including the difference between
ethnic, populist, and "ethnopolitical" parties. What
kind of Latin Americans support the last of these
types of parties, and why have they been more
successful than the other two types of parties in
Latin American countries with a large share of
indigenous voters.
Peru:
No class on February 25 and 27 : Enjoy spring
break
Topic 2 (March 4)—How democratic is Latin
America? And how do we measure this?
-
Quickly read chapter 8 in your textbook. Do not get
overly caught up in the details; we have already
discussed in detail Latin America's anti-democratic
founding, the problem's with the region's first
attempt to construct US-style democratic institutions,
and elite (and sometimes mass) support for military
intervention into politics. As you read this chapter,
focus on the information you would need to answer a
test question that asked you: How has Latin America's
political culture--specifically,
mass and elite values, beliefs, and practices
regarding democracy--impeded the consolidation of
stable democracy in the region?
-
Kurt Weyland, "Why Latin America Is
Becoming Less Democratic" (Atlantic 2013, 13pp).
As you read this article, pay close attention to what
populism is, what it looks like in practice, and why
it is a real threat to democracy once deeply
entrenched by either populist leaders or a party they
have captured. Pay close attention to why Weyland sees
leftist populists as ultimately more of a problem than
right-wing populists (i.e., how/why do the former
typically come to power, who is their base, and what
economic policies do they pursue that
strengthen/undermine their hold on society over time).
His analysis may explain why left-leaning bouts of
authoritarian populism have tended to last longer than
right-leaning variants as the region as a whole
democratized.
Scott Mainwaring, Aníbal Pérez-Liñán,
"Why Latin America's Democracies Are Stuck" (Journal
of Democracy 2023, 15pp)
Topic 3 (March 6)—How do Latin America's
democracies vary?
-
Read chapter 9 in your textbook. You can skip the
section on "Political Actors" except for the
subsection on "political parties," which you should
read. Pay particular attention to chart sections on
Brazil and Mexico, because we will be examining their
political systems and challenges with democracy
closely.
Topic 4 (March 11, 13): An overview of
Mexico's history of authoritarianism and one-party rule
-
Tuesday's class will be spent finishing up the
material on variations in Latin American democracies.
Bring your computer. Among other data, we will be
looking at Freedom House rankings. You don't need to
read this closely, but I want you to have it handy
online as a reference so that you know how Freedom
House classifies countries as Free, Partially Free,
and Unfree:
https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/2023-03/FITW_2023%20MethodologyPDF.pdf
-
Please come to Thursday's class ready to
submit a document that is 1-2 pages long
(single-spaced), summarizing characteristics of
democracy in Mexico and Brazil. There is no
need to compare the two countries (i.e., you can write
a paragraph or two on Mexico and then do the same on
Brazil. Your analysis should draw information from:
(1) the Political Database of the Americas (see the
"how Latin America's democracy's vary" topic above),
(2) tables from readings (or class PPTS), (3) Freedom
House Rankings, and (4) your analyses of
LatinoBarometer data. This assignment will be quickly
graded and receive one of three quiz grades (A=best
effort; C=the absolute bare minimum; F: not
submitted).
-
Here's a 20 minute video summary of Mexican political
history: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIaL3BD9r6c.
It stops at 2020, two years into AMLO's presidency.
This is worth your time because it will reinforce the
political history sections of the textbook chapter. It
is also going to be your main overview of Mexican
political history up to the Mexico's
soft-authoritarian period under the PRI as my coverage
in class will focus on that period and later.
-
Read carefully this selectively edited version of an
alternative textbook chapter. If you have
watched the video noted above, you should be able to
skim the section on Mexican history, keeping mind that
it's hard to understand the way the country's
political institutions work or its contemporary
political science without having some understanding of
the country's political history (the same is true of
the US political system).
-
After having completed the assignments for this week
and last, make sure that you have a grasp of the basic
structure of Mexico's political system, which is
summarized in the assigned textbook chapter as well as
in one of the assignments from Georgetown's "Political
Database of the Americas" (see link above). Vanden and
Provost, Chp. 9. also provides a quick overview of the
political and electoral structures of all the
countries we will be covering closely for the rest of
the course.
-
This reading is optional. Vanden and Provost,
Chp. 12. "Mexico." It is way overly detailed for our
purposes but could help you to better understand some
of the historical events introduced in the other
chapter if you are not already familiar with the major
events in Mexican political history from the 1980s
forward. If you choose to read the chapter, skim the first
part quickly, absorbing enough of the historical and
contextual details so that you can can understand the
material on Lazaro Cardenas (p. 328) and the section
"Mexico's Political Economy," which you should read
closely. When you reach the section, "Interest Groups,
NGOs, and Dissidents," again start to read quickly for
context, but carefully review the section on "Drug
Cartels."
Topic 5 (March 18, 20): —Will Mexico’s young
democracy be able to endure in the face of challenges
from narcotraffickers, corruption, and angry populists?
Note: This looks like a lot of reading because you are
seeing so many perspectives. In all, you are being asked
to read about as much as you would cover if you read a
textbook chapter
-
Viri Ríos, "The Real Reasons for
AMLO’s Popularity" (Americas Quarterly, Dec.
2023, 3pp)
-
Allison Meakem, "AMLO’s Legacy Is on
the Ballot in Mexico" (Foreign Policy, 2024,
3pp)
-
BBC, "Mexico protests: Huge crowds
rally against electoral reform" (2023, 2pp)
-
Mariano Sánchez-Talanquer and
Kenneth F. Greene, "Is Mexico Falling into the
Authoritarian Trap?" (Journal of Democracy 2021,
14pp) This article explains why Mexico's democracy is
likely to withstand the populist inclinations of AMLO
that might be more threatening in other Latin American
settings. The article does not compare AMLO to
President Trump, but there are some similarities
between these two leaders emphasis on loyalty in
previously non-politicized parts government; attacks
on political opponents, the media, and other
institutions. There also are key similarities in the
two countries' institutional barriers to strongman
rule; for reasons explained in the 2013 article you read by Kurt
Weyland a few weeks ago, there are other reasons
why the comparison between left- and right-wing
populists is problematic. If you want to take
a look at a critical review of the background of AMLO
from way back when he first ran for president the
first time, see: Enrique Krauze, "Tropical Messiah"
(The New Republic, 2006, 6pp)
-
Andreas Schedler, "The Criminal
Subversion of Mexican Democracy" (Journal of
Democracy, 2014, 14pp). Read this as a primer on the
relationship between organized crime and
politics--particularly why politicians are now
frequently murdered by organized criminals. The
article also provides important context on the rise of
Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO). If this is a topic
in which you have a lot of interest, you can see an
updated version of the article's main argument here; I assigned the 2014
article because it is shorter and easier to digest.
-
Optional: Denise Dresser, "Mexico's Dying
Democracy: AMLO and the Toll of Authoritarian
Populism (Foreign Affairs 2022, 10pp). If read,
this article will give you a sense of what AMLO's
strongest academic and political critics think of him.
The article by Sánchez-Talanquer and Greene (below) is
more even handed, but this one gives more specifics on
AMLO's policies and changes in how the military is
being used (still ineffectively) to combat drug
trafficking). The articles above are an important
counter0-argument about how and why AMLO (and now
Sheinbaum) have held onto power.
-
Optional: And here is another more recent and
more rigorous (involving better data and statistical
testing) exploration of why narcotraffickers are so
involved in Mexican politics. You would only want to
take a look at this article if you are deeply
interested in the topic or if you come back to these
readings at some point in another class looking for a
research paper topic.
-
I would like to show this 30 min documentary in
class, but I suspect we won't have enough time to stay
on track for the upcoming exam. If we don't watch it
in class, It is optional (but interesting): Inside Mexico's Most Powerful Drug
Cartel (30 min).
Topic 6 (March 25): An overview of
Brazilian political history and its political system
-
Read carefully most of this selectively edited version of an
alternative textbook chapter. For the sections
on Brazilian history, just skim up to the section on
Getulio Vargas; read carefully from there forward. You
may want to watch the video on Brazilian political
history first--it all depends on whether you are the
kind of person who gets more out of reading or
watching a video.
-
Here's a 20 minute video summary of Brazilian
political history: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YyBcCNM3BM.
It stops at 2020, during Bolsonaro's presidency. As
with Mexico, you will not be expected to have a firm
grasp of Brazilian political history except as its
most recent period of authoritarianism shapes
contemporary politics.
-
Consider this film a substitute for much of a
political history lecture in class. You are welcome
to skip the first 8 minutes, which outlines Brazil's
distinctive colonial period (Portuguese settlement
-> African-slave-based economy (sugar) ->
peaceful separation from Portugal and ending of
slavery in 1888 (the last country in the hemisphere
to do so).
- Start paying close attention at 10m:40sec, which is
where the video lecture starts to talk about Getulio
Vargas, who is the Brazilian version of Mexico's
Lazaro Cardenas, Argentina's Juan Peron, or America's
FDR. We'll cover the 1964-1985 military regime in
detail in class (with a documentary), so focus on what
happened after the military regime stepped down.
-
On Tuesday, much of our in-class time will be spent
watching Capital Sins, a documentary on Brazil
during military rule and at the start of its
democratic transition.
-
Vanden and Provost, Chp. 12. "Brazil." This
reading is optional. This chapter provides more
in-depth detail on Brazilian political history than
you need. However, skimming sections 394-404 and
407-411 could be helpful if you're unfamiliar with the
country's key historical events. While a deep
understanding of the study countries' history isn't
required, this review will provide some context for
their current political systems and challenges. What
it won't provide is much information that you won't
have read in a more straightforward assignment above.
Topic 7 (March 27) Why is Brazil's democracy still
struggling so much?
-
Wendy Hunter and Timothy J. Power,
"Bolsonaro and Brazil's Illiberal Backlash" (Journal
of Democracy, 2019, 15pp). What factors produced
Brazil's swing toward "illiberalism" after nearly two
decades of democratic and economic stability? Use this
article to think about how the challenges to Brazil's
democracy differ from the issues we saw for Mexico.
-
Mark Setzler, "Did Brazilians Vote
for Jair Bolsonaro Because They Share his Most
Controversial Views?" (Brazilian Political
Science Review, 2019). Read this quickly, just
focusing on the main argument and evidence about what
kind of voters most supported Bolsonaro. Taken
together, this article and the last one indicate that
Brazilians largely supported a right-wing populist
because they were angry with the status quo rather
particularly supportive of Bosonaro's illiberal views
on many things.
-
James N. Green, "Brazilian Democracy
in the Balance" (NACLA 2022, 5pp). As in the US,
Brazil's right-wing populist fostered widespread
distrust with Brazil's electoral process ahead of the
election, urging his followers to see any future loss
as evidence of electoral fraud. In other words, his
argument was that the system works when he wins, but
is corrupt when his opponents do.
-
Oliver Stuenkel, "Lula Is Struggling
to Address Brazil’s Deep Polarization" (Carnegie
Endowment 2023, 3pp)
-
Omar G. Encarnación, "A Tale of Two
Caudillos" (Foreign Affairs, 2025). For reasons
we have talked about in class, you instructor prefers
labeling both of these leaders as right-leaning
populists and doesn't think either one meets the definition of a caudillo.
The reason why this article is assigned is to help you
see how and why the Brazilian political system handed
events similar to what happened in the US so
differently than we did here. If you haven't yet
closely read Kurt Weyland's 2013 article on
left-wing populism in Latin America, this
reading would make a good pairing with that article.
April 1: Watch outtakes from The Edge of
Democracy (2019) in class.
April 3: Exam 2. We will take most of this
test in BlackBoard.
-
Please bring a computer with you for the test.
-
If you have OARS accomodations to address time or
environment constraints, please make sure to request a
room in advance.
-
You will be permitted to refer to notes on a single
notecard (4 x 6 size or paper equivalent) provided
that you prepare you own notecard, put your name on
it, and submit it with your test. You may put anything
you would like on the card. You are not expected to
include quotations on your test or the names of
authors or articles. Grammar and spelling are not
assessed on in-class tests.
|