GOVT 227 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Education In India, Washington Consensus, Comparative Politics
Document Summary
Theories of latin american politics and development synthesis. Our first topic dealt with describing the prominent schools of thought regarding latin american development. The major players in society are determining the development of latin america"s unique political history. It is a diverse continent with a wide range of historical experiences within the individual countries. Competing interests include the traditional countryside elite, who thrived under a status quo that caused the peasantry around them to rely on the latifundistas for money and shelter. The other class in this relationship is masses of peasants who have never had a true political voice. Political parties have co-opted this group for votes, but a common trend of latin american labor unions has been to tie themselves in with populist politicians and end up losing any revolutionary zeal. Of course the military also constitutes a major pillar of society and wields tremendous amounts of political influence.