21st-Century Dictatorships

by Osvaldo Hurtado

Latin America has been perceived as a region prone to dictatorships. Arguably, though, this is a rather dated perception, as the vast majority of Latin American countries nowadays enjoy political systems that embrace democratic institutions.
There is, however, a small group of countries, the so-called “21st-century socialist” countries, where democratic institutions continue to have nominal existence while the rights and freedoms of their citizens are restricted. In his new book, Osvaldo Hurtado shines a bright light on the differences between 21st-century dictatorships and the familiar military despotisms of the past.
Hurtado correctly points out that under these new dictatorships attacks against democracy and its institutions are perpetrated by democratically elected presidents who shield themselves behind their popular origins to justify their disregard for the rule of law.
21st-century dictatorships manipulate democratic institutions so as to bring about autocratic governments that do not fit the principles set forth in the Inter-American Democratic Charter unanimously signed by all countries of the Americas.
The author succeeds admirably in analyzing these new-fangled dictatorships currently in power in Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela. He does so by drawing on his dual and considerable experience as a former president and an academic.
Given the authoritarian challenge facing Latin American democracies, the Inter-American Institute for Democracy has deemed it absolutely necessary to make 21st -Century Dictatorships: The Ecuadorian Case available to the English-speaking world.

180 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2011

About the author

Ecuadorian author and politician who served as President of Ecuador from May 24, 1981 to August 10, 1984.

During his studies at the Catholic University in the 1960s, Hurtado became a student leader. Afterwards, he lectured political sociology at his alma mater and at the Centro Andino of the University of New Mexico. He became one of the most widely read political scientists of his home country. In 1977, he authored an influential book on Ecuadorian politics titled El Poder Político en el Ecuador (English: "Political Power in Ecuador").

Hurtado drew progressive Catholics and younger professionals away from the Social Christian Party and into the Christian Democrats movement which was inspired by Christian communitarianism and Liberation theology and criticized capitalist exploitation. At the time, it was the most radical among Ecuador's non-Marxist parties and Hurtado was suspected by his right-wing opponents of being a "closet Marxist". In 1978, he merged his Christian Democrats with the progressive wing of the Conservative Party to form the Popular Democracy party.

In 1979, Hurtado was chosen as running mate of presidential candidate Jaime Roldós Aguilera of the populist Concentration of People's Forces. Roldós was successful and Hurtado became Vice President of Ecuador. On Sunday, May 24, 1981, Jaime Roldós Aguilera died in a plane crash. Hurtado succeeded Roldós Aguilera as President of Ecuador and served out the rest of his term.

Hurtado is a member of the Club de Madrid. He is also a member of the Inter-American Dialogue.

Reviews

[Miguelazo84 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Necesario para entender cómo transitar de la democracia a la dictadura habiendo sido elegido presidente democráticamente. Se entienden los pasos dados en España en el mismo sentido desde 2018 con Sánchez