Misunderstood Caudillo: Miguel Ydigoras Fuentes and the Failure of Democracy in Guatemala

by Roland H. Ebel

Overview

This book deals with the period of Guatemalan history between the U.S.-backed overthrow of the Arbenz regime in 1954 and the establishment of the civil-military national-security state in 1970. Specifically, it treats the regime of General Miguel Ydigoras Fuentes, the one-time functionary of the dictator, Jorge Ubico (1931-1944), who sought to install a more open, democratic political system in Guatemala during the period from 1957 to 1963. His experiment in democratic pluralism, which came to an end when he was overthrown by the military in 1963, opened the door to the military-dominated regimes which followed. Misunderstood Caudillo outlines the variety of reasons why this flawed experiment in democracy ultimately failed. This is explained by the over-politicization of a wide spectrum of political "power contenders" which Ydigoras allowed to operate within the restricted, but highly charged environment of the Central American city-state.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761808886
Publisher:	University Press of America
Publication date:	02/26/1998
Series:	Tulane Studies in Political Science Series
Pages:	376
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.74(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Roland H. Ebel is Associate Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Editorial Reviews

A well researched and written volume that adds significantly to our understanding of Guatemala.

Thomas M. Leonard

Arguing that the Guatemalan regime of Fuentes (1958-1963) does not fit the traditional image of Latin American authoritarianism, the author argues that although there were definite dictatorial aspects to his regime, Fuentes was a centrist who fervently wished to avoid what he viewed as the excesses of the regimes of both the leftist Arbenz and the rightists Ubico and Armas. He contends that the failure of Fuentes to establish a democratic polity is due to a number of causes including the polarized politics of both the domestic and international situations, allegations of official corruption, and the contradictions of Fuentes himself, at once and democrat. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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