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The Latin American Military, Low Intensity Conflict, and Democracy*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Gabriel Marcella
Gabriel Marcella*
Affiliation:
US Army War College, Quarry Heights, Panama
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Extract

There can be no expression of a desire to return to political power when experience tells us that the result is totally negative for our country and fundamentally so for the armed forces (LAWR, 1986b).

— Chief of Staff, Army of Argentina

The most remarkable development in Latin America during the economically “lost decade” of the 1980s is the regionwide process of redemocratization. Close to 90% of the people of the region are ruled by civilian governments. The flowering of democratic, pluralistic, and participatory systems is still a noble aspiration, but it is radically different from the bleak political landscape of the 1960s and 1970s, when military governments prevailed. Nor is the appurtenance of civilian government equal to democracy. There is a large variety of civilian-military coalitions possible in a democratic setting.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs , Volume 32 , Issue 1 , Spring 1990 , pp. 45 - 82
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 1990

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Footnotes

*

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the US Department of Defense or of the US government.

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