La democracia en América Latina: ¿Novia del socialismo o concubina del imperialismo?

Abstract

En el número 97 de la revista Nexos un pareciado colega retomaba una afirmación mía con respecto a la democracia y la presentaba como paradigma del desprecio por tan noble categoría. Mi texto decía que "la democracia no es un cascarón vacío, sino un continente que vale un función de determinados contenidos", tesis que el comentarista hallaba falsa y abusiva en la medida en que, a su juicio, la democracia "es una forma de relación política que vale en y por sí misma.

Agustín Cueva and the Construction of Democracy in Latin America

“…Faced with the "democratic transition" of the 1980s, Cueva pointed out the risks posed by the political right and the establishment of democracies alien to the regional reality and the interests of its popular classes (Cueva, 1986). His reflection on these topics was colored by his intellectual and political commitment to the pursuit of regional social transformation.…”

“…Cueva developed a historical analysis of the economic conditions of Latin America as an underdeveloped and dependent region and their role in the development of capitalism (Cueva, 1977). He looked at the configuration of economic and political power groups in the region, zeroing in on national particularities.…”

“…In this connection, he identified the historical study of regional economic and social formations and their contradictions as an analytical tool for the understanding of social and political struggles in the framework of world capitalism. He underlined the need to understand how political and social movements were articulated throughout regional history and what relationships could be expected vis-à-vis the dominant groups across several modes of production (Cueva, 1977).…”

“…These contributions were based on a deep analysis of democracy as imposed by external interests, mainly through U.S. intervention, and linked to transnational economic interests (Cueva, 1986). Cueva was disappointed with the acceptance of liberal democracy by some sectors of the Latin American left: “By not posing the problem of the contents of democracy and considering it unilaterally as ‘a form/end in itself’ (which sounds very elegant, philosophically), the left does nothing more than align itself with the masses, as unfortunately has been the case in much of our continent” (Cueva, 1986: 54). He pointed out that the formal democracy implanted was an “empty shell,” an illusion, a “popular mirage” consisting of the belief that the masses would participate in power.…”