Dual Transitions from Authoritarian Rule ─ Institutionalized Regimes in Chile and Mexico, 1970-2000

Latin America’s region-wide 1982 economic collapse had a drastic effect on governments throughout Central and South America, leading many to the verge of failure and pushing several of the most stridently authoritarian—Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Uruguay—over the brink. Surprisingly though, Chile’s repressive military dictatorship and Mexico’s hegemonic civilian regime endured amid the economic chaos that rocked the region.Dual Transitions from Authoritarian Rule explains why the regimes in these two nations survived the financial upheaval of the early 1980s and how each progressed toward a more open, democratic, market-driven system in later years. Using an in-depth comparative analysis of Chile and Mexico, Francisco Gonzalez explains that the two governments—though quite different ideologically—possessed a common type of institutionalized authoritarian rule that not only served to maintain the political status quo but, paradoxically, also aided proponents of political and economic liberalization.

Featuring a discussion of parallel phenomena in Brazil, Hungary, Taiwan, and South Korea,Dual Transitions from Authoritarian Rule presents a cogent challenge to the received wisdom that sociopolitical and economic change within authoritarian nations must be approached separately. This book will interest scholars of Latin American politics, democratization studies, market reform, and comparative politics and international relations.

Francisco E. Gonzalez is the Riordan Roett Assistant Professor of Latin American Studies at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University.