Proclaiming Revolution: Bolivia in Comparative Perspective (David Rockefeller Centre on Latin American Studies): 10 (Series on Latin American Studies) - Softcover

Grindle, Merilee Serrill; Domingo, Pilar

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0674011414 ISBN 13: 9780674011410

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2003

Synopsis

The fiftieth anniversary of the 1952 Revolution in Bolivia offered an opportunity to explore contrasting visions about change in this often overlooked country from a comparative perspective. Blending the approaches of history and the social sciences, the chapters in this volume examine both implicitly and explicitly the extent to which the process opened by the uprising of April 1952 is comparable to the great radical transformations that occurred elsewhere during the twentieth century. The question of historical memory, the origins of the revolution in the political economy and culture of the towns, mines and countryside, and the extent to which the political process after 1952 shaped new interpretations of the country's place in the world are all analysed by leading scholars from Bolivia, the USA and the UK. Full and critical attention is given to the consequences of the revolution over fifty years, with assessments of the parties, structures and policies shaping economic, political and social conditions at the start of the twenty-first century.

About this title

Review:

Proclaiming Revolution is an important contribution--the first book of its kind to approach the implications and consequences of the 1952 revolution in comparison with other Latin American revolutions of similar magnitude...[It] permits us to see the possibility of creating a society that is more humane, reconstructing diverse sociocultural identities in order to reinvent the Bolivian nation "sin mayziscślas"--the plurimulti "nation" and not "Nation."--Franco Gamboa Rocabado"Hispanic American Historical Review" (02/01/2007)

Synopsis:

In 1952 Bolivia was transformed by revolution. With the army destroyed from only a few days of fighting, workers and peasants took up arms to claim the country as their own. Overnight, the electorate expanded five-fold. Industries were turned over to worker organisations to manage, and land was distributed to peasant communities. Education became universal and free for the first time in the country's history. This volume, the result of a conference organised by the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies of Harvard University and the Institute for Latin American Studies at the University of London, presents new interpretations of the causes of the events of 1952 and compares them to the great social transformations that occurred in France, Mexico, Russia, China and Cuba. It also considers the consequences of the revolution by examining the political, social and economic development of the country, as well as adding important insights to the analysis of revolution and the understanding of this fascinating Andean country.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0674011414
• ISBN 13: 9780674011410
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448