During the last national election in Peru, one of the candidates charged that the Indians probably lived better under the Inca rulers. Rather than being political hyperbole, this observation points up the stark reality which is the root cause of Peru's economic and social problems. With a relatively thin middle class, Peru's population of about 11.6 million is largely polarized into a small elite, whose wealth is conspicuous even by Latin American standards, and the larger proportion of the population living in the high sierra or in the slums surrounding each coastal city, which barely manages to exist under conditions of abject poverty. This skewed distribution of wealth and income, long apparent even to the most casual observer, has been confirmed by a recent study which indicates that the top 10 per cent of the spending units receive 60 per cent of the disposable income, and 8,760 spending units, representing only .25 per cent of the total, receive 35 per cent of the income.

Since Carlos Loveira's last novel was published in 1927, the whole way of life which it described—and described with what bitter disillusion!—has disappeared. The Cuba Loveira knew, and the Cuba he hoped would evolve, are both lost—perhaps irretrievably— but the novel itself, seen through the perspective of four decades and a social upheaval, now seems to have even greater values, both as a work of art and as a social document, than its first readers saw in it.

In 1922, a friend of Loveira, reviewing Los ciegos (his third novel), placed him in the first rank of Cuban novelists:

And he added that Los ciegos seemed to predict an obra maestra from the author's pen. Juan Criollo is that masterpiece.

The word “community” has been defined as a “structuring of elements and dimensions to solve problems which must be or can be solved within the local area.” This problem-solving process by which the community is directed, segmented, and formed into a structure has been the basis of many community power studies. Floyd Hunter was among the first to study this process, employing what has been termed the reputational method of community study. This method is now considered a standard technique for determining community power structures. It consists of a series of interviews with selected community knowledgeables who are asked to name the most influential individuals in the area. This is followed by a second round of interviews with those influentials who received the highest number of “votes” or mentions from the knowledgeables, asking them for a similar listing in order to rank the group of influentials according to their power in the community.

For the past twenty years the South American republic of Colombia has suffered from a social phenomenon of such magnitude that it has defied not only the contemporary jargon of sociologists and political scientists but even the time-honored terminology of insurrection, rebellion, riot and revolution. Perhaps because the only element of this phenomenon that all observers can agree upon is the fact that it is and has been eminently violent, it has come to be called simply “la violencia,” or “The Violence.”

The phenomenon known as la violencia never has been completely absent from Colombia since 1946, but it has had two periods of particular virulence, the first between 1948 and 1953 affecting the departments of Tolima, Boyacá, Cundinamarca, Antioquia, Valle, Caldas, Cauca, Santander del Sur, Arauca, Huila, Chocó, Caquetá, Meta, Casanare, Vichada and Bolívar, that is, the entire country with the exception of parts of the Atlantic coast and the southernmost department of Nariño.

It is not surprising that the academic community should be interested in probing the diplomatic role of U.S. business abroad. The business corporation, which has aptly been called the characteristic institution of American society, has been a prime force for change and economic progress, not only in industrialized nations but in the most remote and backward areas as well. As a leader in building a new society, U.S. business has had thrust upon it a diplomatic function (and one which is not merely an appendage of political diplomacy) that we are only beginning to discern in all of its implications.

Because of the magnitude and rate of growth of our economic involvement abroad, a few statistics may provide an adequate if hurried perspective of the issues and problems which I believe will necessitate rethinking the diplomatic stance of U.S. business. Over the two decades between 1940 and 1961, total U.S. foreign assets and investments rose from $12 billion to $80 billion. In Latin America, with which most of this paper will be concerned, U.S. direct investments now exceed $10 billion, U.S. companies pay one-fifth of all taxes, and employ a million and a half people. U.S. citizens living and working in Latin America number in the tens of thousands; there are about 17,000 in Venezuela alone.

The life of Gabriela Mistral, born Lucila Godoy y Alcayaga, was a miraculous journey filled with “a trembling of the soul in a trembling of the flesh.” It took her from a hidden valley in the Chilean Andes, where she was born in 1889, to a regal hall in Stockholm, where she received the Nobel Prize for literature from the hands of King Gustavus V in 1945.

Gabriela related the beginning and the ending of her journey in a few Unes of poetry:

Todas íbamos a ser reinas,
de cuatro reinos sobre el mar:
Rosalía con Efigenia
y Lucila con Soledad.

En el Valle de Elqui, ceñido
de cien montañas o de más,

Y Lucila, que hablaba a río,
a montaña y cañaveral,
en las lunas de la locura
recibió reino de verdad.

En este breve estudio me propongo destacar algunas de las ideas del casi desconocido pensador argentino Vicente Fatone cuya personalidad ha gravitado decisivamente en los estudios filosóficos en la Argentina.

Aparte de sus peculiares características personales —de que ahora no me ocuparé— Fatone poseía la fecunda virtud de saber mirar filosóficamente los más variados asuntos de la preocupación humana. Esto cobra especial relieve si se atiende a que Buenos Aires no es sólo una gran ciudad sino una frontera. Hacia adentro comunica con un país de tenue tradición cultural. Hacia afuera … Acaso la mejor definición de Buenos Aires consista en no limitar ese otro mundo al que está abierta. Ese otro mundo ha sido y es una larga conquista que aún no ha cesado y a cuya ampliación contribuyó Fatone en insospechada medida. Merced a él se incorporan al círculo de preocupaciones del argentino —aparte de innumerables pensadores, obras y corrientes del pensamiento— tres grandes orbes ideales: el Oriente, el pensamiento místico especulativo de las culturas más importantes y, en menor medida, la filosofía científica o analítica anglosajona.

Una filosofía es una expresión autónoma del espíritu, resultado de la eterna inquietud del hombre —nunca del todo desilusionado por sus fracasos— por ponerse en claro sobre el sentido de su vida y del universo a que pertenece. Así considerada, la obra de cualquier filósofo puede sufrir el examen de su valor intrínseco, como esfuerzo hacia la verdad, en cuyo caso se ejercita sobre ella una valoraciónteórica. Pero la filosofía es a la vez una parte de la aventura del hombre en el tiempo, y va signada por las limitaciones temporales de aquél. Nunca se da en el vacío, sino amalgamada con todos los elementos propios de la vida del hombre en un instante de la historia. Cuando se examina una filosofía según su función en una época, una comunidad o una cultura, lo que se intenta no es ya una valoración teórica, sino una interpretación histórica.

No mucho después de los días de mayo de 1810 la población de los suburbios y de la campaña acude a participar de una revolución en cuyos preparativos no ha intervenido pero cuyo programa abraza con calor. El pueblo deja de ser la abstracción contenida en los impecables esquemas que los textos de política habían puesto en circulación para transformarse en una realidad tangible y no siempre agradable. Muchos de los autores de la Revolución observan con sorpresa y alarma como, al amparo de fórmulas demasiado generalizadoras, asoma —a veces espontáneamente, a veces digitada por aprovechados líderes— una masa iletrada a la que no consideran preparada para gravitar en la vida pública, una masa cuya vocación política no la habilita para asumir las responsabilidades que pretende. Para poder excluir esa presencia que empieza a ser molesta surge entonces la necesidad de precisar los objetivos, de matizar los planteos excesivamente simples, de equilibrar el concepto de libertad con el de autoridad.

The parochial priests in small Paraguayan towns are generally reputed, in Paraguay, to exercise an extraordinary amount of power and influence over the people of their parishes—to a greater extent, it would seem, than in most other Latin American countries. This is, moreover, despite the fact that the church, as an institution, is considerably weaker, economically and politically, than in all but a handful of such countries. Therefore, what power the individual priest may have can not be viewed as simply an extension of the power of the church. Most urban Paraguayans, including at least some members of the church hierarchy, are inclined to attribute this situation to the alleged superstitious or credulous nature of the Paraguayan peasants. The rural people themselves, on the other hand, are apt to explain the influence of their own local priest, at least, as due to his personal qualities or strength of character, as did the Services when referring to the prestige of the local priest of Tobati.

Overdadeiro Título dêste artigo — se eu tivesse encontrado esta palavra no dicionário — deveria ser: as “pseudoses” da Lei de Diretrizes e Bases. Tratará, com efeito, embora sumàriamente, de algumas incongruências, suposições e pseudo-implicações desta Lei ou que dela decorrem. Devo dizer, à guiza de preâmbulo, que eu também já me inscreví, princípio, entre os apoiadores da Lei. Mas esta é urna Lei que envelheceu muito depressa. E não me refiro, aqui, à aceleração do rítmo das coisas no Brasil, nos últimos anos, o que, de fato, poderia bastar para explicar que, em apenas quatro anos, a Lei pudesse ter caducado. É o fato de que essa Lei, por assim dizer, já nasceu velha. Ela levou quinze anos para ser feita, desde a promulgação da Constituição de 46, e doze anos no Congresso, a maior parte dos quais “engavetada”.

Although Church-State Relations have seldom been viewed from the standpoint of nationalism, they raise a series of questions concerning the patterns of loyalty which citizens render to both Church and State. Historians frequently find common religion to be an element of nationalism, but in the nominally Catholic countries of Latin America references to “common religion” in fact hide major diversities and degrees of belief. If reiterations of a common religious heritage by the mass of a population can strengthen thensentiments of common origin and national purpose, open conflict between religious groups may also belie national unity. Religious and national loyalties may be overlapping and mutually reinforcing, or they may be contradictory and antagonistic. The nature of the loyalties differs in time even within the same national context.

In 1872, it was estimated that there were 378 foreign language journals published in the United States. Of these, only one was in the Portuguese language. O Novo Mundo, published in New York from 1870 to 1879, was singular among the foreign language press publications in that it was designed not for an immigrant audience but rather for readers in another country. Its purpose was to interpret the United States primarily to Brazilians and secondarily to other Latin Americans. Faithful until its last issue to this end, it also commented on the Brazilian political and social scene.

José Carlos Rodrigues, O Novo Mundo's original owner and only editor, was a remarkable Brazilian in an era when the Empire and the First Republic produced a galaxy of extraordinary public figures. Born in the city of Cantagallo, province of Rio de Janeiro, on July 19, 1844, be was the son of fazendeiros, and attended the Colégio Dom Pedro II in Rio de Janeiro.

Roberto Michels, writing in 1915, said about political parties:

This, in a nutshell, expresses his now famous “iron law of oligarchy”— the assertion that every party organization must sooner or later become dominated by a small elite of leaders who will use their power to perpetuate themselves, and will succeed in doing so even in the face of widespread opposition from the rank and file.

Michels is supported in this view by a more contemporary student of political parties, Maurice Duverger, who says that: “The leadership of parties tends naturally to assume an oligarchic form. A veritable 'ruling class’ comes into being that is more or less closed; it is an ‘inner circle’ into which it is difficult to penetrate.”

Las Fuerzas Rurales de la Federación, commonly called the rurales, were a prominent institution of Porfirian Mexico and a significant instrument of the dictator's power. Contemporary travelers, journalists, and political propagandists either praised or condemned them and compared them to the Texas Rangers, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Spanish Guardia Civil, Rosas’ Mazorca, and even to Ivan the Terrible's Oprichniki. Almost all histories of Porfirian Mexico mention the rurales and indicate their significance to Diaz’ prolonged absolute control of the country. Without specific study and serious scholarship, however, the origin, nature, and exploits of the rurales have acquired legendary characteristics. Because of their relative success in curbing brigandage on the one hand and their alleged brutality on the other, they became symbolic of both the order and the ruthlessness of Porfirian Mexico. The popular accounts of the rurales are easily divided into two categories—viz., those of Diaz’ apologists and those of his detractors. The following observation by Ethel Brilliana Tweedie is typical of the former.

A indústria do mate foi, durante um longo período do Brasil independente — mas já também ao tempo da colonia — urna das mais importantes fontes de riqueza, mantenedora e incentivadora do progresso de capitanías e de provincias sulinas.

A extincáo recente do Instituto Nacional do Mate, depois de 33 anos de existencia, mostra que o mate, como outras riquezas brasileiras, em outras épocas, tende á vida latente, ou a entrar em colapso.

Essa fonte de riqueza antiga, desde há alguns anos entrou em plena decadencia. íntimamente essa regressáo se tem acentuado, infelizmente, por deficiencia de mercados, e a concorréncia e producáo dos argentinos.

Ainda mesmo, porém, que o mate nao seja mais industria florescente, merece, por varios títulos, estudos económicos e históricos.

Most of the countries in the New World were created by economically motivated European colonizers who invaded this hemisphere and defeated the resident populations. The dominant cultural life of these areas is based on the institutions, values and expressions carried by these seekers after empire, as modified by conditions and cultures encountered in the new lands. This is as true of the West Indies as it is of the various larger regions of the two Americas, but the modifying factors are more numerous in these small Caribbean islands. Rarely is there just one European tradition affecting the culture of each of these islands; as European possessions during this era of large-scale wars in Europe, most of them changed hands repeatedly. More important, the establishment of the plantation system and the resultant waves of imported field workers from alien, non-European societies created a cultural conglomerate of incredible variety.

The formulation of policy alternatives for shaping the future of Guatemala is inextricably interwoven with the Indian and his relation to the land. Available figures indicate that the majority of the population of Guatemala is culturally designated as Indian and has retained a marked dependence on the land. Guatemalan problems and prospects, therefore, cannot be fully grasped without a clear understanding of the historic role of land within the surviving Indian cultures and the prevailing Indian attitude toward land tenure. Although the traditional pattern of “communal ownership” has been subjected periodically to pressures designed to convert the Indian to an apprehension and acceptance of “private property” as a prerequisite for socioeconomic advance, the nature and extent of the conversion are not really known. Basic though such an understanding would seem to be, the matter has not been fully explored and definite conclusions are therefore lacking.

Development planning in Venezuela began in 1959 as a result of the changes in the economic conditions and in the political situation that occurred in 1958. In that year, on January 23, Pérez Jiménez government was deposed after 10 years of military rule. A provisional government was established and elections were held December 7, 1958 with Rómulo Betancourt (Democratic Action Party) winning a near majority (49%) of votes for Presidency. A coalition government of the Democratic Action party (AD), Democratic Republic Union party (URD), and the Christian social party (COPEI) was established according to a pre-election agreement among these parties.

The economic conditions also changed in 1958. Until that year Venezuela was able to achieve a high rate of economic growth (see Table I) and to accumulate considerable foreign exchange that prevented balance of payments crises such as those which interrupted economic development in other countries.

Los estudiantes de la Universidad de la Habana, al igual que los de la mayoría de las universidades latinoamericanas, se han caracterizado por su participación en la política nacional. En la etapa independentista, a finales del siglo pasado, la Universidad de la Habana se convirtió en el centro de agitación contra España. El 27 de noviembre de 1871 la colonia ordenó el fusilamiento de ocho estudiantes de medicina acusados de haber profanado la tumba de un militar español. De las filas estudiantiles surgieron los dirigentes de la guerra de independencia. El propio José Martí, a edad muy temprana y siendo aún estudiante, comenzó a luchar por la libertad de su patria. Martí, con su prédica constante, hubo de unir a sus compatriotas conduciéndolos a la guerra emancipadora contra España.