Agustín Cueva and the Construction of Democracy in Latin America

• Author: Nayeli Burgueño Angulo,Carlos Alberto Ramírez Díaz
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0094582X221103821
• Published date: 01 July 2022
• Date: 01 July 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles: Zavaleta Mercado, Cueva, and Fals Borda

https://doi.org/10.1177/0094582X221103821

LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES, Issue 245, Vol. 49 No. 4, July 2022, 159–171

DOI: 10.1177/0094582X221103821

© 2022 Latin American Perspectives

159

Agustín Cueva and the Construction of Democracy in

Latin America

by

Nayeli Burgueño Angulo and Carlos Alberto Ramírez Díaz

Translated by

Mariana Ortega-Breña

The contributions of Agustín Cueva to the understanding of political processes in

Latin America—his interpretation of Latin American reality, characterized by social

movements, dictatorships, and transitions to democracy, from a historical perspective—

highlight the fragility of the region’s democracies and the need for democracies that lead

to real structural transformation in Latin American societies. A review of these contribu-

tions allows us to approach contemporary political processes in the region in the context

of neoliberalism, the main challenge in the construction of societies that are democratic,

fair, and equitable.

Las contribuciones de Agustín Cueva a la comprensión de los procesos políticos en

América Latina (su interpretación de la realidad latinoamericana, caracterizada por mov-

imientos sociales, dictaduras y transiciones a la democracia, desde una perspectiva

histórica) ponen de relieve la fragilidad de las democracias de la región y la necesidad de

democracias que conduzcan a una transformación estructural real en las sociedades lati-

noamericanas. Una revisión de sus aportes nos permite acercarnos a los procesos políticos

contemporáneos en la región dentro del contexto del neoliberalismo, el principal desafío a

la construcción de sociedades democráticas, justas y equitativas.

Keywords: Agustín Cueva, Latin America, Democracy, Neoliberalism, Social justice

Agustín Cueva was a critical thinker and analyst of the fundamental prob-

lems of Latin America, and his contributions remain valid in a context charac-

terized by enormous inequality and social injustice. Here we address his main

ideas regarding the understanding of Latin America and highlight his political

commitment and his contributions to analyses of the development of capital-

ism and the construction of democracy in the region. His critiques regarding

the “transition” to democracy in Latin America during the 1980s pointed to the

limits imposed by the region’s economic and political dependency—the risk of

democracy’s being reduced to its procedural aspects and increasingly defined

Nayeli Burgueño Angulo is a research professor in the School of Anthropological Sciences and the

School of International Studies and Public Policies at the Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa and

a member of the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología and the research group on society and

language in Latin America. Carlos Alberto Ramírez Díaz is a professor of international relations

in the School of Political and Social Sciences of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

and the Department of Interdisciplinary Reflection at the Universidad Iberoamericana. Mariana

Ortega-Breña is a freelance translator based in Mexico City.

1103821LAPXXX10.1177/0094582X221103821Burgueño and Ramírez/CUEVA AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF DEMOCRACY

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