Category Archives: Latin American History

Today in Even Worse, More Inaccurate Historical Analogies (or, “Pinochet Wasn’t a Populist”)

Posted on March 28, 2016 by

I thought “Trump is a populist/caudillo (because that’s the same thing)” would be the dumbest historical/political analogy I would read yesterday. Sadly, I was wrong: Better than most, the people of Latin America know how to spot a caudillo, or … Continue reading →

Posted in Latin America, Latin American History, Latin American Politics, United States

Today in Terrible and Inaccurate Historical Analogies (or, “Trump is not a Caudillo”)

Posted on March 27, 2016 by

Last week, the Wall Street Journal published an editorial by David Lunhow arguing that Donald Trump’s campaign is reminiscent of Latin American caudillos, primarily because he has some superficial similarities with populists. There’s so much historically wrong in here. First, … Continue reading →

Posted in Latin America, Latin American History, Latin American Politics | 1 Comment

A Brief History of Brazilian Independence

Posted on September 7, 2015 by

Today is the 193rd anniversary of Brazilian Independence. For those unfamiliar with the general story of independence in Brazil (and its unusual path), I wrote a brief primer back in 2011.

Posted in Brazil, Latin American History

Get to Know a Brazilian – Eduardo Gomes

Posted on September 6, 2015 by

This is part of an ongoing series. Previous entries can be found here. Eduardo Gomes was born in 1896 in Petrópolis, the Imperial summer base of Brazil’s monarchy, in the mountains just north of Rio de Janeiro. His father had … Continue reading →

Posted in Brazil, Brazil's Military Dictatorship, Get to Know a Brazilian, Latin American History, Latin American Militaries

Get to Know a Brazilian – Antônio de Siqueira Campos

Posted on August 30, 2015 by

This is part of an ongoing series. Previous entries can be found here. Building off of last week’s focus on João Cândido Felisberto, this week we look at another key figure in the history of military figures and rebellion in … Continue reading →

Posted in Brazil, Get to Know a Brazilian, Latin American History, Latin American Militaries

Twenty-First Century Monarchists

Posted on August 27, 2015 by

While the protesters demanding the military intervene and overthrow Dilma Rousseff amidst corruption scandals that seem to have infected all of political life (even if they in fact have not), they are not in fact the most out-of-touch pro-impeachment protesters in … Continue reading →

Posted in Brazil, Latin American History, Latin American Politics

Get to Know a Brazilian – João Cândido Felisberto

Posted on August 24, 2015 by

This post also appears at Lawyers, Guns & Money João Cândido Felisberto remains one of the more overlooked figures in one of the more overlooked periods of Brazilian history. However, his life offers much insight into the transitional nature of … Continue reading →

Posted in "Modernity", Brazil, Get to Know a Brazilian, Latin American History, Latin American Militaries, Race in Brazil, Race in the Americas, Weapons and Arms in Latin America