A Structural-Historical Approach to the Breakdown of Democratic Institutions: Peru
Author(s)
Cotler, Julio
Abstract
The main argument advanced in this essay is that given the nature of Peru’s economic development and its continued dependence on the industrialized nations, democracy developed in form but not in content. Peru’s role as a provider of raw materials to the industrialized world limited the development of an internal market and therefore blocked all possibilities for independent industrialization. Consequently, the country did not witness the rise of a national bourgeoisie that could partially incorporate the demands of the lower classes and establish a democratic political system.
