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coming to terms with the fact that Brazil is one of the top ten countries
of the world right now, the eighth best producing nation of military
hardware for export. The same can be said of Mexico, Chile and
Argentina, which for all their problems, show every sign of becoming
modern in the sense of economy, without entirely forfeiting cultural
claims to uniqueness. We are dealing with a country that is a
powerhouse. This is quite different from a Haiti or a Honduras, for
example. Painting the region with the broad cultural brush of being
"Latin" really does not help in describing the Brazilian world, which is
an empire unto itself, with traditions unto itself. Claudio is very well
aware of this, because he has developed a theory of exceptionalism
within the context of his own work, in which Chile becomes an
exceptional model, as does Argentina as well.
My final question is, to what degree is the model itself subject to
revision in a macro way, and to what degree is the exception the norm
or the rule? Again, this strikes me as something which bears further
investigation. Cultural forms may indeed advance or inhibit economic
growth and political freedom. But I suspect that they continue to play
out on a canvas that is ever-changing. The Catholic Church in nation
after nation in Latin America has adapted over time to changing
circumstances - often less fortunate than in the past. To what extent are
such modes of adaptation autonomous and independent of economic
policies is hard to determine.
Another important distinction is that we should identify not only
the national structures, but the urban structures. When one goes to Sao
Paulo or Santiago de Chile, or Buenos Aires, one enters an entirely
modern world. The world of folklorism and cultural tradition may well
be reduced to a few night club spots for unwitting tourists. In fact, what
is so astonishing is how abrupt that world comes to an end when one
leaves - not the national context but the urban one.
To what degree are we dealing here with a phenomenon that may
parallel what Claudio is discussing, but is not quite the same: an urban
structure which has not been able to generate a network around the
country and develop what you might call inter-urban regional
development, such as one finds in the United States? Why, for example,
is it that in the United States we have an entire network of connected
urban centers, while in Latin America we find high coastal development,
poor interior development? North America went West, while Latin
America went back to Europe. Was this a function of the economic
ambitions of European colonial powers? Why was the synapse not
broken long after independence? The play of culture and economy that
Claudio draws our attention to is still an area that requires much
