Dictators & Resistance: Crash Course Latin American Literature #4

Key Concepts

• La novela del dictador (The Dictator Novel): A literary genre distinct to Latin American literature that explores authoritarianism, dictatorships, and their impact on society.
• Novelas de la tierra (Novels of the Earth): A genre that examines the relationship between Latin America's physical landscape and its political/cultural landscapes.
• Caudillos: Charismatic, often brutal, strongmen who seized political power through force and influence, particularly prevalent in 19th-century Latin America.
• Magical Realism: A literary technique that blends realistic elements with fantastical or magical ones, often used in dictator novels to reflect the psychological effects of living under oppressive regimes.
• Authoritarianism: A form of government characterized by strict obedience to the authority of the state, often at the expense of personal freedom.

The Power of Stories and Dictatorial Control

Stories possess significant power, capable of being used for both good and ill. Rafael Trujillo, a notorious dictator in Latin American history, understood this power and sought to control the Dominican people by suppressing their own narratives. He believed history was a singular, official story and aimed to dismantle the self-told stories of his populace.

Authoritarianism and the Rise of the Dictator Novel

Latin American countries have a long history of authoritarianism, marked by strongmen, tyrants, and dictators. This recurring theme has given rise to a distinct literary genre: la novela del dictador (the dictator novel). Unlike officially sanctioned narratives, these novels offer multiple perspectives, critiques, and intimate glimpses into the daily lives of people living under such regimes.

The Influence of Geography: Novelas de la Tierra and Caudillos

1. The 19th Century Landscape:

• Much of 19th-century Latin America was characterized by undeveloped landscapes such as selva (jungle), llanos (plains), and pampas (grasslands).
• Even after gaining independence from colonial rule, many fledgling nations lacked the infrastructure for effective governance and democratic control.

2. The Emergence of Caudillos:

• These conditions facilitated the rise of caudillos, powerful figures who, akin to intense gauchos or cowboys, rode across the pampas, seizing political power through charisma and brute force.
• They represented another form of authoritarian leadership that dominated the political and literary landscape of the era.

3. Domingo Faustino Sarmiento's "Facundo: Civilización y Barbarie" (1845):

• This novel is a prime example of the novelas de la tierra and its connection to authoritarianism.
• It presents a fictionalized biography of Facundo, an archetypal corrupt caudillo, based on a lieutenant of the real Argentinian dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas.
• Rosas, from a wealthy landowning family, became a powerful caudillo and eventually dictator of Argentina for seventeen years, employing tactics like spies and secret police to suppress opposition and exiling critics like Sarmiento.
• Sarmiento lyrically describes the Argentinian pampas as "immense the plains, immense the forests, immense the rivers: the always uncertain horizon," but also labels the region "barbaric" due to its isolation from civilization.
• Sarmiento argued that this untamed landscape produced dangerous strongmen like Rosas and Facundo, stating, "from these characteristics arises in the life of the Argentine people the reign of brute force, the supremacy of the strongest, the absolute and irresponsible authority of rulers."
• He advocated for economic development and educational reform to combat tyranny.
• Sarmiento himself became president of Argentina in 1868, sixteen years after Rosas's overthrow.
• However, Sarmiento is a controversial figure due to his creation of a false binary between barbarism and civilization, and his role in waging war against Indigenous groups like the Mapuche, Pampas Indians, and Guaraní, whom he sought to erase.

The 20th Century: Revolutions and the Boom of Dictator Novels

The 20th century continued to be marked by dictators, strongmen, and violent revolutions:

• Mexican Revolution (1910): Overthrew dictator Porfirio Diaz, resulting in a decade-long conflict that killed over a million people.
• Cuban Revolution (1959): Overthrew dictator Fulgencio Batista.
• Chilean Coup d'état (1973): Led to the death of President Salvador Allende and the rise of military dictator Augusto Pinochet.
• These periods were characterized by guerrilla warfare, police violence, kidnappings, "disappearances," and a pervasive atmosphere of persecution.

1. The Boom and "El Señor Presidente":

• Many dictator novels emerged during this turbulent era, often as part of the literary movement known as the Boom, which gained international recognition for Latin American literature.
• Miguel Ángel Asturias's "El Señor Presidente" (1946): Widely considered a foundational work of the dictator novel and a key text of the Boom.
  • The novel depicts a fictionalized dictator ruling an unnamed country with an iron fist.
  • The dictator, known only as "the president," is rarely seen but his oppressive presence looms over the narrative.
  • The main character, Miguel Angel Face, the president's advisor, carries out his boss's illicit activities in exchange for power and security.
  • His loyalty is tested when he falls in love with the daughter of an alleged traitor.
  • The novel employs magical realism, blending realistic and fantastical elements, which blurs the lines between fact and fiction for both characters and readers, mirroring the psychological impact of living under a dictatorship.
  • Asturias's work explores themes of loyalty and power in the face of tyranny.
  • While some scholars suggest the president is modeled on Guatemalan leader Manuel Estrada Cabrera, others argue that the unnamed setting emphasizes the novel's focus on the societal effects of dictatorship rather than a specific historical figure.

Post-Dictatorship Narratives: "In the Time of the Butterflies"

The 1990s saw a surge in dictator novels written after the end of authoritarian regimes, offering retrospective perspectives.

1. Julia Álvarez's "In the Time of the Butterflies" (1994):

• This English-language novel is set in the Dominican Republic during Rafael Trujillo's dictatorship.
• It tells the story of the real-life Mirabal sisters: Patria, Minerva, and María Teresa, who were part of the underground resistance and were assassinated on Trujillo's orders on November 25, 1960.
• Their deaths transformed them into martyrs, known as las mariposas (the butterflies), and Trujillo himself was assassinated six months later.
• Álvarez, whose family had fled the Dominican Republic due to her father being targeted by the secret police, felt that the sisters' roles as martyrs had overshadowed their individual lives.
• She chose to write their story through historical fiction, focusing on their personal lives.
• Each sister, including the sole survivor Dedé, narrates chapters from her perspective, detailing their childhood, romances, and aspirations.
• The novel highlights their everyday lives continuing despite the dictatorship.
• Trujillo makes brief, menacing appearances, and the sisters gradually realize his true nature.
• Minerva's realization upon entering school, where she learns the truth about Trujillo, is poignant: "I’d just left a smaller cage to go into a bigger one, the size of our whole country."
• Álvarez emphasizes that reading about ordinary people like the Mirabal sisters provides a richer understanding of life under dictatorship than textbooks or official documents.
• As Álvarez states in her postscript, "A novel is not, after all, a historical document, but a way to travel through the human heart."

The Enduring Relevance of the Dictator Novel

The novela del dictador is a significant Latin American genre, with numerous other examples like Mariano Azuela's "The Underdogs," Rómulo Gallegos's "Doña Bárbara," Augusto Roa Bastos's "Yo, El Supremo," and Edwidge Danticat's "The Farming of Bones." These novels demonstrate fiction's capacity to offer more perspective and nuance than the singular, tyrannical voice of a dictator.

The threat of dictatorships persists, with over 50 countries currently under authoritarian regimes. Dictators like Trujillo aim to impose a single narrative, but by engaging with fictional narratives and understanding the human heart, we can develop a more complex view of the world and ourselves. The next episode will explore the role of memory in the aftermath of dictatorships.