"Absorbing. . . . Rich in detail and compelling to read."—Boston Globe

For seventeen years Chile answered to the rule of one men, General Augusto Pinochet. This widely praised history tellshow Chile, once South America's most stable democracy, gave way to a culture of fear. It shows how Socialist President Salvador Allende's government was toppled with American complicity, and how Pinochet came to rule Chile as a dictator whose economic policies brought new prosperity even as his political tactics divided the country against itself. It also shows how a democratic spirit was slowly rekindled in Chilean life, until Pinochet was forced to accept the inauguration of a new president in 1990.

"Vividly evoke[s] the climate of fear that prevailed under General Pinochet. . . . [Constable and Valenzuela] have compiled a meticulously fair record of a very tumultuous time, without losing sight of its drama."—New York Times Book Review

"A firsthand, highly readable account of how one Latin American millitary dictatorship ended more happily with Chilean democracy. The chapters on the Chicago Boys, the lawyer class, and the military's tradition are especially interesting and revealing."—Walter LaFeber, Cornell University

"An extremely close, chilling, and illuminating analysis of Pinochet's impact on the internal cultures of the Chilean military, secret police and judiciary, and how this created a culture of fea in Latin America's oldest democracy."—Alfred Stepan, Columbia University

INDICE: 1. La politica de partidos y la crisis del presidencialismo en Chile: una propuesta para una forma parlamentaria de gobierno, por Arturo Valenzuela.- 2. Presidencialismo y estabilidad democratica en Uruguay, por Luis Eduardo Gonzalez y Charles Guy Gillespie.- 3. Brasil: hacia el parlamentarismo?, por Bolivar Lamounier.- 4. El presidencialismo y la politica colombiana, por Jonathan Hartlyn.- 5. Partidos debiles, politicos « indecisos y tension institucional: el presidencialismo en Ecuador, 1979-1988, por Catherine M. Conaghan.- 6. Presidentes, mesias y crisis constitucionales en Peru, por Cynthia McClintock.- 7. Venezuela: democratica a pesar del presidencialismo, por Michael Coppedge. Indice analitico.

"With a superb cast of contributors and a well-chosen sample of countries, "The Failure of Presidential Democracy" treats a central issue in the world today, as more and more countries try to construct durable democracies. It also reflects the new emphasis in political science on institutions, an area that has been sorely neglected in Latin American studies. Indeed, the book fills a huge informational and analytical gap on institutional arrangements in Latin American political systems. This is a stimulating, thoughtful, and relevant book--well suited to classroom use in courses on comparative politics and Latin American politics."--Paul W. Drake, University of California, San Diego.

"Complete Edition."