''Guide to the Perfect Latin American Idiot'' (Spanish: ''Manual del perfecto idiota latinoamericano'') is an essay by Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza,

Carlos Alberto Montaner Carlos Alberto Montaner Suris (3 April 1943 – 29 June 2023) was an exiled Cuban author and journalist known for his criticism of Fidel Castro and the Cuban government. He was published widely in Latin American newspapers, and produced fictio ...

and

Álvaro Vargas Llosa Álvaro Vargas Llosa (born 18 March 1966) is a Peruvian-Spanish writer and political commentator and public speaker on international affairs. He is also the writer and presenter of a documentary series for National Geographic Channel on contemp ...

published in 1996. The authors analyze Latin American history and the way of thinking of both the Latin American political elites and intellectuals. The same year an edition was published in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

with an additional chapter and a different prologue.Sobre el idiota español
. Redacción de

La Vanguardia ' (; , ) is a Spanish daily newspaper founded in 1881. It is printed in Spanish and, since 3 May 2011, also in Catalan. It has its headquarters in Barcelona and is Catalonia's leading newspaper. Despite being mostly distributed in Catalonia, ...

Content

The essays defend, from liberal positions, that an important part of the political and intellectual sectors are rooted in a Third-Worldism and

nationalistic Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

mentality, if not

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

, that lead them to a constant "patriotic"

victim playing Playing the victim (also known as victim playing, victim card, or self-victimization) is the fabrication or exaggeration of victimhood for a variety of reasons such as to justify abuse to others, to manipulate others, a coping strategy, attentio ...

that presents the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...

and

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

as the main culprit of the poor countries woes. And, furthermore, that by holding positions of social influence aid statespeople and intellectuals allow the spread of

populism Populism is a essentially contested concept, contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the "common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently a ...

and the stagnation in

underdevelopment Underdevelopment, in the context of international development, reflects a broad condition or phenomena defined and critiqued by theorists in fields such as economics, development studies, and postcolonial studies. Used primarily to distinguish s ...

in Latin American countries. The authors argue that the "idiot", as coined by essay, does not see the Latin American problems in the state structure and believes that it is possible to achieve well-being by repeating the same process that leads to the growth of the state, the accumulation of power by a

caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; , from Latin language, Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of Personalist dictatorship, personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise English translation for the term, though it ...

and the impoverishment of the society. As examples of said mentality, the book cites

Peronism Peronism, also known as justicialism, is an Argentine ideology and movement based on the ideas, doctrine and legacy of Juan Perón (1895–1974). It has been an influential movement in 20th- and 21st-century Argentine politics. Since 1946, P ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and Castrismo in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. The book, consisting of thirteen chapters, is prologued by

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (28 March 1936 – 13 April 2025) was a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and politician. Vargas Llosa was one of the most significant Latin American novelists and essayists a ...

and is presented by the authors as an antithesis to the book '' The Open Veins of Latin America'', published in 1971 by

Eduardo Galeano Eduardo Germán María Hughes Galeano (; 3 September 1940 – 13 April 2015) was a Uruguayan journalist, writer and novelist considered, among other things, "a literary giant of the Latin American left" and "global soccer's pre-eminent man of le ...

. Mendoza, Montaner and Vargas Llosa published a sequel in 2007 titled ''The Return of the Idiot'' (Spanish: ''El regreso del idiota'').

Reception

The book sold at least half a million copies.

References

{{Reflist

External links

* Rohter, Larry (May 23, 2014)
"Author Changes His Mind on '70s Manifesto"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. 1996 essays Books about Latin America Books about Marxism Books about liberalism Essays about politics Spanish essays

Content

Reception

See also

References

External links