1. PROTEST, Rioting, and ORDER
Why are riots and demonstrations the exception in large Latin American cities?

2. Large Scale Rioting since World War II
Colombia
History of violence
Conservative & Liberal political parties
Millions of deaths in nineteenth century
Liberals become dominant political party in the wake of Great Depression

3. BOGOTA: 1948 Assassination of popular Liberal party leader
OAS meeting in Bogotá
Jorge Gaitan – idol of the masses
Set in motion Colombia’s only military government of twentieth century

4. Bogotazo: April 9, 1948

5. Large Scale Rioting since World War II: Caracas 1989
Rise in transportation fares triggers rioting in ranchos
Spreads to the ten largest cities; lasts for three days
Hundreds (thousands?) are killed during the restoration of order
Military suppression of rioting signaled the unraveling of the political regime

6. Caracas 1989 : CAUSES Decade-long economic downturn
Frustration of expectations immediately following an election campaign
Failure of government to explain policies

7. Middle Class Demonstrations: Caracas (2002)
Different from urban rioting
Middle Class
Generally not anomic violence

8. Middle Class Demonstrations in Caracas: The Demonstrators

9. Return to the central Question: Why Has Rioting Been So Rare in Urban Latin America?
Factors Mitigating Against Urban Rioting
Community Attitudes
Clientilism
Co-option of Leaders
Fear of Repression

10. COMMUNITY ATTITUDES Slum radicalism is a myth
Nature of urban life compounds conservative attitudes
Desire upward social and economic mobility
Prevailing Ethos: Work hard and keep out of trouble

11. CLIENTILISM: What is it?
Politicians trade goods and services for political support
Examples
Self-help housing materials
Subsidized public transportation
Water and electricity
Jobs

12. CLIENTILISM: Costs & Benefits
Denial of merit leads to inefficient service delivery
Allocations seldom live up to expectation
Provides channel of upward mobility for the urban poor
OVERALL: some progress made in reducing most blatant excesses of clientilism

13. Role of Leadership among the Urban Poor
Successful mass movements depend on leadership
Anomic violence likely if leadership is weak or non-existent
Political authorities foster the emergence of leadership among the urban poor

14. CO-OPTITION OF LEADERS
Offers of jobs in the bureaucracy
In return for orienting the community toward the official resource allocation system
In return for social peace
Is cooption undesirable (something evil)?

15. FEAR and REPRESSION
Aftermath of “Second Reverse Wave of Authoritarianism” ( )
Neighborhood organizations of political parties decimated
Recalcitrant leaders marginalized or imprisoned
Workers and peasant organizations co-opted

16. FEAR and REPRESSION Widespread use of state repressive apparatus
Formal
Denial of political rights
Exile
Trials and jail for hard-line opponents of the authorities
Informal
Formation of paramilitary units to do the unspeakable
Drug gangs sometimes cooperate with police to maintain control in the shantytowns

17. Contemporary Social Movements & Community Organizations can provide channels for Effective participation
Among the poor
Squatter associations
Political Action Committees
Ecclesiastical Base Communities
Middle class watchdog groups
Organization of civil society capable of fostering effective participation remains the exception