Reviews

In comparison to guerrilla movements in other Latin American countries, ¡Alfaro Vive, Carajo! (AVC)—in English, "Alfaro Lives, Dammit!"—in Ecuador was relatively minor and short lived. Taking its name from former President Eloy Alfaro, a general who led a liberal revolution in 1895, the AVC first emerged in 1983. By 1986 state security forces had largely dismantled the group, killing many of its leaders and imprisoning and torturing many of its members. As with many other guerrilla movements, the AVC still lacks a strong synthetic study. Instead, there are only a number of often self-published narratives and memoirs that lack broad distribution. In this short book, which was originally published in Spanish, Buckley (European Univ. of Madrid, Spain) presents oral interviews he collected from the group’s former members during a seven-year residency in Ecuador. Rather than a coherent narrative that presents the historical trajectory and ideology of the AVC, however, the book approaches the topic from the perspective of cultural studies, emphasizing musings on modernity, especially as it relates to mestizo and Indigenous identities. The book is marred by a lack of careful editing.

Summing Up: Recommended. With reservations. Faculty and professionals.

Reviewer: M. Becker, Truman State University
Recommendation: Recommended
Readership Level: Researchers/Faculty, Professionals/Practitioners
Interdisciplinary Subjects: Latin American & Latina/o Studies
Subject: Social & Behavioral Sciences - History, Geography & Area Studies - Latin America & the Caribbean
Choice Issue: jun 2024 vol. 61 no. 10
Choice Review #: 61-2841

Urban guerrilla vs. citizens revolution : the Ecuadorian dilemma at the turn of the century