Review: [untitled]

Author(s): William S. Bell

Reviewed work(s):
Peruvian Democracy under Economic Stress: An Account of the Belaunde Administration
1963-1968 by Pedro-Pablo Kuczynski
Source: Journal of Latin American Studies, Vol. 13, No. 1 (May, 1981), p. 222
Published by: Cambridge University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/156381
Accessed: 17/03/2010 01:42
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222

Journal of Latin American Studies

Pedro-Pablo Kuczynski: Peruvian Democracy Under Economic Stress: An
Account of the Belaunde Administration i963-I968
(Princeton, N.J. and
London: Princeton University Press, 1977, ,I2.70). Pp. xiv + 308.

By comparison with the torrent of texts concerned with the post-I968 military
government, the preceding civilian regime of Fernando Belaunde Terry has
received scant attention. In part this neglect reflects the undoubted novelty of the
succeeding government but it also corresponds to a sense of the unfulfilled
expectations and failure which led finally to the military coup. Nevertheless, the
period I963 to I968 is of intrinsic interest inasmuch as it represented one of the
alternative, development paths open to Latin American states. The constraints on
the 'democratically' elected, middle-class Belaunde government are very similar
to those facing not only a new civilian regime in Peru but also many of the other
Andean countries. By its very nature the Belaunde government represents a testcase for the efficacy of reformist policies within an orthodox, laissez-faire economic
model. It is to these questions that Kuczynski addresses himself, and the book has
the undoubted merit of being an account of economic policy during this period
written by one of the policy makers which is not a mere apologia.
The author was an economic adviser at the Peruvian Central Bank during the
Belaunde government and the book both gains and suffers from the intimate
perspective this creates. It gains by providing a fascinating glimpse into the day-today economic management of a country drifting into crisis and offers the insights
that only active participation can permit. Similarly, it means that the style is vivid
and enlivened by anecdotal asides. Yet, at the same time, it is inevitably a partisan
account which tells only one side of the story. The emphasis is upon the importance
of personalities and there is a reluctance to step back from short-term economic
explanation to the broader structural determinants.
Rather too much space is devoted at the beginning to setting the scene for the
later dramatic events - which seem in retrospect to have an almost tragic inevitability - but it could be argued that the theme of the book will gain it readers
unfamiliar with the most basic aspects of Peruvian life. The remainder of the
book records the frustrations of the professional economist whose advice is always
viewed in the context of its electoral implications. On several occasions in the
narrative he notes how the economists at the Central Bank urged a necessary step
upon the government which was only taken when it had become both unavoidable
and significantly less useful. Similarly, he is critical of the lack of economic
expertise which existed within the government and public administration which
hindered a realistic assessment of a worsening economic situation.
The interpretation of the period offered by Kuczynski cannot be said to differ
markedly from those generally available. However, it does contain a considerable
volume of new information and makes quite clear the scale of the crisis which
finally overwhelmed the government. Where the analysis is deficient is in the
presentation of the underlying causes of the crisis, which relate less to individuals
and more to severe structural constraints (economic, political and social) on the
overall development project.

Unive,rsityCollege,London

WILLIAM

S.

BELL