The other side of the popular: neoliberalism and subalternity in Latin America

Abstract

Drawing on deconstruction, postcolonial theory, cultural studies, and subaltern studies, The Other Side of Popular is as much a reflection on limitations and possibilities for thinking about politics of Latin American culture as it is a study of culture itself. Gareth Williams pays particular attention to close relationship between complex cultural shifts and development of neoliberal nation-state. The modern Latin American nation, he argues, was built upon idea of the people, a citizenry with common interests transcending demographic and cultural differences. As nations have weakened in relation to global economy, this moment—of as basis of nation-building—has passed, causing seismic shifts in relationships between governments and cultural formations. Williams asserts that these changed relationships necessitate rethinking of fundamental concepts such as the popular and the nation. He maintains that perspective of subalternity is vital to this theoretical project because it demands reimagining of connections between critical reason and its objects of analysis. Williams develops his argument through studies of events highlighting Latin America’s uneasy, and often violent, transition to late capitalism over past thirty years. He looks at Chiapas rebellion in Mexico, genocide in El Salvador, Sendero in Peru, Chile’s and Argentina’s transitions to democratic governments, and Latin Americans’ migration northward. Williams also reads film, photography, and literary works, including Ricardo Piglia’s The Absent City and statements of a young Salvadoran woman, daughter of ex- guerrilleros , living in South Central Los Angeles. The Other Side of Popular is an incisive interpretation of Latin American culture and politics over last few decades as well as a thoughtful meditation on state of Latin American cultural studies.