Although this journalistic survey purports to be a “new look” at Latin America, Hyde’s thesis—that Latin America is in the maelstrom of a social revolution and that its Roman Catholics must seize the leadership of this revolution—is not particularly novel. The author, an Englishman who renounced Communism for Catholicism, correctly cautions the reader against interpreting a Christianized social revolution as a mere deterrent to Communism; yet he invariably employs the spectre of Communism to justify the Christianization of such a revolution. As a result, even though the author does not exaggerate the danger of Communism, one is left with the implication that it is the only alternative to a Christianized social revolution. And since the author fails to explore the alternatives which are neither Christian nor Communist, his fervent pleas that Latin America must find its own solutions to its problems seem ironical.
Hyde is rightfully encouraged by the impetus which the Christion Democratic Parties have given to a Christianized social revolution—for example, the Confederación Latinoamericana de Sindicalistas Cristianos, the “wooden cross” bishops, the Church radio schools, and the Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano. However, his inveterate enthusiasm for these groups frequently transgresses the realm of the credible. For instance, he hails the victory of the Chilean Christian Democrats in the 1964 presidential election as reflecting “a trend which is becoming fairly typical throughout Latin America” (p. 153), and asserts that one of the “main problems” of the Chilean Christian Democrats is to pass reform legislation quickly, “without appearing to steam-roller parliamentary processes” (pp. 158-159). In his zeal the author also creates the misleading impression that the Church has been “in the forefront of the demand for agrarian reform” since the 1950s (p. 126).
In addition there are a number of conspicuous omissions. Non-Christian Democratic parties throughout Latin America are all but ignored, and the author passes over the question of conservative strength within Latin American Catholicism. Nor does he deal with several important questions raised by Catholicism’s new role. For example, will not the Christian Democrats and the CLASC be hindered by their association with the Church despite their non-confessional nature? Can a socially-minded Catholicism counteract Latin America’s growing indifference to religion? It is also difficult to understand how the author can completely disregard the whole question of birth control. These are problems that demand a truly “new look.” One shortcoming which cannot be attributed to the author is a lack of simpatía for the troubled continent.
