El estado deudor is an important contribution to the literature on the contemporary Latin American debt problem. The author, Oscar Ugarteche, a professor at the Institute of Peruvian Studies in Lima, is an internationally recognized expert on this topic. The book’s detailed political-economic focus on two of the smaller debtor countries is refreshing. Most of the previous literature has been directed more exclusively to economic factors, confined to generalized patterns for the region, or concentrated on one of the big three debtors Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina.
To set the background, the book begins with an overview of the generic reasons for and dimensions of the Latin American debt problem. The bulk of the tome is then directed to the Bolivian and Peruvian experiences over the 1968-84 period. Ugarteche explains the neoliberal economy of Bolivia in the 1970s and the private sector beneficiaries of that nation’s debt. In contrast, Peru was experiencing an increasingly state-directed economy and went into debt to purchase military equipment. The author analyzes the two countries’ uses (and abuses) of debt, and how each became unable to meet its debt obligations in the early 1980s. Internal politics as well as country relations with the IMF and other international donors are emphasized. The volume concludes with a comparison of the debt problems of the two countries.
A strength of the book is its clear presentation of the interrelationships between economic factors and political decisions that impacted on the accumulation of the debt, as well as its management and repayment. This political economy approach makes the book appealing to an interdisciplinary audience of social scientists, students of the debt problem, and persons interested in contemporary government decision making. Bolivian and Peruvian specialists will find it especially valuable. It is unfortunate that the book’s analysis finishes with 1984. Since that time, the dynamics of debt repayment (or nonrepayment) schemes have grown apace in the two countries, as well as in Latin America in general. The text is in Spanish; however, the author’s clear exposition in complete chapter summaries should allow the reader with limited Spanish language capabilities to follow the arguments.