Urban Guerrilla vs. Citizens Revolution

Nicolás Buckley is professor of postgraduate studies at European University of Madrid.

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 presents oral interviews he collected from the group’s former members during a seven-year residency in Ecuador. [The] book approaches the topic[s] from the perspective of cultural studies, emphasizing musings on modernity, especially as it relates to mestizo and Indigenous identities. Recommended. Faculty and professionals.

• Foreword by David Carey Jr.IntroductionChapter 1: Theory and daily life in Latin AmericaChapter 2: The experience of modernity Chapter 3: Dreams of a mestizo youthChapter 4: Reggaeton or Citizen´s Revolution?Epilogue: The indigenous rebellion of 2019. Crossing experiences between the activists and the oral historianConclusionsBibliographyAbout the Author