Max's class this morning dealt with democracy and judgements (biased versions from Europeans and North Americans) on the quality (or lack thereof) of Latin American democracies. Max went through many definitions and arguments with consummate clarity. We also discussed polyarchy as a more refined definition of democracy that attempts to avoid some of the Euro-centrisms of other arguments. This interested me because I have read the term polyarchy used in an entirely peggiorative sense, as the rule by the wealthy. The idea is that only the wealthy can afford to run for office, and then they make laws that benefit the wealthy, no matter to which party they belong.
The afternoon and evening were quieter with some great visits from students: Josh and James and later Peggy. Josh has now left for Veracruz where he will interview some of his elder family members on Zapotec oral history.
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