Word: latinate
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...most of South America, political power is conferred by the barracks rather than the ballot box. Only two of the continent's Latin nations (Colombia and Venezuela) are Western-style democracies; Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile remain under more or less strict military control. In a few countries, however, the armed forces have been trying to ease their khaki embrace-so far with mixed results...
When such ancient treasures are discovered in Guatemala and many other Latin American nations, they legally become part of the national heritage and cannot be taken from the country without official sanction. But to the stealthy diggers in the Guatemalan jungle, the law means less than a Mayan glyph. They are members of one of Latin America's oldest and least honorable professions-grave robbers and clandestine treasure hunters...
...curtail assaults on their history, Latin American governments have passed stiff new laws against smuggling, stepped up customs inspections and exerted pressure on other governments to cooperate in the fight against the thefts. The U.S., for its part, has made it illegal to import any pre-Columbian object without the approval of its country of origin, and customs officials have become more vigilant...
Despite the formidable obstacles in their way, many Latin American governments now seem determined to save what remains of their ancient national heritage. Explains Silvio Mutal, a Lima-based U.N. official who has been helping in the struggle to preserve Andean culture: "We are dealing with the birthright of whole races. It is vital that these artifacts stay in their countries of origin so that the descendants of their makers can see and learn from their past...
Biographer Barnes, a journalist who covered Latin America before becoming a Los Angeles-based correspondent for the London Sunday Times, treats his subject both forthrightly and fairly. In fact, he is not entirely unsympathetic. The sources of Eva's greeds, hates and demagogic passions are too real to dismiss. Sad is an adjective that often appears in front of Argentina, and this book shows...