Manifest Destiny Meets Machismo: The Strongman Tradition in American Politics
Or, why the USA is a Latin American country.
When Elon Musk made his awkward military stiff-arm salute, he may have mimicked leaders from 1930s Germany. But just as likely his motives were mixed. He longed to be a macho, macho man, dancing with Trump, occupying Mars, and celebrating an old American tradition of political-military strongmen: caudillismo.
And virile nations, self-made by the rifle and the law, love other virile nations, and only those.
José Martí, Our América El Partido Liberal (Mexico City), 1891
But Musk and Trump, you might object, are businessmen playing politics, not gunslingers running coups. What do you mean by caudillismo?
American Strongmen or caudillismo
Caudillismo refers to a system of rule by a caudillo (from Latin capitellum, meaning head). A caudillo is a political boss, who rises to power through military prowess and maintains control through patronage, populism, and personalistic rule. It is part of the political history of Latin America. But as we have learned from Felipe Fernández-Armesto, Our America: A Hispanic History of the United States (2015), “the USA is a Latin American country.”
In 19th and 20th-century Latin America charismatic military leaders were common. They emerged after the wars of independence in Latin America from 1810. The power vacuum left by the fall of the Spanish empire in the Americas was filled by the caudillos. They ordered the social chaos. These regional military officers used the chaos of the new democratic republics as a ladder, and imposed order by throwing away the ladder. Through force and machismo, they secured peace and stability, but at great cost. Examples include Juan Vicente Gómez (1857–1935) in Venezuela, Plutarco Elías Calles (1877–1945) in Mexico, Juan Perón (1895-1974) in Argentina, and General Augusto Pinochet (1915-2006) in Chile. On the left, Fidel Castro (1926-2016) and Hugo Chávez (1954-2013) have been identified as caudillos. It was a political, social and cultural phenomenon that crossed ideological divides.
Felipe Fernández-Armesto identifies the two key characteristics of caudillismo as the “replacement of political institutions by individual leaders - installed or backed by force - and a politicised military.” (p. 344) These two characteristics have often been identified with the tragic history of dictatorships, military juntas and frequent military coups in Latin America. I would add a third characteristic, machismo. Machismo is the set of beliefs and behaviors that emphasize male dominance, strength, and honor. It has shaped social and political dynamics in Latin America.
At the heart of both machismo and caudillismo is the ideal of the strong, dominant male leader. Caudillos often embody the traits associated with machismo—courage, decisiveness, and a willingness to use force—to establish their authority and command loyalty. When Trump pumped his fist after the assassination attempt on the campaign field of Butler, Pennsylvania, his followers saw the apotheosis of the boastful real estate tycoon into the ultimate, manly, courageous, all-American caudillo.
Below the paywall I share historical insights into
Caudillos in Latin America and the USA
Aaron Burr as caudillo or strongman
Teddy Roosevelt as caudillo or strongman
The Strong Man in American Political, Business and Media Culture, and
How the USA is a Latin American Country.
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