Myths of Modernity - Peonage and Patriarchy in Nicaragua

- Myths of Modernity - Peonage and Patriarchy in Nicaragua, by Elizabeth Dore. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2006.

The main and provocative claim of this monograph is that capitalism, contrary to common belief, had not taken root in Nicaragua after the coffee boom (from the 1870s to the 1930s) and that, instead, patriarchy based both on coercion and consent was the main organizing principle of local relations. The Sandinista revolution in the 1980s designed its rural reforms parting from the conviction that 'modern' capitalism ruled, and that socialism was the answer. Dore suggests they were wrong. She contends that the Sandinistas' refusal to take into account the peasants' viewpoint and, in particular, their call for private land, and Sandinista insistence on state farming and production cooperatives may have contributed to their loss of support in the Nicaraguan countryside (p. 8), and subsequently to their electoral defeat in 1990.

The book has seven chapters, an introduction, a conclusion and an epilogue. In the introduction, the genesis and idea of the work are explained. The argument is to show that in Diriomo, a municipality adjacent to the city of Granada, the vast transformations brought about by the rise of the coffee fincas did indeed disrupt most traditional arrangements, such as the indigenous character of the township, the collective landownership and female subordination. It did not, however, produce capitalism, mainly because the labour regime remained largely coercive. No free labour market ruled in Diriomo. In chapter 2, where theoretical matters are dealt with, the point is elaborated conceptually. Class is defined more broadly than in classic scholarship: besides the relationship to means of production and other classes, it also entails 'the shared relationship of a group of people to political institutions and cultural norms' (p. 21). Since in Diriomo people were less forced to sell their labour (because the majority maintained access to sufficient land to sustain themselves, p. 88), the mechanism to 'bond' workers was not the market, but 'reciprocal but unequal rights and obligations' (p. 28), which materialized in a 'double-sided class character of patriarchy' (p. 29), consisting of 'patriarchy from above' referring to the planter-peon relations and 'patriarchy from below' referring to the peasant household relations.

The argument is developed in the subsequent chapters. Chapters 2 and 3 have a historical emphasis, elaborating on ethnic and gender relations, respectively. The main argument about the indigenous character of Diriomo is that, in view of the weakness of cultural markers and the fact that 'indigeneity' was therefore mainly upheld by common land property, the abolition of such landownership decisively contributed to the demise of the town's indigenous character. In the chapter on gender relations, the point is stressed that the ladino elite managed a different moral code for the ladinas and the, mostly indigenous, poor women. Whereas for the latter a more flexible model of sexuality was tolerated, the net effect was that for all women land control was out of the question, and that for the poorer women their accusations about sexual assault generally led to nothing in court. In chapter 4, the major transformations triggered by the coffee boom, starting around 1870, take central stage. The core process is land concentration and privatization. The way the large fincas emerged out of the expropriation of former common land did however not produce a disposed peasantry: many peasants managed to hold on to sufficient land for family subsistence. In chapter 5, the ways these transformations influenced gender relations is dealt with. Paradoxically, the changes, entailing among other things an expansion of women's ability 'to claim land in their own right' (p. 102), tended to increase female landholding among the poorer groups whereas in the 'upper peasantry', where the intact transference of the land property as a whole was highly valued, women were increasingly excluded from a share in the family's heritage. In chapter 6, the mechanisms through which labour on the coffee fincas was enforced is analysed. These mechanisms were needed because no substantial rural proletariat emerged out of the process of land privatization. Among them were Maws compelling vagrants to work on coffee plantations [... defining] vagrancy so broadly that it embraced most of the population' (p. 117). Compliance with labour laws often 'was left in the hands of the planters' (p. 118). The obligation smaller landowners felt to borrow money from the planters contributed to the effectiveness of forced labour recruitment. The author also stresses that a certain degree of consent was built through an endless series of court cases in which peasants fought abuse and sought justice, and through the socio-cultural vehicle of patriarchy, forcing the planter to assume some role of 'protector'. Dore concludes that, in those years, 'Nicaragua had no labour market in the capitalist sense' (p. 146). The argument about patriarchy accounting for the longevity of peonage is elaborated in chapter 7. The author explains how wordings and values of a patria poles tad-culture inspired labour contracts and the self-identification of planters and their 'charity', resulting in 'patriarchy from above'. Additionally, she illustrates how peonage often meant that peasants worked on their own land, and additionally used their 'legal and customary authority to allocate the labour of their dependents' (p. 161). Thus, the women and children who often worked on the coffee plantations were subject to a 'patriarchy from below'. This dual practice 'prolonged the life of non-market relations' (p. 163).

The conclusion recapitulates the main argument and connects it to theoretical issues and suggestions. Here, theories on capitalist development, on gender and patriarchy, and on ethnicity and mestizaje, are revisited to underline that theories on 'modernity's history' and capitalist development upholding linear assumptions should be questioned. In the epilogue, the focus switches to the Sandinista decade in Nicaragua. Dore describes how the Sandinistas 'reinterpreted the past to justify this ['socialist'] definition of themselves' (p. 172). Their insistence upon a 'capitalist state of affairs' in the country proved, however, to be a complete mistake. And their policies to convert many coffee plantations into state farms disillusioned the peasants. Reversing this policy for one that focused on land distribution around the mid 1980s came too late, was too half-hearted and was accompanied by too much complicated bureaucracy. The Sandinistas lost the 1990 election.

This excellent book is thoroughly researched. It is conceptually sophisticated and touches upon pertinent and important theoretical matters. It enriches the conventional analysis of rural histories by focusing upon the gendered dimension of power and by convincingly illustrating the duality of coercion and consent present in such unequal power arrangements. It thus brings 'culture' in the analysis of the often uneven and fragmented development towards capitalism. It presents a wealth of empirical substance for the argument and provides attractive reading through a clear style and a plethora of demonstrative and telling cases and examples.