Buchenau, Jurgen: The Last Caudillo

In The Last Caudillo: Alvaro Obregón and the Mexican Revolution, Latin American specialist Jürgen Buchenau offers a succinct and revelatory biography of the man whose faction won the Mexican Revolution in 1920. Buchenau probes deeply into the life and times of General Alvaro Obregón and also sheds new light on the first major social revolution of the twentieth century and on broader issues surrounding the cult of personality and culture of leadership. Drawing on the fascination that caudillo rule has held for observers of Latin America, Buchenau reveals its crucial elements, including a macho cult of leadership; heroism in war; intensely loyal followers; and a clientelist system to reward those followers. Using the life story of one of the most fascinating figures in Mexican history, The Last Caudillo offers new insights into the role of leadership, the nature of revolution, and the complex forces that helped shape modern Mexico.