Customer Reviews

Nightwatch: The Politics of Protest in the Andes

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I live in Peru (near Cusco) most of the year now. I purchased this text to enrich my historical and ethnographical understanding of Peru. Even though the `Rondas campesinas' (rounds of the farmer/peasants) occurred in Northern Peru, the history and the ethnography within this text are relevant to all of Peru.

`Nightwatch' is about the poor peasants of Northern Peru, who, in the long years from 1970 to 1990, when their nation was unraveling, banded together to survive and bring security to their communities. The Rondas rose as a defense against surging violence, rampant crime and a morally bankrupt government. In 1986 Professor Starn (Duke U.) was in Peru working on his doctoral dissertation in anthropology. `Nightwatch' is the culmination of his study.

Though the Rondas may never return, there will be new movements in Peru populated by the disenfranchised poor who continue their struggle for justice. Today, justice for all (except the rich) is an aberration in Peru. Corruption and repression by the Government are growing. Peru, today is a country without leadership and it is slipping back into the chasm of chaos that marked the years from late 70s to early 90s.

As I write this review (June 2005) civil unrest is occurring in Peru. Sadly, America and Europe have shifted their focus to the Middle East. America and Europe have left Latin America adrift. The despondency of the citizens as they watch their country and their lives sink into poverty is more pronounced monthly. The unreliability and the massive corruption under previous Presidents, Belaunde (1980-85) and Garcia (1985-90), has returned under President Toledo.

The book is well-written in a very readable style. The book is organized by broad themes, starting with the rise of the Rondas, and ending a little more than twenty years later as they faded into history. Starn charts the evolution of this peasant moment from a simple police force into tribunals that resolved dispute, disputes that the indifferent police and inept court system wouldn't. He also writes about the patrols through the night and the drama of violence when these farms captured a thief. The whippings and hangings demonstrates the resolve of the campesinas to regain control over their lives. Refreshingly, he does not romance the poor (projecting the image that such movements will remake the world). His chapter on NGOs (non-governmental organizations) is balanced and informative. If there is a downside it is that book tends to repeats itself, and could have been much shorter without sacrificing substance. This book is about an unique expression of hope and for students of Latin America, social science theorists and students of Andean studies this text will be essential reading. Strongly Recommended 3.5stars