Article

As arbitrary as it may be to draw lines around periods of history, the PRD tenth convention was something of a watershed for the democratic "opening" inaugurated by the party's presiden- tial victory in 1978. The deciding vote back then had been cast by the popular sectors, but the vic- tory was determined as well by the compliance of the U.
Mimi Keck
SAO PAULO-Three weeks af- ter the November 15 elections, with 95% of the vote counted, it is clear that Brazilians gave their govern- ment a vote of no confidence for its 18 years of military rule. For the first time since the 1964 coup, voters in all 23 states were allowed to choose state governors.
As Guzmin's funeral cortege passed by, one woman was heard to say: "Guzmin didn't take away my hunger, but he gave us freedom." That was not a eulogy shared by all.
Any appreciation of today's Dominican Republic must begin with two historic events: the assassination in 1961 of 30-year Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo and the April War, 1965. Trujillo, as Juan Bosch has written, had "substituted himself for the entire capitalist class",- on his death his vast properties passed to the state.
Judith Matloff
While other parts of Oaxaca, Mexico's predominantly Indian, ag- ricultural state, attract anthropolo- gists and others interested in ruins, Juchitan draws only political scien- tists, goes a town joke. Juchitan-- the state's second largest city-is the only major Mexican city con- trolled by leftists.
"Love And War" in English When we published the excerpts from Eduardo Galeano's extraordi- nary personal/political memoir, Days and Nights of Love and War, in our Fifteenth Anniversary issue last fall, we offered them as a powerful testimony to the lives and courage of the people of Latin America. We are delighted to announce that this testimony is now available in its en- tirety- from Monthly Review Press ($16, cloth; $8, paper).
Aurelio Sinlaterra
We encourage our readers to send letters of commentary on past Reports to initiate a dialogue on the issues we cover-or fail to cover. Most of the mail we get is of the "keep up the good work" variety.
THE DOMINICAN REPUBUC G. Pope Atkins, Arms and Politics In the Dominican Republic (Westview Press, 1981).
Having an incumbent president pass on the sash of office to his successor is still a rare occur- rence in the Dominican Republic. Guzmin's July suicide once more preempted this symbol of continuity and propelled Vice President Jacobo Majluta temporarily to the post he had long been eyeing.