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Few nations in the world have trekked such a dramatic political path as Peru. John Sherman discusses Peru’s post-1821 history.

Image courtesy of interviewee. December 20, 2023

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This video video is a transcription of a talk where the speaker discusses their recent book about Peru, motivated by the Covid pandemic. The author began writing due to the halted academic and travel opportunities, focusing on the lack of contemporary textbooks on Peru, as the last one in English had not been published for 20 years. They engaged extensively with Peruvian historiography, emphasizing the complexity of Peru's national history, particularly post-independence, which they describe as chaotic and tumultuous.

During their trip to Peru, coinciding with the inauguration of President Pedro Castillo, the author experienced firsthand the political tensions and social dynamics in the country. They explore themes of race, class, and geography, noting the significant divides between the darker-skinned indigenous population and the lighter-skinned political elite. The author aims to present a synthesis of existing scholarship rather than a narrow monograph, hoping to make the material accessible to a broader audience.

The book includes both historical narratives and standalone chapters on contemporary life and culture in Peru, discussing the rise of popular media, film, and literature. Ultimately, the author seeks to illustrate Peru's importance in understanding broader Latin American issues and the challenges faced by third-world countries, inviting readers to engage with this diverse and complex nation.

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Here are some key quotes from the video that highlight important themes and insights:

1. **On the Impact of COVID-19**:
- "Covid, truthfully, this is a Covid book."

2. **On the Author's Journey**:
- "So when Covid hit, I kind of was stalled out. I couldn't travel, uh, classes went online, didn't have much to do, didn't at home. So I decided to write a new book."

3. **On Researching Peru**:
- "No one had done Peru since independence for about 20 years, so in English. So I was game to give it a try and just started prolifically reading about Peru and conceptualizing the book."

4. **On Expertise and Challenges**:
- "The truth is, I was trying to turn one of my weaknesses into my strengths... I’ve not really worked on Peru and Peruvian history’s really thick on ancient Peru."

5. **On the Nature of Historical Research**:
- "I really owe a great debt to the thick historiography of all the scholars that have worked on Peru."

6. **On Writing Style and Audience**:
- "One of my approaches is to just do more synthesis and broader books looking for a more accessible audience."

7. **On the Complexity of Independence**:
- "Independence is a mess... It's just a very confusing web of intrigue."

8. **On Political Instability**:
- "It’s kind of funny. I mean, in a way it’s kind of sick. You have 11 presidents in six years, three constitutions in six years."

9. **On Social Divisions**:
- "Pedro Castillo's short presidency is a commentary on Peruvian race and geographic divide... the country that I'm hyping here has a race problem."

10. **On Contemporary Relevance**:
- "I think it makes my book a little bit relevant... I determined to bring it right up to the present and wrestle with what you political scientists do."

11. **On Engaging Cultural Aspects**:
- "I look at popular culture, the rise of radio, television... Peru has a marvelous film industry."

12. **On the Importance of Understanding Peru**:
- "Peru is such an important piece of the Latin America puzzle... It’s a poignant commentary on the challenges of third world countries."

These quotes encapsulate the author's reflections on the influences of the pandemic on their work, their approach to writing about Peru, the complexity of its history, and the cultural and political dynamics at play.

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Covid, truthfully, this is a Covid book.

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So when Covid hit, I kind of was stalled out.

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I couldn't travel, classes went online,

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didn't have much to do, didn't at home.

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So I decided to write a new book.

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I'd done a textbook on Mexico for the same press,

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Roman in Middlefield, and I enjoyed doing it.

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And I decided this,

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this time I looked a little bit more at the market,

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my Mexico book, which came out in 2020.

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There's like 13 textbooks on Mexico.

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Uh, no one had done Peru since independence

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for about 20 years, so in English.

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So I was game to give it a try

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and just started prolifically reading about Peru

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and conceptualizing the book.

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The truth is, I was trying to turn one

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of my weaknesses into my strengths.

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I, I've not really worked on Peru

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and Peruvian history's really thick on ancient Peru,

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the Inca, it's really thick on the epic colonial period.

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Uh, but there's not much emphasis on the national period,

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and it's really got a colorful,

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amazing national period history.

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So when I started delving into it, I'm like, wow,

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this is really good stuff.

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I'm gonna, I'm gonna have to run with it.

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But yeah, so it was actually a week.

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I'd never physically been in Peru in my life.

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In fact, before I started the book, truthfully, this is,

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this is a textbook, so synthesis, you know, so, I mean,

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I, a political animal.

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I thoroughly enjoyed my first trip.

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I was on the ground the week Pedro Castillo was inaugurated,

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and within, three hours of landing in Lima,

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I saw two fist fights up close,

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and I saw Abel Morales, the president of Bolivia, up close.

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I thought, well, this is gonna be a fun trip.

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Uh, so anyways, no Lima's a great

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city of 10 million people.

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It's invigorating. It's, it's a mess.

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Uh, and it, you know, it was a good adventure.

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But in terms of research, overwhelmingly

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what I was doing was reading the historiography,

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the secondary sources written by Peruvians,

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especially Peruvians in Spanish,

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but also English writers here in the United States

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with our massive academic establishment.

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And so really it's, you know, it's a synthesis book of, of,

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of research done by others.

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I really owe a great debt to the thick historiography

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of all the scholars that have worked on Peru.

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So, but it's, it's fun to synthesize.

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So, you know, it's, it's a little bit

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of a different challenge when you're writing a text ass

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opposed to narrow monographs.

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The truth is, monographs are sometimes so narrow

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and so focused that they evade an audience in effect.

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And I think that's very unfortunate.

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Uh, but it is what it is.

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So, one of my approaches

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to re I did three books early in my career.

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One of my approaches is I've reengage reengaged writing is

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to just do more synthesis

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and broader books looking for a more accessible audience.

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So hopefully it, it, you know, appeals to people

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who just want a basic introduction

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and understanding of Peru and its history.

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Post independence. Independence is a mess.

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I mean, it's, you obviously gotta start the book.

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Peru says Independence and Independence,

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but the truth of the matter is, it's a,

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it's a, it's a cluster.

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It's just a very confusing web of intrigue.

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There's this rhetoric of enlightenment,

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but on the rea on the ground, it's not the reality.

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So there's this disconnect

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You're trying to reconcile,

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and it's, it's really a kind of tricky period.

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So I, I like to write narrative.

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I like to write clear linear narrative.

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And you really can't do that with the wars of independence.

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You have to let it get messy and then back off

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and tell the reader, Hey, this is really messy.

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Uh, and because it, it is really a confusing epic.

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Uh, but, the bottom line is elite Leman

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or Peruvian Creole elite in the capital

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of Lima really didn't want any type of social revolution

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for the darker skinned people.

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And as a consequence, the, the break

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with Spain is very conservative

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as it is in most of Latin America.

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So it's a, it's a, it's a confusing epic that, you know,

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unfortunately it has to start the book.

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I think I synthesized it pretty well,

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but I couldn't do this ni nice, neat, tight, linear

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narrative that, that I like and that most readers like it.

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It's, it's kind of funny.

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I mean, in, in a way it's kind of sick.

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You have 11 presidents in six years,

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three constitutions in six years.

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It's just like, wow. And,

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and you know, at one point I say in, in that chapter,

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if you find this confusing how much the Peruvians, I mean,

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you know, this, this is a mess.

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I flew back, and,

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and watched firsthand some of the street chaos

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and protests, not the really bloody violence

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of this past January, February.

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It was before that, but,

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but there's a lot of tension on the streets.

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And I think Pedro Castillo's Rising fall really speaks

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to this divide that is Peru.

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He, it's a dark skinned indigenous descendant Highlander,

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and the power is on the coast

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with lighter skin mestizo population and the Lano elite.

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And, they, they would have nothing to do with them.

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So, he, his was,

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his short presidency is a commentary on Peruvian race

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and geographic divide racism, I'm sorry to say it,

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the country that I'm hyping here has a, has a race problem.

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Um, my country, the United States arguably does too, but,

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but not, not at this level.

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It's, it's pretty epic.

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So Pedro Castillo is a man who just was not acceptable

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to the lighter skinned political class and,

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and ultimately is brought down because of that.

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But the tensions are, are still there

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and still an unresolved issue.

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Where this goes, it's gonna be interesting.

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I think it makes my book a little bit relevant.

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When I did my Mexico text, I did, I stopped it at year 2000.

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I've gotten some criticism for that.

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So this time I determined to bring it right up

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to the present and wrestle with what you,

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you political scientists do

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and look at, some of the contemporary politics.

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One of the features of the book that I, I like,

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that I created, it's a little novel, is there's 17 chapters,

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but five standalone chapters on life and culture.

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And I actually try to avoid straight up social history

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because a lot of us historians, a lot of us

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who teach history like to assign, readings

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that are exclusively on social history.

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So I actually divorced it from social history,

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but I engage with call, I call life and culture.

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I look at popular culture, the rise of radio, television.

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Peru has a marvelous film industry, modest in size,

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but they produced great films in the last really 50 years.

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Uh, and, and so, poetry, literature, deep,

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tradition in art.

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So I engage that in these five standalone

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chapters that I think are pretty fun.

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Uh, and I think ultimately I want to attract,

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a readership that, you know, recognizes

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as Peru is such an important piece

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of the Latin America puzzle.

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Not just in the colonial and ancient times,

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but right at into contemporary times.

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It's had it's reverberated politically with tensions

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that we see across the subcontinent across South

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America and beyond.

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And, and Russell's also with,

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and as a, is a poignant commentary on the challenges

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of third world countries.

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And so, I think that, you know, is an invitation

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to study this intriguing nation and see where it goes.

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I.

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