Provides a great perspective on 19th century Spanish American republicanism and three of its pillars - elections, citizen in arms, and public opinion. Worth the read to get a better understanding of nation-building Spanish America. My only critiques are that it really should have provided some context and insight into nationalism and how it played a key role into political decision and actions of the time as an obstacle and also for the sake of placing the early Spanish American republican experience into a global context of that time Sabato does mesh the Spanish American experience into one rather than delving deeper and explaining the diversity of the unique republican experiences of each country. Also, though Sabato tried to include the experiences of all social and economic classes into the discussion of every chapter, it was more of an afterthought.
