The Autumn of the Patriarch

Gabriel García Márquez was born in Colombia and spent much of his life in Latin American countries. The Autumn of the Patriarch is a novel about dictatorship that is largely influenced by a group of Latin American dictators who gained power and executed brutal rule in his lifetime. The life of Venezuelan dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez, a particularly violent and totalitarian ruler, mirrors closely the life of the General. Like the General of the Universe, Jiménez rid Venezuela of the national university, cut health and educational funding, and was so suspicious of outsiders that no more than six army officials held power during his rule.

This type of political system, or caudillismo, though not entirely distinct to Latin America, was practiced in the region because the end of Spanish rule over colonial territories (like the Caribbean) caused a power vacuum that military leaders filled after ousting the colonists. Though caudillismo did not last, many 20th-century dictators, like Jiménez, are sometimes referred to as caudillos—leaders selected due to their charismatic personalities and military and political prowess. Though not all caudillos were brutal in their reign, they were all authoritarian. The General embodies the archetypal caudillo in The Autumn of the Patriarch.

The relationship between European colonizers and colonized territories also informs the novel, largely because of the colonial relationship between Spain and the Caribbean; the General takes control due to the power vacuum that emerged after independence from Spain. Márquez includes many anachronisms, like presence of colonial Spain alongside British naval officers—incidents that historically occurred 300 years apart—to support the argument that The Pursuit of Power tends to corrupt individuals, especially those in positions of authority.