in the history of post-independence latin america, dictatorships have been relatively common—examples range from paraguay's josé gaspar rodríguez de francia in the 19th century to chile's augusto pinochet in the 20th. in this context, latin american literature has been distinguished by the protest novel, or dictator novel; the main story is based around the dictator figure, his behaviour, characteristics and the situation of the people under his regime. writers such as sarmiento used the power of the written word in order to criticize government, using literature as a tool, an instance of resistance and as a weapon against repression.