Transcript Latin America Political Context

Latin America Political Context
RIZA NOER ARFANI
2007 LATIN AMERICAN GOVT & POLITICS
DEPT. OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
GADJAH MADA UNIVERSITY
The background
 To comprehend Latin America exceedingly diverse area
as well as commonalities in terms of law, language,
history, culture, sociology, colonial experience, and
overall political patterns
 Debate over Latin American heritage & future:
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Western or non-Western
Feudal, capitalist, or socialist
First world (developed nations) or Third world (developing nations)
Evolutionary or revolutionary change
 Consensus among Latin American countries nowadays:
democracy in political sphere, modern-mixed economy,
and greater integration with the rest of the world
The driving forces...
 Democratization
 Democracy as overwhelmingly the preferred form of
government of Latin America
 Takes forms that are often different from that of the US
 Still threatened by upheaval, corruption and vast social
problems
 Globalization
 Affects Latin America in all areas of life: culture, society
(behavioral norms), politics, and above all economics
 Latin America as part of global market economy
 Latin America has little choice but to open its markets to
global trade & investment
The key features...
 Countries/nations: 18 Spanish-speaking, 1
Portuguese-speaking (Brazil), 1 French or patoisspeaking (Haiti)
 Area: South America, Central America, Mexico, and
the Carribean islands, encompasses 8 million square
miles/21 million sq kms/about 1/5 of the world’s
total land area.
 Population: over 500 million/almost twice that of
the US
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Note: former Dutch & British colonies in the area are not
culturally, socially, religiously, or politically “Latin”America
Social & racial composition
 Countries in which a mestizo population dominates:
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South America: Venezuela & Colombia
Central America: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama &
Mexico
 Countries overwhelmingly European in character:
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Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Costa Rica
 Countries with conspicous Indian groupings, generally
inhabiting the highlands:
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Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay
 Countries dominated by African admixtures:
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Brazil
The Carribean: Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti
The economies
 Foundation of Latin American economies:
rapacious/predatory & exploitative...
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Mercantilist era: colonies such as Spain and Portugal existed solely for
the benefit of the mother countries
Colonial and after-independence era: feudal or semi-feudal estate
patterned after the European model, with Spaniards & Portuguese as the
overlords & Indians and blacks as peasants & slaves
Last half of the 19th century: feudal estates began to be converted into
more capitalistic enterprises producing more intensively for world
market as well as home consumption
First half of the 20th century: industrialization began in the 1930s
precisely because the countries had no export earnings to purchase
imported manufactured goods
Post-war era: Latin America developed rapidly on the basis of ISI model
1990s: the economic growth in many countries was still anemic and debt
continued to be a burden
Classes & social forces
 Two-class system as a reflection of feudal Spain and of
the medieval Christian conception
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Strict social hierarchy: immutable & in accord with God’s ordering of
the universe
 This two-class structure of the society and rigid class
structure was reinforced by racial criteria...
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The onset of economic growth in the late 19th century &
industrialization in the 20th century gave rise to new social forces
 Latin America today: more pluralistic than before
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Al lower-class levels important changes are also occuring: labor
organization, peasants mobilization, and other community groupings
(women, Protestantism, racial/ethnic, environmental)
Political culture
 Elitism/authoritrianism as derivation of elitist power
structure, biblical precepts & medieval Christianity which
emphasize on top-down rule, and the chaotic and often
anarchic conditions that seemed to demand strong
government
 Corporatism: the organization of the nation’s interest
group life under state regulation & control, not on the
basis of freedom of association
 Patronage/patrimonialism: a system of mutual
obligation, a favor for a favor...
 Socialism/marxism, social-democratic, populism, liberal
democracy/liberalism...