Transcript Latin America in the 21st Century

Chapter 32
First World: the United States and its allies.
Second World: the Soviet Union and its allies.
Third World: Non-aligned and neutral countries
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Latin America – a third world continent
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Idea of the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd originated during the Cold War…
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1st: Advanced economies & high development
2nd: Industrialized communist nation
3rd: Lack of industrialization/underdeveloped
Shared traits of Africa/Asia, but…
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Western social/political structures
Economic links to US and Europe
 Again focused on exports – vulnerable to world demand
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Political, cultural, economic dependency cycle continued
Decolonization = economic freedom + cultural/political that matches
Becomes more industrial – leads to labor movement
 Growing urban middle class begins to play a role
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Latin American patterns
Economic expansion – conservative reaction to maintain political power
 Economic crisis – chance to break patterns/expand social justice
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More continuities than changes
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Can’t replace old system w/ agreed upon new system
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Better education, social services, treatment of women, industry
Brazil and Argentina ruled by reformers w/ populist agenda
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Even when Peron – Argentina –was expelled
power of movement still evident
Military forced to repress to maintain control
Military tried to gain prestige/nationalism in war for Falkland Islands
Mexico and the PRI
 Party of the Institutionalized Republic
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economic growth paramount
Stability provided – controls politics – one-party system, but…
Political corruption and failure to improve social
Whatever happened to revolutionary ideals?
Zapatistas
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Chiapas1994 Zapatistas revolt in Chiapas – frustrated
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NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)
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Problem solved through repression/negotiation
Trade pact signed in 1992 that gradually eliminates most tariffs and other trade barriers on
products and services passing between the United States, Canada, and Mexico NAFTA
Attempt to improve political situation
Trade increases, but…
Middle class gets rich and large income gap between middle class and poor
2000 PRI finally defeated national election by Vicente Fox – PAN party
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Platform – end corruption, improve life for Mexican workers in US PRI out
What are possible solutions to improve economic and social
conditions?
Mexico – one-party conservative rule
 Venezuela/Costa Rica – reform minded democracies
 Or…there’s always the Marxist option
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Radical solutions as possibility
Continued problems that never improve
 Revolutions go too far left, bring back military into control
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Bolivia – link of miners, labor, peasants
reforms
open elections
Marxist options
Bolivia
mix of radicalism and reaction
Guatemala: Reform and U.S. Intervention
 Economic disparities– illiterate, poor health
 Land distributed unequally – surprise, surprise
 High mortality rate
 Coffee, banana export
 Labor coalition
Juan José Arevalo elected, 1944 tries reforms
 Income tax
 Land reform
 Intense nationalism
 A lot of reforms, but did not drive out the Catholic church.
1951 Colonel Jacobo Arbenz elected tries to go even further
 Tries to nationalize transportation, hydroelectric system
 Tries to appropriate unused land
Problem – policies conflict with desires of United Fruit Company
 Foreign owned company that has a lot to lose
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Oligarchy and United Fruit Company
threatened
 Now Del Monte Corporation
 US/CIA sponsored military force takes over
 Help based on acceptance of Eastern
European weapons
 Violence and instability
 Guerilla movement starts
More radical land reform
Reform ends
***Key theme – Latin American won’t be
allowed to changed w/out foreigners
Cuba differs from Guatemala American influence following Spanish rule
 Large Spanish and African slave descendant population
 Large middle class
 Relatively high literacy/health care
 Huge disparity between urban and rural
 Cuban policies strongly linked to US interests
 ¾ imports from US
 Economy fluctuates based on global demand for sugar –Major export
Fulgencio Batista, 1934-1944
 military reformer, 1940, new constitution, 1952 on becomes dictator
 Promises major changes – nationalization of natural resources
 Marred by corruption
Fidel Castro
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1953, Lawyer who launches revolution but is arrested attempted revolution
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Exiled to Mexico – taught guerilla tactics by Ernesto “El Che ” Guevara
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student, labor support, Both return to Cuba, gain support, take over isolated
leader
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1958, Batista out
 Turns Marxist-Leninist/Gains Soviet aid & protector
 1961, U.S. breaks relations with Cuba, “Bay of Pigs”
 1962, threat of nuclear war, attempted assassinations
 Cuban Missile Crisis October 1963
Under Castro:
 Foreign properties confiscated
 Lands collectivized
 Centralized socialist economy
 Survived the 6os with USSR, or would have failed
 Sugar prices fluctuate, can’t afford oil
 El Che assassinated in Bolivia 1967
Continuity
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Mexico, one-party system
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Venezuela, Chile
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Christian Democratic
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Liberation Theology
 So…how do you reverse inequality and foreign domination?
 Mexico’s one party system – PRI
 But…poor planning, corruption, foreign debt crippled efforts
 Chile/Venezuela – church/clergy take position for human rights
 Liberation theology – social equality = personal salvation
 Leads to attacks against clergy/nuns who want social change
Military intervenes in politics, 1960s
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often U.S.-backed
 Caudillo tradition, but…
 Now military thinks they’re above politicians
 Sacrifice democratic process for martial law
 Fear of Cuban success spreading
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Brazil
 1964 - Brazilian military + middle class take over elected government
 With help from US
 Fear that they would actually implement social reforms
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Argentina
military coup, 1966 – Argentina - Military intervenes over Peron
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Chile - General Augusto Pinochet
 Former commander of Chilean army brought up on crimes against humanity
 Seized power from leftist Salvador Allende in 1973
 Brutal repression – thousands killed/tortured
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Uruguay, 1973
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Peru, 1968
Unique variations
 Argentina - land reform and pushed nationalism to take Falkland
Islands
 In Argentina, violent opposition to military rule led to a
counteroffensive known as ʺthe dirty warʺ
 Chile/Uruguay – intensely anti-communistic
Venezuela, Costa Rica
 The New Democratic Trends
 1980s military gradually turns power back to civilians
 Fear of Cuba communism goes away
 Populist parties not so scary
 End of cold war – US hesitant to sponsor dictators
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But still huge problems for governments
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Large foreign loans – some infrastructure, some stupid =
huge debt
International commerce in drugs
High rates of inflation
Cold war pressures eased in mid-80s
Argentina
elections, 1983
Brazil
presidential elections, 1989
Peru
Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path), 1990s leftist guerillas
El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala
truces between governments, rebels
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Conditions
workers hard-hit
continuing structural problems
repression, torture
 Pattern of rule
 Dictatorship
 Political repression/torture to dissidents
 Laws limited political freedom
 Economic changes
 Income gap actually got worse
 Property issues don’t change
 Gains in literacy and health
 Industrialization possible
American investors
 Intervention
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pre-1933, 30 times
 Good Neighbor Policy, 1933
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Franklin D. Rooseveltʺ that promised to deal more fairly
with Latin American countries and to halt direct military
intervention?
 Cold War
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new involvement
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more indirect involvement
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Alliance for Progress, 1961
 Jimmy Carter
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civil liberties
Ronald Reagan, George Bush
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more direct intervention
The United States and Latin
America: Continuing Presence
By end of WWI, US unquestioned leader in L. America
 Leading investors – 1/3 of all US foreign investments
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Military intervention to protect US owned
properties/investments
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Banana republics – puppet gov’ts controlled by US
Conservative governments and dictatorships established in
the aftermath of U.S. military intervention
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30 military interventions before 1930
United Fruit, other companies in Central America need protection
 Sometimes US contributed to assassination of leaders
Brief change in 1930s w/ Good Neighbor Policy – Roosevelt
But…communism/Cold War make it important again
 Support gov’ts that express anti-communistic dogma
Belief that investment/economic improvement will prevent extremes
 Alliance for Progress – up to $10 billion for helping economics
Increasing violence in 1980s, US supported conservative gov’ts
1989-1990 – invaded Panama, installed cooperative regime
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The arrest of its leader, Manuel Noriega
Slow Change in Women's Roles
Voting rights not expanded until 1940s
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Always concern they would lean too far conservative
Religion influenced conservatism
Women’s place in the home
Change brought about through feminist organizations, foreign
pressure
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However, right to vote doesn’t mean high political
participation
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Sometimes vote secured just to benefit party in power
Women did show some impact with labor unions
Also important w/ small scale commerce
1990s…female participation closer to West than rest of the
world
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Intermediate position between industrialized and rest
Health, education, place in the workforce
Mortality down, fertility up
 The Movement of People
 Population has swelled due to high fertility, declining
mortality
 Pre-1900, migration was to L. America
 20th century migration goes away from L. America
 Job opportunities – demand for unskilled labor
 US/Mexico set up formalized labor trade in WWII
 Political freedom
 Willing to risk death in boats to immigrate
 Some migration legal, some illegal
 Migration also between nations
 Haiti > Dominican Republic
 Colombians > Venezuela
Massive Urbanization
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Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires all 13 million +
Rate too fast
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urbanized area of developing world
Jobs can’t keep up with pace
Creation of shantytowns – favelas
Workers unable to unite
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Rural laborers not brought into factory jobs
Labor organizations linked to gov’t
Popular culture
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strong blend
 Jorge Luis Borges
Gabriel García Marquez
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Cultural Reflections of Despair and Hope
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Catholicism determines family, gender relations,
business, social interaction
Popular culture combination of African and Indian
traditions
 Sama, Salsa, Tango – L. American contributions
Literary/artistic themes revealed conditions of the poor –
social criticism
Some authors resorted to “magical realism” – fantastic
stories