Transcript CHAPTER 29: LATIN AMERICA, 1945-PRESENT KEY IDEAS  Since 1945, there has much political, economic and social unrest in Latin America  Economic failure led.

CHAPTER 29:
LATIN AMERICA,
1945-PRESENT
KEY IDEAS
 Since 1945, there has much political, economic and social
unrest in Latin America
 Economic failure led to authoritarian and military rule
 Great social inequality, wide gap between rich and poor
 (land = power)
 1980s and 1990s showed movement towards democratization
in many nations
 *Costa Rica – long history of a stable democratic gov’t
COSTA RICA
LATIN AMERICAN EXPORTS
 Bananas
 Cattle
 Coffee
 Copper
 Fish
 Oil
 Sugar cane
 Tobacco
 Wheat
RELIGION
 Liberation Theology Clergy
 church leaders become proponents of social reform
 Priests and nuns struggled against oppressive military
regimes
ARGENTINA
 1900, richest nation in LA , but was
devastated by the Great Depression
 1946,military coup brings Juan Peron (dictator) to power
 Promises of stability, gains support
 Limited foreign-owned business by promoting imports substitution
 local manufacturers produce goods at home to replace imported products
 Began great social reforms but huge debts lead to being overthrown by
a military coup in 1955
 1976-1983, “Dirty war”
 Military arrested, tortured, and killed thousands of political dissidents
(HRV 20,000 die)
 “Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo” win worldwide attention
 Democracy restored in 1983
GUATEMALA
 1960-96, Civil War
 Between military gov’t and landowners and the indigenous (locals)
30,000 die (HRV)
 1996, rebels gave up and peace was reached
 Democratization
NICARAGUA
 Somoza family rules from 1936-1979
 Repressive, but close ties to US
 Nicaraguan Revolution, 1979
 Sandinistas (reform minded nationalists and
communists (Marxist)) overthrow Somoza gov’t
 Sandinistas in power
 Government resembled a communist government
 Closer ties to Cuba
 Contras
 opposite of Sandinistas, a counter revolutionary
group (supported by the USA)
 Civil War between the two groups
 Economically devastating, death
 1990, Sandinistas hand over power to a
freely elected president
MEXICO
 Post-WWII Success and Troubles
 Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)-ruled
between 1960-2000 (due to the Mexican
Revolution)
 1970s, new oil fields and high energy prices
meant economic boom
 1980s brought world recession, a time when
business is poor, oil prices fell and Mexico
went into debt
 Never enough jobs; urbanization, slums
 The gap between rich and poor remained
 Upper – European
 Poor – Mestizo, Native American, African
 Population explosion – not enough land to
grow food
 Demands for change  Vicente Fox elected
president, end to PRI rule
MEXICO
 Links with the US
 1950s, Organization of American States (OAS)
 Cooperation and peaceful resolution
 Formed to strengthen democracy, promote human
rights, confront problems of poverty, terrorism,
illegal drugs, and corruption
 NAFTA
 Remove trade barriers between Mexico, US, Canada
 Promote investment and economic growth in Mexico
PANAMA
 Corruption
 Late 1980s, Panamanian leader, Manuel
Noriega, suspected of helping criminal gangs
called cartels smuggle drugs into the US
 1989, US troops invade of Panama and arrest
Noriega
 More stability and democracy in 1990s
 Panama Canal
 Constructed in the early 1900s by America
 Shortened travel time between Atlantic and
Pacific Ocean
 Panama assumed complete control on
January 1, 2000
CUBA
 1952, Batista gains power – repressive, corrupt
 1959, Fidel Castro overthrows Fulgencio Batista
with guerilla army and establishes a communist
dictatorship
 Supported by peasants who wanted change
 Gov’t control of business and industry (socialist
reforms)
 Unequal distribution of wealth
 Standard of living rises for many, however
 Conflict with US
 US trade embargo (economic sanctions)
 Bay of Pigs Invasion
 Cuban Missile Crisis
 US naval blockade of Cuba
 After fall of USSR, Cuba’s economy has suf fered
greatly
CHILE
 1973, Augusto Pinochet
overthrows Salvatore Allende
(Marxist)
 Pinochet regime (military gov’t)
most brutal in Chiles history
 Opponents imprisoned, tortured,
murdered (HRV)
 Free elections in 1989, movement
toward democracy and economic
stability