LATIN+AMERICA!

Latin America: Revolution & Reaction Into the 21st Century

Change Analysis Chart: Latin America 1914 à Today Key Changes || Basic Features at the End of the Period || Causes and effects ||
 * Theme || Basic features at beginning of period || Key Continuities
 * Politics

|| Authoritarian governments seeking reform and stability

Mexico – wanted to industrialize Cuba – needed government to stabilize the economy, very isolated Argentina - political reforms and more liberal policies ||  Constant back-and-forth between liberal and authoritarian (tied to economy)

Argentina kept its stable govt

|| Returning from communism back to democracy, this is a long and difficult process.

<span style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">Mexico - Party of the Institutionalized Revolution <span style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">Argentina - federal republic <span style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">NAFTA - North A Free Trade Agreement || CAUSES

back and forth of governments between different types of structure bc of instability of economy -- whne things got worse, reform was called for to improve social, economic, etc conditions

EFFECTS returning to democracies improved social conditions and made the people more free, improved relations w US? || <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> Reforms <span style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;">Change back to democracies in many places <span style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;">removal of ineffective leaders w military coups <span style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> ||^  ||^   || <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;">Mexico centralized its govt <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;">Reforms in Argentina
 * ^  ||^   || <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> Change to communism in many places


 * <span style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">Economic || many economies had few crops and relied solely on exports -- this made them dependent on the international market and how high those prices were --> needed stability

Mexico was engaged in trading with the US and the West || Changes Economies stabilized in most places, eventually becoming industrialized as well || Industrialized Stable and Less Dependent Mexico had free-market trading || CAUSES

at first not diversified or independent enough, bc historically LA had always been dependent when it was colonized, and had always chose (foolishly) to focus on one crop, opening it up to disaster when prices fluctuated

EFFECTS Industrialization modernized LA and caught it largely up to speed with the West || Mexico still tied to foreign trading Some countries like Argentina continued to place significance on exports ||^  ||^   ||
 * ^  ||^   || Continuities
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">Social || Few rights for women, especially in regard to their role in politics

Cuba had good social conditions - high literacy and health care

not a huge population or huge cities

Culture was a fusion of different Catholic, Hispanic traditions || CONTINUITIES - vibrant culture w art and intellectual significance, but did change as it responded to the modern world - Cuba retained its positive conditions - Women in politics were still rare and it was difficult for them to be taken seriously CHANGES - enormous rise in population and increased urbanization

- rights for women improved - joined workforce, labor unions || Culture responded to the modern world, many artistic achievements were inspired by the tension in Latin America

Women had it better by now - workforce, labor unions -- STILL not paid equally or taken seriously in politics (only 9% of legislators -- should ideally be 50%)

CIties and countries in general had population increases ||  ||


 * <span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 220%; line-height: normal;">SOCIAL. **
 * slow change in womens' roles
 * Ecuador, Brazil, and Cuba first to give women the right to vote in the early 30s - rest of LA didnt follow suit until 40s-50s
 * Argentina - took 15 bills, finally passed in 1945
 * women formed various political associations as a backlash against the men pushing them out of politics
 * ability to vote didnt guarantee political rights - traditional prejudices limited womens roles in parties
 * starting in WWI, women started entering the industrial labor force in growing numbers
 * still not paid equally to the men in the factories -> joined labor unions
 * by mid 90s, position of women had improved and was closer to Western standards - 9% of the legislators in Latin America, higher than any other region in the world
 * Cuba
 * large middle class, high literacy and health care
 * Fulgencio Batista - authoritarian leader who reformed and promised land reforms & natural resources refilled
 * Castro - Lenin-style Communist, wanted to make Cuba socialist
 * collectivization (Like China & Russia) - anti-foreign movement, socialist economy established
 * education, housing, healthcare, etc improved
 * movement of people
 * population ballooned to more than 400 million (due to declining mortality and continuing high fertility)
 * rapid urbanization --> problems as well
 * internal migration as well as immigration
 * migrant laborers faced horrible conditions
 * by 1970 - more than 750,000 illegal Mexican immigrants a year
 * also many refugees immigrated to LA seeing freedom
 * cultural reflections
 * Catholic, Hispanic traditions determine responses to the modern world
 * LA pop culture vibrant - inspired by African and Indian traditions
 * music - samba, tango, salsa & accompanying dances --> contribution to world civ
 * art also sprung out of tensions for social justice and freedom (esp litertaure)
 * social criticism style of literature
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 220%;">ECONOMIC. **
 * Latin America was vulnerable to changes in the world financial system bc they concentrated on exports
 * translated into political and cultural dependency as well
 * alternating periods of economic expansion and economic crisis
 * Cuba
 * Fidel Castro wanted to establish a less dependent economy -- effort to industrialize in the 60s failed
 * lack of production of sugar and rising gas prices --> disaster, esp bc of lack of aid from SU
 * reveals how unstable economy was -- based almost entirely on sugar
 * economic problems w military --> problems w govt
 * did establish socialist, centralized economy - used mostly to fund the revolution - but later attempts at strengthening this base failed
 * Brazil - more stable, better economy
 * Pery and Mexico - unstable, govt took out loans
 * Guatemala - Pres Arbenz tried to improve economy, but US restricted him bc they feared he was communist
 * women paid lower wages but could work in markets & controlled some commerce w/in society
 * in LA, too much inflation, pressure from global banking bc the govts took out loans from poor spending choices
 * Panama Canal facilitated trade
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 220%;">POLITICAL. **
 * 1945 - LA lead by authoritarian leaders who wanted reform
 * Getulio Vargas, Brazilian nationalist and charismatic Juan Peron (wife, Evuta) in Argentina
 * Mexico had Party of the Institutionalized Revolution -- prob strayed far from revolutionary ideals
 * Guatemala - reforms from Pres Juan Jose Arevalo (nationalism) and Colonel Arbenz (communist)
 * Cuba - Batista - reformer, promised changes with economy but failed bc rival Fidel Castro
 * Venezuela & Costa Rica - able to win elections w liberal democratic parties
 * Marxism offered those seeking change a way to improve ec & soc conditions throughout LA, and produce an economically stable future
 * 1960s - military coups to get rid of unpopular and ineffective presidents and poltical parties
 * 64 Braxilian overthrow of president
 * Argentina - Peron supporters vs. middle class --> military had to intervene
 * Chile - revolution against communist Pres Salvador Allende
 * military regimes established in many places
 * reinstating of democratic governments -- Brazil & Argentina in 80s, but was difficult esp in Peru, Guatemala, Nicaragua