Transcript Latin America: Revolution and Reaction Into the 21st Century

Latin America: Revolution and
st
Reaction Into the 21 Century
Stearns Ch. 32
What is Revolution?
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Political revolution?
Economic revolution?
Social revolution?
Cultural revolution
Dance Dance Revolution?
What is Reaction?
• Beyond Conservative
• Not always led by fuddy-duddies
• Rarely liberal
Any Patterns? Anyone?
Latin American Issues
• Revolution or Reaction?
– Social justice
– Cultural autonomy/Decolonization
– Economic security
– Urbanization
– Emigration
– Marxism
– A Cold War battlefield
After WWII
• Latin America not heavily involved.
• Brazil and steel exports
• Authoritarian regimes of the depression
persist
Brazil
• Steel exports after WWII compete with U.S.
• Vargas returns to power in 1950
• “Populist nationalism”
E.G. Argentina
• Juan Peron: populist socialism+political
repression
• Military overthrows Peron, 1955
• Peronism still popular
• Repression of opposition
• Attempt to evoke nationalism fails (Falklands)
Mexico and the PRI
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Partido Revolucionario Institucional\
– One party system in Mexico
– Stability, sorta
– Corruption
– Lack of any real revolutionary zeal
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1994, Zapatistas revolt in Chiapas
– Indian Mexicans; extreme poverty
– Repression, then negotiation
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NAFTA: North American Free Trade Agreement
– Trade increases
– Growth of middle class
– Poverty still and issue for lower class
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2000, PRI loses an election!
– Vincente Fox, PAN Party
• Promises to end corruption
• Support Mexican workers in US
Options
• Mexico
– One party rule, no opposition puts a drag on social
and economic reforms
• Venezuela/Costa Rica
– Reform-minded democracies
• Cuba
– Marxist-Leninist revolution
Why Marxist-Leninism?
• Many big problems don’t seem to improve
– Poverty and inequality
• e.g. Bolivia, 1950: 90% of land owned by 6% of pop.
– U.S. “imperialism”
• Soviets vying for influence
– Makes revolution more dangerous b/c of Cold War
• Frustration and feeling that only violent change
will yield results
But Reaction
• Bolivia
– Revolution in 1952
– Start of land and wealth redistribution
– Military coup (reaction)
• Too much reform threatens order and the powers that
be
Guatemala
• Few Creoles and Mestizos—mostly Indians
• Poverty, illiteracy, poor health
• Enter reform-minded Juan Jose Arevalo
– Income tax (progressive—against inequality)
– Land reform
– Emphasis on nationalism
– A thorn in the United Fruit Company’s side
• American investors stand to lose much
Guatemala cont.
• 1951, Colonel Jacobo Arbenz
– Promotes nationalization of transportation and
hydroelectric system
– Promotes appropriation of unused land
• Threatens United Fruit Company
– Accepts arms from Eastern Bloc.. Uh-oh
– Enter the CIA
• Supports coup d’etat (reaction)
Cuba: A different story
• Large Spanish and African population
• Large middle class
• High literacy rates (by Latin American standards)
• But a vast difference between urban Cubans and
rural Cubans
Cuba cont.
• Strong economic ties to U.S.
– ¾ imports from U.S.
– Massive investments from U.S.
– Important source of sugar to U.S. and world
markets
– Super close to U.S.
– The Godfather II has scenes in Cuba!
Cuban politics
• Fulgencio Batista (1934-1944; 1952-1959)
– Originally an authoritarian reformer
• Democratic constitution, 1940
• Promised nationalization of natural resources
• Promised full employment and land reform
– But…corruption
– And finally just plain dictatorship
Fidel Castro
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Leftist lawyer (educated, Creole)
Failed revolt in 1953; exiled to Mexico
Teams up with Ernesto “Che” Guevara
Invade Cuba in 1956
– Take to mountains
– Guerrilla war
– Gather more and more support
Cuban Marxist-Leninism
• Castro turns Marxist-Leninist
– Che’s influence
– Seize all foreign owned property (mostly U.S.)
– Collectivize farms
– Central economy (Planned economy—Soviet style)
– Breaks ties with U.S.
– Buddies with U.S.S.R.
U.S.-Castro Relations
• Bay of Pigs
• Missile Crisis
• Embargo
• Cuba survives only because of Soviet help
Reform and the Military Option
• How to reverse inequality and imperialism?
– One party system?
– Liberation theology?
• Chile/Venezuela: Clergy campaigns for human rights
• Leads to attacks against clergy.
– Marxist-Leninism?
Caudillo Tradition
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Strongmen take power
Democratic process loses to military control
Fear of Cuban-style revolution
Support from the CIA
Brazil
• 1964 Military coup
– Supported by the middle class
– Supported by the CIA
• Fear that elected leadership will actually
implement quasi-socialist reforms.
Argentina
• 1966 Military coup against Peronist regime
• A new fascist-Catholic-anticommunist regime
– Openly supported by the United States and western
Europe.
• Regime struggles because Peron was still popular.
– Pushes nationalism; leads to disastrous war with
Great Britain over the Falkland Islands.
Chile
• 1973, military coup
– Generalissimo Augosto Pinochet against socialist
president Salvador Allende
– Intensely anticommunist.
• Allende had
– Nationalized industries and banks
– Given land peasants and factory control to workers
– Basically made the military and U.S. think he was
about to go all Cuba on things.
Patterns to Military Rule
• Dictatorship
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Overthrow elected governments
Either hold no elections or rig elections
Political repression; little political freedom
Dissidents imprisoned, tortured, and/or executed
• Economic changes
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Income gap expands
Property issues unresolved
Improvements in education and health
Industrialization begins
Democracy Slowly Resumes
• By 1980s, less fear of Cuba/Communism
• Populist parties less frightening
• U.S. less willing to sponsor cold-blooded
dictators
Remaining Problems
• Huge foreign debts
– Loans for infrastructure
– Wasteful spending
• The Drug War
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Violence
Destruction
Poverty
Corruption
• High inflation (check out Argentina!)
The United States and Latin America Since WWI
• The US clearly the dominant force
– 1/3 of all foreign investment is from U.S.
• Military intervention to protect U.S. owned properties and investments
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30 total before 1930
Support for United Fruit Company and others
CIA sponsors several assassinations and coups
Leads to formation of “Banana Republics” (puppet governments controlled by
the US)
• Good Neighbor Policy of 1930s (brief change)
– Ruined by the Cold War
– Ruined by Drug War
• Alliance for Progress (something like a Latin American Marshall Plan)
Women’s Rights in Latin America
• Voting rights wait until 1940s
– Pressure from feminist organizations and foreign governments
– Doesn’t mean high level of participation
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Patriarchal Catholicism emphasizes conservatism
Traditional belief of a woman in the home
Important with labor unions
Rising importance in small scale commerce
• By 1990s, not equal to feminist gains in the industrialized
world, but better than the rest of the world.
Migrations in Latin America
• Higher fertility and declining mortality=population increase.
• Pre-1900 saw immigration TO Latin America; 20th century
saw emigration FROM Latin America
– Job opportunities
• U.S. needs unskilled labor
• Limited land reforms leave many Latinos without other opptions
– Political freedom (e.g. rafts from Cuba)
– Mixed legal and illegal
– Inter-Latin American migrations
• Haitians to the Dominican Republic
• Columbians to Venezuela
Urbanization in Latin America
• Huge cities
– Mexico City
– Sao Paulo
– Buenos Aires
All 13 million +
• Population rises faster than job growth
– Rise of slums/shantytowns/favelas
• Labor issues
– Rural laborers can’t get factory jobs
– Labor organizations tied to the government
Searching for a Cultural Identity
• Latin Americans want to be more than ex-Spanish colonies
– Explore Native American heritage
– Explore African heritage
• Catholicism still a huge influence
– Family
– Gender relations
– Business and social interaction
• Contributions
– Music and dance
• Salsa, Samba, Tango
– Literary and artistic themes
• The plight of the poor/social criticism (perhaps influenced by Catholicism?)
– “Magical realism” (fantastical stories)
Global Connections
• Latin America experienced many revolutions but remained, in most cases,
unrevolutionary.
– Mexican and Cuban revolutions were huge…
• But most avoided them…
• Or those that mimicked them experienced a reactionary coup.
– Governments based on populism but led by military men (who, in their hearts,
are usually either conservative or reactionary)
– Literacy rates improve—but that’s in line with the times.
– Economies grow over time, but so does economic inequality.
• Geography plays a role in this: Northern Mexico is more prosperous than Southern
Mexico.
• Politics plays a role in this: Cuba, a communist regime, has had a failure of an economy
for decades—and has faced new troubles since the fall of the Soviet Union (no more
aid!); add to that the USA’s embargo…
– Cultural battle still unresolved
• Copy the West (new protestantism, etc.)…
• Or go to more traditional roots…
• Or try something new…