The Aftermath of Independence, (pp ) The economies of the new nations were overwhelmingly based on agriculture. Latin American exports to the North Atlantic economy increased. Chile: wheat and nitrates Colombia: tobacco Argentina: hides, salted beef and wool Peru: guano Cuba: sugar Brazil: coffee Venezuela: cacao These same countries were heavily importing textiles and consumer goods, thereby often throwing local artisan producers out of work. This was all part of free trade, the dogma that had arrived in Latin America with Enlightenment philosophy and the post-independence commitment to the principles of liberalism. The economic record of the period is one of slow adaptation to the world economy Caudillos José Antonio Páez

The Pull of the International Economy, s (pp ) The era of the caudillo gave way to the era of the administrators and national unification. Most governments sought to put land into the hand of entrepreneurs who would invest and make it bear fruit. In Brazil and Mexico that meant government pressure to sell off government (previously crown) land. (Ejido) The losers in Mexico and the Andes were the Indians, but such action could also hit white or mestizo owners who had failed to develop their lands. Governments promoted European immigration.

Phase I: Initiation of Export-Import Growth, (pp ) European Industrialization Importation of manufactured goods The industrial nations invested in Latin America. By 1913 British investors owned approximately two-thirds of the total foreign investment in Latin America. Railroads and Mining. The “export-import form of economic growth stimulated development in the raw-material sectors of the Latin American economies. The impetus and capital came largely from abroad. (p. 44) Liberalism (laissez-faire) Liberalism and concerns about the supposed racial inferiority of their native populations. Inferiority complex. Imitators of European culture. Environmental determinism. Entrepreneurial spirit of the elite. Merchants and lawyers Oligarchic democracies and dictatorships. Emphasis on stability and social control. Political stability was viewed as essential to attract foreign investment, which, in turn, could stimulate economic growth.

The Bank of England

The Growing Pull of the Demand in the Developed Countries: The Growing Pull of the Demand in the Developed Countries: By the late nineteen century, industrialization in Europe was producing a strong demand for foodstuffs and raw materials. English and European laborers, now living in cities and working in factories, needed to purchase food they could no longer cultivate. And captains of industry, eater to expand their output and operations, were seeking raw material, particularly minerals. Both incentives led governments and investors in Europe to begin looking abroad—to Africa, to Asia, and, of course, to Latin America. (Skidmore & Smith, Modern Latin America, 43)

toaster

The English philosopher Herbert Spencer relied on the theories of evolution to explain differences between the strong and the weak: successful individuals and races had competed better in the natural world and consequently evolved to higher states than did other less fit peoples. On the basis of this reasoning, Spencer and others justified the domination of European imperialists over subject peoples as the inevitable result of natural scientific principles. (B & Z, p. 960.) Herbert Spencer ( )

The first step towards lightening the White Man’s Burden is through teaching the virtues of cleanliness. Pears’ Soap is a potent factor in brightening the dark corners of the earth as civilization advances, while amongst the cultured of all nations it holds the highest place-- it is the ideal toilet soap.

Cuban Sugar Mill

La Zafra (Sugar Harvest)

Inside the sugar mill

Porfirio Díaz ( ) Los Rurales

David Siquieros Mural: "Don Porfirio [Diaz] and his Courtesans" A Mural by Diego Rivera The Decadence of the Porfiriato

Los Científicos

Metlac Bridge, Mexican Railroads, Veracruz.

Porfiriato Growth in Foreign Trade,

The Costs

Phase 2: Expansion of the Export-Import Growth, (pp ) The appearance and growth of middle social strata The appearance of incipient working classes The growth of large cities Because of national or ethnic origin, laboring classes did not gain much of a foothold on political power in the early twentieth century. (p. 49) Why did Latin America not fully economically develop? Fundamentally, Latin America had remained an agrarian economy whose export sector was matched, in most countries, by a huge subsistence sector. (p. 51)

Phase 3: Import-Substituting Industrialization, (pp ) Great Depression Within a year or so after the October 1929 stock market crash in New York, army officers had sought or taken power in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. “Import-substituting industrialization (ISI) Latin American governments actively promoted growth. 1.Tariffs 2.Favoring local producers in government contracts 3.Establishing government-run companies Rise of populists. For example: Juan Perón (Argentina), Getúlio Vargas (Brazil)

Phase 4: Stagnation in Import-Substituting Growth, s (pp ) Industrialization through ISI was structurally incomplete and dependent on capital goods Domestic demand for manufactured products was limited. As pressure mounted, ruling elites in several countries imposed highly repressive regimes, often through military coups—as in Brazil (1964), Argentina (1966), and Chile (1973) “Bureaucratic-authoritarian” states Granted public positions to people with highly bureaucratized careers The political exclusion of the working class Reduction or near-elimination of political activity. Problems were defined as technical, not political, and they were met with administrative solutions rather than negotiated political settlements. Bureaucratic-authoritarian governments sought to revive economic growth by consolidating ties with international economic forces. “Chicago boys” Debt

Phase 5: Crisis, Debt, and Democracy, 1980s-2000s Neo-liberal Reforms Gradual Recovery Increased mobilization of middle- and lower-class groups Incomplete or fragile electoral democracy.