1. Glencoe World History: Modern Times
*Many of these Republics
broke away after 1991.
Chapter 14: Latin America
1945-Present

2. Section 1: General Trends in Latin America
“United Fruit controlled directly or indirectly
nearly 40,000 jobs in Guatemala. Its investments in the country were valued at $60 million. It functioned as a state within a state, owning Guatemala’s telephone and telegraph facilities, administering its only important Atlantic harbor and monopolizing its banana export. The company’s subsidiary, the International Railways of Central America (IRCA), owned 887 miles of railroad track in Guatemala, nearly every mile in the country.”
1950’s Analysis - United Fruit Company

3. Latin America & US Intervention
Since the end of World War II the US has intervened in Latin America many
times (see p.652 in your text). The overthrow of Jacobo Arbenz of Guatemala
in 1954 is an example. The question in Latin America has to do with the needs
of impoverished citizens, which clash with the wants of Americans. Bananas
are a nice fruit but the land is taken away from poor peasants to grow them.

4. Latin American Society & Culture
Rio de Janeiro favelas
Overpopulation is a concern in Latin America and poverty is nearly everywhere.
The trend for unemployed people is to move from the countryside to the
megacity, where they search for work. The poor in Brazil live in squatter
communities called favelas. Latin American culture has a unique flavor with
many internationally known writers, poets, and artists. Pablo Neruda was a
famous poet from Argentina, and Colombian Gabriel Garcia Marquez uses
a concept called magical realism. Out of the struggles comes great artistry.

5. Section 2: Mexico, Cuba, & Central America
“After an hour and a half of a peaceful meeting attended by 10,000 people and witnessed by scores of domestic and foreign reporters, a helicopter gave the army the signal to attack by dropping flares into the crowd. Simultaneously, the plaza was surrounded and attacked by members of the army and police forces The results of this brutal military operation include hundreds of dead (including women and children), thousands of wounded, an unwarranted search of all the apartments in the area, and thousands of violent arrests ”
National Strike Council report, 1968
The 1968 Tlatelolco massacre of October
2nd, 1968 killed between students

6. Mexico & the US: Immigration
Chavez
Fox
(Political
cartoon)
After World War II Mexico continued with the one party PRI (Revolutionary
Institutional Party) system but that led to corruption, an unstable economy,
and sometimes violence. Finally in 2000 another party, PAN (National
Action Party) was voted into office. It’s leader was Vicente Fox, and he
tried to improve relations with the United States. One of the biggest issues
for both countries has been illegal immigration. People crossing into the US
have created problems for both countries. One Mexican-American advocate
for field workers was Cesar Chavez, who led the UFW (United Farm Workers).

7. Cuba: Castro, Revolution, & World War III?
Castro & Khrushchev
Kennedy
In the attempt to throw off colonial influence in Cuba during the 1950’s, Fidel Castro led a successful revolution against longtime dictator Fulgensio Battista. Soon he realized that the US would not support him, so Castro turned to the Soviet Union, at the time ruled by Nikita Khrushchev, for support. U.S. President John F. Kennedy authorized an invasion in 1961, but it failed. Castro was angry and asked for the USSR to put missiles in Cuba. This was done secretly but the US found out about it and in October of 1962 a nuclear showdown took place. Kennedy & Khrushchev worked out a solution to the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Castro has ruled Cuba until the present time.

8. Central America: Upheaval
Ortega
Contras
Menchu
Like Mexico Central American Countries had economic problems related
to American economic Imperialism. In Guatemala Rigoberta Menchu
lost her family to the constant civil war there. She wrote a book about it
and won the Nobel Peace Prize. In the 1980’s there was struggle between
Left and Right and many innocents got caught in the violence. For example
Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega tried to bring a socialist-style government
to his country but he was opposed by the Contras, guerrilla troops supported
by Ronald Reagan. Ortega eventually lost power in a democratic election.

9. Section 3: The Nations of South America
Brazil: Wealth & Poverty
“Beginning in 1968, Brazil’s gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of about 10 percent The consequences of this ‘miracle’ were the impoverishment
of the Brazilian people. Between 1960 and 1970 the 20 percent of the population with the highest income increased its share of the national income from 54.5 percent to 64.1 percent, while the remaining 80 percent saw its share reduced from
45.5 percent to 36.8 percent In the same period the 1 percent of the population that represents the richest group increased its share of the national
income from 11.7 percent to 17 percent.”
Brazilian Catholic Priests, 1974

10. As in Central America,
South America has had
struggles dealing with the
economic imperialism of
the United States and with
corrupt leadership. Juan
Peron was the corrupt
head of Argentina; he ran
his country as a fascist.
Military coups were common
and war was seen as a way
to solve problems. This got
Argentina into trouble in
1982 when the country fought
and lost the Falkland Island
War to Great Britain. Chile
is another example of the
military model. In the 1970’s
Augusto Pinochet became
a military dictator and elim-
inated democracy there.

11. Latin America, as shown
here, has a wealth of natural
resources and has the ability
to export many goods.
Some of the most important
products come from countries
which are unhappy with the
United States and its history
of interference in the region.
One such country is Venezuela.
its leader is Hugo Chavez and,
as shown here, his export is oil.
Another problem is the illegal
use of drugs in the United
States. This has caused
Colombia, which grows
cocaine, serious problems.
Drug lords create serious
problems for that country’s
stability.

12. End of Chapter 14