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Central America: Poverty, Violence, and Dependency

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1 Central America: Poverty, Violence, and Dependency
Political Science 332 Maxwell A. Cameron 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

2 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

3 Poverty 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

4 Poverty GDP per capita of US nine times that of Central America
Small minority captures most wealth and income Real income of poorer half is between $500 and $1000 per year - 1/20th US average income - yet prices the same Source: Booth et al. 2006, pp 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

5 Educational Inequality
Percentage of the population over 25 with no schooling c. 2000 Costa Rica 9% El Salvador 35% Guatemala 47% Honduras 26% Nicaragua 18% 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

6 Income Inequality Ratio of incomes of wealthiest 10% to poorest 10% of population, c. 2000 Guatemala 63 El Salvador 47 Honduras 49 Nicaragua 56 Costa Rica 25 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

7 Human Development Human Development Index scores of select countries:
Chile Costa Rica Uruguay Peru Guatemala 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

8 Dependency Definition: “a complex political, economic, and social phenomenon that retards the human development of the majority in certain privilege-dominated Third World countries with heavily externally oriented economies” (Booth et al 2006, p. 20). 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

9 Dependency Syndrome “in order for the dependency syndrome --with all of its negative human consequences--to exist, a country must have both an externally oriented economy (specializing in commodity exporting) and a socially irresponsible political elite” (Booth et al 2006, p. 20). 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

10 Example Refusal of wealthy Guatemalans to pay taxes
Unwillingness of Honduras elites to accept modest reforms implemented by Manuel Zelaya Low levels of social spending (except in Costa Rica) 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

11 US Role in the Dependency Syndrome
Repeated attempts to thwart socially responsible reformist governments Intervention in Nicaragua, establishment of National Guard CIA overthrows democratic government in Guatemala in 1954 US proxy wars in Nicaragua and El Salvador in 1980s Honduras same old pattern? 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

12 Violence 300,000 deaths during internal conflicts (1960s-1990s)
Peace Accords in Guatemala and El Salvador As much violence today in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador as there was during the internal conflicts Today Central America is struggling to come to terms with political violence that in some cases had genocidal features even as it faces new forms of violence 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

13 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

14 Roots of Violence Augusto Cesar Sandino in Nicaragua waged guerrilla campaign against US intervention in 1930s. US backed Anastasio Somoza, whose family ran Nicaragua until 1979 Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez in El Salvador killed between 10,000 and 20,000 people in response to peasant rebellion, military rule until 1970s. 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

15 Roots of Violence October revolution, 1944: wave of protests leads dictator Jorge Ubico to resign Juan Jose Arevalo elected in 1945, succeeded in 1950 by election of Colonel Jacobo Arbenz, center-left coalition. CIA deposes Arbenz after he attempts land reform which brings him into conflict with the United Fruit Company 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

16 Structural-Historical Roots of Violence
Waves of expropriation and struggles over land, often created by opportunities for commercialization of agro-export business (e.g. coffee, bananas) Banana plantations created enclave economies par excellence (SSG p.95) 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

17 Structural-Historical Origins of Central American Regimes
Significant Mayan and other indigenous groups (except Costa Rica); demographic collapse Guatemala was a viceroyalty of Spain: gradual colonization starting in 1522; settlement in 1560s, by which point the indigenous populations were in decline 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

18 Demographic collapse of Mayan population in Guatemala
Pre-Conquest population: 2,000,000 ,000 ,000,000 ,000,000 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

19 Structural-Historical Origins of Central American Regimes
United Provinces of Central America created at Independence: Liberal/Conservative cleavage. Plantation economies: Produced bananas, coffee. Conservative rural oligarchs: dominant type of agricultural production labor intensive, often coercive. Power of military; work closely with rural oligarchs. 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

20 Indigenous and black slaves
Social Pyramid Penninsulares Criollos Ladinos Indigenous and black slaves 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

21 Is Structure Destiny? Guatemala had October revolution in 1944
Costa Rica had brief civil war in late 1940s Since then, they have evolved in opposite directions Today both are polyarchies, but very different ones 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

22 Guatemala Today Democracy is not just elections
A means of living together without killing one another Yet violence remains as great today as during the guerrilla war Existing democratic institutions appear unable to process conflicts 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

23 “Luchas territoriales, Estado, y Convenio 169,” AVANCSO, 29/10/2009
9/20/2018 Political Science 332

24 “Luchas territoriales, Estado, y Convenio 169,” AVANCSO, 29/10/2009
9/20/2018 Political Science 332

25 “Luchas territoriales, Estado, y Convenio 169,” AVANCSO, 29/10/2009
9/20/2018 Political Science 332

26 “Luchas territoriales, Estado, y Convenio 169,” AVANCSO, 29/10/2009
9/20/2018 Political Science 332

27 http://www.rightsaction.org/video/elestor/eviction.mov 9/20/2018
Political Science 332

28 Conclusion In beginning of 1980s, only Costa Rica was an electoral democracy Few of the major political forces made democracy their objective. Today, all five Central American nations are polyarchies – electoral democracies with civilian presidents. 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

29 Conclusion Yet, they are unlikely to evolve toward high quality democracies: they combine authoritarian elements (repression, the power of the military, climate of fear) with polyarchy (free and regular elections). They cannot regulate social conflicts. 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

30 Guatemala - Basic Facts
GDP per capita = $3,900 Largest country (9.8 million); very heterogeneous: 56% Ladino, 44% Indian. Adult literacy 67%. Major literacy campaign today. Democratization in 1984, brings Christian Democrats to power, then Jorge Serrano’s Movement of Solidarity Action (MAS) in 1990. Peace accords signed in 1996. Serranazo 1993: an attempted autogolpe styled after the Fujimori self-coup in 1992 Current government: 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

31 Costa Rica - Basic Facts
GDP per capita: $5,900 Exceptionalism? More egalitarian, large class of small farmers; small (3.2 million) socially and racially homogeneous country. 96% white, 2% black, 1% Indian, 1% Chinese. Adult literacy rate 95%. Major investments in education during the 20th Century. Social consensus and constitutional politics. Civil war leads to a pact. Continuation of peaceful, democratic transfers of power in Costa Rica. 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

32 Nicaragua - Basic Facts
GDP per capita = $1,800 A small (3.9 million) country; 69% mestizo, 17% white, 9% black, 5% Indian. Adult literacy 63%. Run like a plantation by Somoza dynasty ( ). Sandinista revolution UNO victory in 1990: the first peaceful transfer of power from governing to opposition forces since republic formed 150 years earlier. Ortega elected in 2006 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

33 El Salvador- Basic Facts
GDP per capita = $4,400 Large size (5.6 million); 89% mestizo, 10% Indian, 1% black. 77% adult literacy. Radical church has major impact (Romero, Vatican II). 1972 Duarte denied power by fraud; October 1979 reformist military coup. Duarte in power Military stalemate developed. 1989 first democratic transfer of power since 1931 (ARENA comes to power with Cristiani). UN sponsored peace accords (1992) between FMLN and government led to internationally supervised elections in March 1994. FMLN’s Mauricio Funes elected president in 2009. 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

34 Other Resources John A. Booth, Christine J. Wade, and Thomas W. Walker, Understanding Central America: Global Forces, Rebellion, and Change. Westview 2006. Deborah Yashar, Demanding Democracy: Reform and Reaction in Costa Rica and Guatemala, 1870s-1950s. Stanford UP, 1997. “Luchas territoriales, Estado, y Convenio 169,” AVANCSO, 29/10/2009 (on course blog). Romero: the movie, played by Raul Julia. 9/20/2018 Political Science 332

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