1. Chapter 32 Latin America in the 20th and 21st centuries
Demystified Rdg. P 427

2. Latin America After WWII
WWII was not a critical event; LA only moderately involved (Brazil aided US steel industry)
New definitions:
First World: capitalist industrialized nation
Second World: communist industrialized nation
Third World: developing nations, usually less economically powerful
Latin America, despite regional variety, mostly fits the Third World definition because of its slow industrialization and lingering reliance on Western markets.
Post-WWII: surge of radical socialist unrest (Bolivia, Guatemala, Cuba)

3. Mexico and the PRI
1930s – 2000: Mexico controlled by Party of Institutionalized Revolution (PRI).
1994: Zapatistas emerged (guerilla movement) but were put down by the PRI.
PRI becomes corrupt and repressive
1994: Mexico joined the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
US; Canada; Mexico
Make North American trade competition for European markets; strengthen North American markets
2000: Vicente Fox (National Action Party: PAN) won national election

4. 1954 Guatemalan Coup
Guatemala’s struggles: illiteracy; poor health; high mortality; land and wealth unfairly distributed; economy depends entirely on bananas and coffee
President Jacobo Árbenz ( ) used programs that conflicted with American companies in Guatemala (esp. United Fruit Company).
Decree 900: Guatemalan land reform act (redistributed land to peasants; increased cultivation and moved Guatemalan economy to capitalism)
US CIA invaded Guatemala to overthrow Árbenz and installed a pro-US government.
Construed Decree 900 as communist threat
New American-backed military government reversed land reform.

5. Cuban Revolution ( )
Cuba was dependent on American imports and the export of sugar.
US is leading trade partner with Cuba
Disparity between middle classes and lowest classes
: Fulgencio Batista ruled Cuba as military dictator.
Little actual reform; opposition movements rise
Fidel Castro (young lawyer) and Ernesto “Che” Guevara (militant Argentinian revolutionary) joined in Mexico to create a small military force to overthrow Batista.
Pledge real democracy, justice, freedom
1959: “26th of July Movement” drove Batista from power while rebels take Havana
Support from students, labor organizations, and rural workers.

6. Castro and Cuban Socialism
With Castro, Cuba now socialist state
Achievements of socialism are accompanied with restrictions on freedoms.
Collective farms, confiscated property
1961: US and Cuba cut off relations with each other.
Castro aligns Cuba with USSR
A U.S.-sponsored intervention by Cuban exiles failed
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
USSR installed missiles in Cuba to taunt the US.
Tension between US (Kennedy) and USSR
Cuba became increasingly dependent on the Soviet Union throughout the Cold War.

7. The U.S. and Latin America
After WWI, US is dominant power in West.
Private investments by U.S. companies and loans from the government were the chief means of influence
The United States intervened periodically in Latin America to protect investments and contain communism.
More than 30 interventions before 1933
After interventions, US helped to create Banana Republics
Conservative governments (often corrupt dictatorships) that would be friendly to the US and US financial interests.
Called this because of dependence on export of tropical products (Guatemala)
Foreign intervention created a growing nationalist reaction.

8. U.S. Military Interventions, 1898-2000

9. The U.S. and Latin America, cont.
1937: FDR’s Good Neighbor Policy
Promised to deal more fairly with Latin America and stop direct interventions; ignored during the Cold War.
1961: Alliance for Progress launched by US
Aimed to develop regions and eliminate radical political solutions
1970s: US cedes Panama Canal to Panama
1990: Panama dictator overthrown by US
1989: US invasion of Panama ends Noriega dictator government
Notorious for human rights violations; involvement in drug trade
After 2000, US concerns with Latin America continued to focus on issues of commerce, immigration, the drug trade, and political stability.
Armed drug lords and cartels that threaten Latin American global stability

10. Latin American Militaries
To counter socialism and protect investments, US supported authoritarian military regimes.
Military officers saw themselves as above politics and best equipped to solve nation's ills; remnant of post-colonial past in 19th century with caudillos
In Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Peru, governments were taken over by military-based rulers with repressive authoritarian and nationalistic inclinations.
Military government economic policies hurt the working class: land ownership and social conditions remained unchanged.
1970s and 1980s: Increase in democratization and return to civilian governments in Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panama
Leftist rebel groups continued to agitate in some of them, as in Columbia and Peru.
Economies continued to struggle, with inflation a common problem.
Large foreign loans taken in 1970s threatened economic stability in Brazil, Peru and Mexico.
Despite difficulties, by the 1990s it appeared democratic trends were well established.

11. Latin American Culture
Latin America remains an amalgamation of cultures and peoples.
Vast majority are Catholic, but Protestants are growing.
Liberation theology: Catholicism and Socialism joined to create change
Art: return to traditional culture for inspiration and social commentary (Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo)
Writers gained world recognition, especially those who penned social criticism.
Dance: tango;salsa; samba; rumba; mambo; paso doble
The struggle for social justice, economic security and political equality still exists.
Distribution of wealth and land is arguably largest problem
1948: United Nations issued “Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” but included little power of enforcement beyond diplomatic or moral pressure.

12. Latin American Gender and Migration
Women were not allowed to vote until 1929
Ecuador is first nation to grant women’s suffrage
Feminist movements pushed for inclusion into elected offices.
Industrial jobs expanded to include women.
Shifts in attitudes about women’s roles in society developed more slowly.
Migration
Over 30% of the population of Latin America falls under the poverty line  contributes to legal and illegal immigration to the US.
Political refugees; search for job opportunities
Legal migration to US from Haiti and Cuba because of political dissatisfaction
Migration rural to urban areas is extremely high.
Slums in major cities (Mexico City; Rio de Janeiro)
Migration is major and complicated regional issue
Rapid and massive urban growth
1999: Latin America is greatest urbanized region in all developing locations