Latin America: Revolution and Reaction into the 21 st Century

1. Latin America: Revolution and Reaction into the 21st Century C33 EQs: Why was Latin America so unstable in the 20th C? Why did the US intervene so much?

2. Introduction • Latin America in the 20th century experienced many revolutions and many reactions to revolutions • As the 20th century closed, Latin America has positioned itself between Western nations and third world nations, thanks in part to heavy western investment • Still, political and social injustice dating back to colonial and post colonial days remain, as do issues of economic security, surging population growth in urban areas and emigration to the US • It terms of economics and politics, very little change has occurred, however, education, social services, women’s rights and the role of industry

3. After World War II… • Latin America saw very little action during the war…but economies grew…Brazil developed a steel industry with the help of the US • New political upheavals emerged in several nations, Argentina being a key example as a military group forced Juan Peron out of power, and led several “dirty wars” to purge the country of its opponents • Mexico continued to be controlled by the PRI (Party of the Institutionalized Revolution), however, the party very slowly continued the promised reforms of the Mexican Revolution…this angered many amongst the lower classes who were still waiting for the land (ejidos) • Guerrilla movements formed, mainly in southern Mexico…a group known as the Zapatistas responded to PRI corruption with revolts, that were often met with civil repression from the PRI government • By the end of the 20th century, the negotiation of NAFTA with the US and the ultimate defeat of the PRI by the PAN (Conservative Party) brought new change to Mexico, the results of which are not completely clear

4. Radical Options in the 1950s • Political unrest still plagued most of Latin America post-WWII…in several countries, Marxist revolution became the norm • In Bolivia, a socialist rebellion rose against the 6% of the population that controlled all the wealth in the nation…though successful with nationalization policies, Bolivia fell back into control by a military caudillo by 1964 • Guatemala experienced more radical attempts at reform…the majority of the population was poor, illiterate, had no land and the overall economy was based on the coffee and banana market • In 1944, Juan Jose Arevalo was elected due to promises of sweeping reforms (income tax and business nationalism)…these were in conflict with the powerful United Fruit Co…another free election in 1951 saw the rise of General Jacobo Arbenz to power…more radical, Arbenz opposed further foreign intervention in Guatemalan affairs…Arbenz took a pro-socialist approach, attempting to redistribute unused land to peasants…fears of Communism led to the US backing a military coup in 1954… the government was replaced with a caudillo, Arbenz was strangled for the good of democracy and capitalism, and land reforms were halted • Sadly, the regime established by the US would become oppressive, leading to a long civil war in Guatemala that led to the massacres of many Mayan natives and peasants

5. Viva Cuba!!! • Cuba became the US’ own private sugar plantation after it was secured from the Spanish in 1898…as a result, a growing disparity emerged between rural laborers and the large middle class and wealthy landowners who benefited from direct trade with/investment from the US • Fulgencio Batista rose to power on promises of reforms, political, economic and social in nature, however, was as corrupt a leader as they come, lining his pockets with bribes from US businessmen • The alternative was a young lawyer named Fidel Castro who led an unsuccessful revolution in 1953…he left Cuba and joined forces with Che Guevara in Mexico, and, with a small military force, returned to Cuba in 1956 to being a revolution which promised better living conditions to the rural poor, better pay and working conditions to the proletariat (middle class workers)…whether or not Castro’s original intentions were Marxist in nature has never been clarified…the US had abandoned the corrupt Batista by 1958

6. Viva Cuba!!! • What resulted was Castro’s immediate nationalization of Cuban interests, a break from relations with the US and an increase of support from the Soviet Union…the US responded with the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 and the brink of nuclear war was almost reached with the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 • None-the-less, Cuba prospered somewhat under the Castro regime, with improvements in social areas but less success economically (largely led to a US led embargo)…the Cuban model was attempted to be spread throughout Latin America thereafter, in places like Nicaragua (Sandanistas) and Grenada but failed, mainly due impart again to US interventions • The only Latin American nations lately that have attempted to successfully model the Cuban Socialist model, with much dismay to the US, are Venezuela and Brazil

7. Other Reforms and Military Options • Other traditions institutions remained or regained power in politics in the late 20th century…the Catholic Church made a comeback starting in the 1950s in Chile and Venezuela as Christian Democrats were elected on platforms promises reforms and an end to social injustice…priests even got radical (Father Torres in 1960s Colombia) • In the 70s, a new movement known as liberation theology emerged…it stressed a combination of Catholic social/charitable theology w/Marxist socialist ideology…in short, the movement stressed Jesus and faith in the church as the savior to the people’s issues…response was mixed as the right claimed the movement to be too radical (Pope John Paul II even criticized it)…several clergy were assassinated (Romero in El Salvador) • Military dictatorship still reigned supreme, however, in many areas, all thanks, in part, the US, who saw dictators as a better option in several nations (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Peru) as a better option to Communism • All dictators placed in power reigned on nationalist principles, however, their economic policies remained pro-West, which stifled the working class and the poor…though areas such as health and education improved, basic wage payments, land ownership and living conditions did not

8. New Democratic Trends • Democracy began to be filtered into LA nations (particularly the ones with dictatorships) in the 70s and 80s, though the path was not an easy one • Argentina’s military dictator was replaced in 1983 after the military lost the Falkland Islands War…Brazil saw elections for a congress in 1985 and a new president in 1989…Peru faced guerrilla resistance from the leftist Shining Path movement…Nicaragua had to deal with the leftist Sandinista party in the 80s…Panama called on the US to ouster its drug peddling dictator in 1989 (Noriega)…Guatemala’s civil war was finally over by the 90s and a civilian government was in power by 1996 • Despite democracy, leftist/socialist ideology still managed to gain power in several nations (Brazil w/ Lula and Venezuela w/Chavez), only threatening to alter a Pro-Western foreign policy (meaning, anti-US)

9. The US in Latin America: Timeline • The first time the US got directly involved in Latin America was the Mexican War (Texan War of Independence)…we gained great portions of territory from that war by 1848. • The next time we got directly involved in Latin America was the Spanish American War (1898)…we helped the Cubans fight for independence • This event opened the door for Teddy Roosevelt to introduce his Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (“Speak softly and carry a big stick”) • This policy would open a new wave of investments in Latin America and would establish a clear presence of the United States in the region

10. The US in Latin America: Timeline • 1901- Platt Amendment to Cuba's new constitution gives the U.S. the unilateral right to intervene in the island's political affairs. • 1903 - Theodore Roosevelt intervenes to assist Panamanian independence from Colombia. The resulting Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty makes the US sovereign "in perpetuity" in the ten-mile wide Panama Canal Zone. • 1904 - (Theodore) Roosevelt's Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine declares the U.S. to be the policeman of the Caribbean. US forces place the Dominican Republic under a customs receivership. • 1905 - US Marines land in Honduras. • 1912 - United Fruit Company begins operations in Honduras and later becomes a major force throughout Central America (Banana Republics). • 1914 - US forces shell and then occupy Vera Cruz, Mexico. • 1915-1934 - US Marines intervene/occupy Haiti. • 1916-1917 - US Expeditionary Force under Gen. John J. "Black Jack" Pershing unsuccessfully pursues Pancho Villa in northern Mexico. • 1916-1924 - US Marines occupy the Dominican Republic

11. The US in Latin America: Timeline • 1920-1921 - US troops support a coup in Guatemala. • 1926-1933 - US Marines occupy Nicaragua and fight against the nationalistic forces led by Augusto César Sandino. • 1933 - US offers to intervene in El Salvador to put down a peasant rebellion. The Salvadoran military dictator refuses, then murders thousands of peasants. • 1936-1979 - US supports three different Somozas as dictators of Nicaragua. • 1954 - CIA overthrows constitutional government of Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala. • 1956 - US-supported dictator Anastasio Somoza assassinated in Nicaragua…US military intervenes • 1957-1986 - Papa Doc and Baby Doc Duvalier rule Haiti as dictators, with US support. • 1958 - Vice President Richard Nixon meets strong anti-American sentiment on his "good will" tour of Latin America. • 1959 - Dictator Fulgencio Bastista, supported by the US until 1958, flees Castro's revolution in Cuba.

12. US Latin American Policies • Taft’s “Dollar Diplomacy”, which led to increased US investment in Latin American interests (United Fruit Co. and the Banana Republics) • Roosevelt’s “Good Neighbor Policy” of 1933, which attempted to reduce numerous interventions into LA…it was short lived after WWII with the advent of Communism and containment • Kennedy’s “Alliance for Progress” in 1961 aimed to redirect investment in LA and reduce LA debt to US companies…it failed as elites mostly benefited AND Kennedy was assassinated • Latter policies in LA were more lessez faire, leaving LA alone and holding friendly relations with established dictatorships…we even gave Panama promised to give the canal back to Panama (1978 treaty from Carter, canal went back on Dec 31, 1999)…while Reagan and Bush Sr. actively replaced counterrevolutionary elements in several Central American nations in the 80s (Panama, El Salvador, Nicaragua)

13. Social Issues: A Summary • Social changes in Latin America has come slowly during the 20th century, despite the active role women played in revolutions (Mexico) • The position of women has improved, as their status now rivals those living in western Europe…Women received suffrage in many LA countries in the 1920s and by the 1950s the overwhelming majority of LA nations gave women the right to vote (mainly through suffrage movements similar to those of the US and Europe) • Eventually, women found roles in politics and the workforce as well…in 1911 80% of the textile industry in Argentina was women employed…though wages and benefits remained unequal…women are still considered unskilled labor • women by the 90s represented 9% of the legislative bodies of LA…in some countries, notable women became leaders (Isabel Peron in Argentina, Violeta Chamorro in Nicaragua, Benedita da Silva in Brazil)

14. Social Issues: A Summary • Migration has been the biggest issue in recent years…both internal and external • Latin America’s population surged in the 20th century…usual reasons included the need for more labor sources in poor families both agricultural and industrial • Labor drove huge mass migrations of rural people to the cities first in the 70s and 80s…while international migration has been generally common place since the 1920s, as cheap labor migrated across the borders north, from Mexico to the US, Guatemala to Mexico and so on • In other nations, political repression represented the main reason for migration of refugees (Cuba, Haiti, Guatemala, El Salvador) into Mexico or the US • Results have caused negative impacts in many nations, the biggest being urban poverty…slums and shantytowns spring up on the edges of large urban areas (favelas)…political attempts to relieve this stresses have largely failed • In the long run, issues in Latin America remain, as social injustices, political repression, inequalities and population growth (less urban) continue into this century

15. THIS WEEK • Tuesday: Film on US involvement in Latin America • Wednesday: Change Analysis on 20th C Latin America • Thursday: THE AP EXAM • Friday: Final Exam Project and SS DSTP discussion