Latin America in the 19th and 20th Centuries

Latin America in the 19th and 20th Centuries

Prior to the 20th Century In the 1700s Spanish power was starting to decline. Creoles(criollos) began to question the policies of Spain and Portugal. However, independence movements initially fell short because of the unwillingness of the elites to include the political participation of Indian, mestizo, and mulatto masses. Events in Europe seems to be the catalyst that brought change in Latin America.. Four events in particular had an influence on Latin America

Latin America Prior to the 20th Century - p.2 Events that caused political change: 1. The American Revolution(1775-1783) provided a model of how to break from the mother country. Creoles liked it. 2. The French Revolution(1789) - very popular in LA until it got radical for the Creole elites. Could not deal with regicide - rejection of the church s authority or the social leveling of the Declaration of the Rights of Man 3. Revolt in Haiti - in 1791 the slave Toussaint L Overture led a revolt against the French. In 1804, Haiti became the first Latin American colony to achieve independence. For the elites, this was an example to avoid. 4. This last event helped LA independence the most: France (Napoleon) invaded Spain and Portugal. A general insurrection and long civil war questioned who was actually in charge in Spain. Juntas in LA claimed to rule by the deposed king Ferdinand s decree; but actually ruled for themselves.

Toussaint L Overture - The Haitian slave turned rebel leader

Mexico - its beginning In 1810, Father Miguel de Hidalgo called for American Indians and mestizos to break from Spain. He lost the support of the Creoles, who feared social rebellion more than they desired independence. Hidalgo was eventually captured and executed. In 1820, acting on events in Spain, Creoles once again moved toward independence. Augustin de Iturbide, a Creole officer, was sent to crush the insurgents. Instead, he cuts a deal and becomes emperor of Mexico. Thus, in 1823 - Mexico becomes in independent nation. However, Mexico is born a monarchy - with little recognition to the Indian and mestizo masses.

Mexico - p.2 The 1824 Mexican constitution is modeled after the United States and France s constitution; but it does not address the social inequality in the nation. A power struggle ensues between conservative centralists and liberal federalists. The liberals were in control until their attack on the church led to a violent reaction and assumption of power by General Antonio López de Santa Anna. A caudillo(independent rulers who often had their personal armies), Santa Anna represents deep rooted social problems of Mexico Problems with Texas led to Texas s declaration of independence in 1836. The U.S. claims manifest destiny in 1845, which leads to the Mexican- American War - a loss for Mexico The Treaty of Guadalupe - Hidalgo in 1848 takes about 1/2 of Mexico s territory, but only 5% of the population. The war with the U.S. leaves a bitter legacy of distrust with its northern neighbor; but increases a sense of Mexican nationalism.

Mexico - p.3 Mexicans tire of Santa Anna, and a new generation of intellectuals emerge - in particular, one Benito Juárez - an Indian who is legally trained. Juárez envisions a Mexican society that is based on the rule of law and the privileges of the church and the military would be eliminated as a means to promote social change. His movement is called La Reforma(1857). La Reform s attempt to redistribute land terribly backfires - resulting in half of Mexico s rural peasants landless. La Reforma s forms a new constitution hated by the elites and the church. Conservatives plea for Napoleon III for help. He sends the Austrian archduke Maximilian von Habsburg as ruler of Mexico in 1862. The presence of French troops allowed him to rule. Max tried to appease Juárez, but he could not tolerate a foreign ruler. When the French army left Mexico, Maximilian and his generals were captured and executed. The message to Europe - hands off of Mexico. In 1872, Juárez dies and one of his generals, Porfirio Diaz becomes president and then virtual dictator.

Emperor Maximilian s Execution by the French painter Eduard Manet

Mexican Revolution -p.4 Porfirio Diaz s rule saw great economic change in Mexico. He allowed foreigners into Mexico to develop the mining, railroad, and other industries. This enriched the Mexican elite; did little for the masses. Any opposition was dealt with harshly. In 1910, when Francisco Madero proposed to run against Diaz under the banner of moderate social change, Diaz had Madero arrested and rigged the election that put Diaz back in power. When Madero was released from prison, he called for a revolt. In the north, bandit and commander Pancho Villa led a rebellion of farmers, railroaders, and cowboys. In the south, Emiliano Zapata led a peasant based guerrilla movement fighting for land reform under the banner of Tierra y Libertad. Zapata criticized Madero s moderate reforms as not enough - Madero lost control of his subordinates. In 1913, with the blessing of the U.S. ambassador in Mexico, Madero was ousted in a military coup and then assassinated. General Victoriano Huerta was now in charge, temporarily. Diaz fled to El Paso.

Mexican Revolution - p.5 Huerta wanted a Diaz-style dictatorship supported by large landowners, the army, and foreign companies - but the revolution would not be stopped - Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata were still fighting. By 1914, Huerta was out but the victorious leaders now fought amongst themselves on the nature of the new regime. Eventually, the general Alvaro Obregón,emerged as the leader of the government. By 1920 the civil war was over. Obregón was elected president - he was a first of series of presidents from the revolutionary elite. The Mexican Constitution of 1917 promised land reform, limited foreign ownership of resources, and workers rights. It also limited church ownership of property and promised educational reforms.

Mexican Revolution - Analysis The Mexican revolution has similarities with revolutions in other agrarian societies that had gone through rapid modernization. The Boxer Rebellion(1899-1901) and the end of imperial China(1911), the 1905 revolution in Russia, and a revolution in Iran the same year all occurred in societies experiencing rapid modernization with a large amount of foreign investment from either the United States or western Europe. These nations had become overly dependent on foreign financing. When a world banking crises occurred in 1907-08, Mexico and these other countries were cut-off from their needed sources of capital, causing social unrest

Porfirio Diaz - Mexican Dictator

Francisco Madero -

Madero s insubordinate subordinates - Zapata and Villa

Art by Mexican muralist Siquieros

Culture and Politics in Post-revolutionary Mexico Having neglected the needs of the masses in Mexico for over a century, Mexico now wanted to Indianize the nation through an education system that promoted nationalism and decried capitalism. The murals of Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco recaptured the past and outlined social programs through murals painted on public buildings. Mexican art and literature was a combination of romantic images of Indian past, Christian symbols, and communist ideology. The secularization of society was met with opposition from the church and conservative groups - the Cristeros fought during the 1920s that ended in a compromise. The U.S. invaded Mexico after Pancho Villa made a raid into Columbus, N.M. just prior to American involvement in WW1. Mexican President Cardenas nationalized the oil industry in 1934 that called for further American intervention in Mexico. This action implied that Mexico was striving to be economicallly independent. Mexico developed a one-party system. The party, called the Party of the Institutionalized Revolution(PRI) developed in the 1920s and 1930s and became a force in Mexican politics

Che and Fidel The Cuban Revolution

The Cuban Revolution: Socialism in the Caribbean The differences between the Cuban and Guatemalan revolutions underscore the diversity of Latin America Cuba was a nation of 6 million descendents of Spanish and African slaves; Guatemala had a large Indian population. Cuba had a better education and health systems compared to other nations in the region; it had a large middle-class Cuba was heavily dependent on the United States - 3/4s of their imports came from the United States Cuba s main product was sugar, followed by tobacco - a tenuous basis for an economy The growing gap between the rural poor and the middle-class gave rise to tensions.

The Cuban Revolution Cuba was ruled from 1934 to 1944 by the authoritarian Fulgencio Batista. Initially, Batista worked as a reformer, but his regime was corrupt. When he returned to power in 1952 - he was more of a dictator than a reformer In 1953, Fidel Castro, a young lawyer and critic of Batista, organized a militia and launched an unsuccessful attack on a military barracks. Thrown into prison, and then released - he fled to Mexico where he met the Argentinean Ernesto Che Guevara. In 1956, Castro and Guevara launched a military invasion of Cuba. By 1958 they had gained popular support from students and laborers. Batista, no longer an ally of the United States for his excesses, could not put down the Marxist-Leninist barbudos. The new government, formed January 1959, initiated sweeping reforms. Foreign properties were expropriated, farms were collectivized, and a centralized socialist economy was put in place.

The Cuban Revolution - p.2 The communists policies of Castro alienated the United States - the U.S. broke off relations in 1961; there is still no diplomatic or economic relations today. The American CIA led Bay of Pigs invasion drove the Cubans to establish relations with the Soviet Union. The Cuban Missile Crises in October, 1962 further deteriorated relations between the U.S. and Cuba. The crises is considered the most dangerous moment in World History - the U.S. and Soviet Union were on the verge of nuclear war.

Cuban Revolution: Epilogue Cuba remained very dependent on the financial support of the Soviet Union. When the U.S.S.R. collapsed in the early 1990s, Cuba s situation deteriorated. In the late 1970s, Castro emptied his jails of Cuban criminals, lunatics, and other unwanted citizens and launched them to the United States - the Cuban flotilla was just another episode of bad U.S. - Cuban relations. In 2008, Fidel Castro relinquished power to his brother, Raul. Some reforms are being instituted today - its impact is too soon to evaluate

Chilean President Salvador Allende at a political rally

General Augusto Pinochet: Chilean military dictator

Signs of a dictator Wears dark glasses indoors Slick-back hairstyle Mean look or evil smile Military uniform Usually a lot of medals Rolex Watch Henchmen always nearby

Juan and Eva Peron Argentina

Juan and Evita Peron

Zapatistas in Chiapas, Mexico