Latin America Policy Essay

HIST 8 lecture notes 5.2.13

US-Latin America Policy 1823-1946 * Increasing US influence and intervention * After the removal of the Spanish monarchy’s control in the Americas, Cuba and Puerto Rico are the last vestiges of Spanish control in the western hemisphere * International rivalries and how they play out in this hemisphere during this period is important * Once the civil war is over, the US, as it is industrializing, is concerned with what they termed “our backyard” * The notion that the US can simply take advantage of Latin America- very offensive to Latin Americans

Monroe Doctrine 1823 * This was an important moment for the US * Directed in particular at Great Britain

Territorial
expansion at Mexico’s expense * What is basically the southwest of the US- * This was an area that neither the Spanish colonial government or the Mexican government could hold on to

Post US Civil war- * Investment, expansionism, interventionism, imperialism- Cuba, Panama, Mexico * The US has solved internal rivalries- civil war * Dynamic industrialization after * The south was decimated after the war * * Economic expansion – neocolonialism * Local elites benefit from this relationship- seen as being “sell-outs” to larger powers * Great Britain and the US in general- taking advantage of countries

Monroe Doctrine 1823 * James Monroe- seeing Latin America as open to the US * Exclusion of European powers * Spain seen as a potential invader * This doctrine is directed at Great Britain * Notion of this is “our” hemisphere

US and UK Latin American policy before 1861 * Both the US and Great Britain take advantage of the new republics in the western hemisphere – take advantage of political weaknesses * Brazil remains a monarchy after independence * Strength of the UK position as major maritime and commercial power * Assertion of US sovereignty in the hemisphere from a weak position

Question of transportation – goods * Most cargo moved over sea * Search for viable route from the Atlantic to the Pacific – * Creation of a canal in central America- search for place to put a canal- looked at Mexico, Nicaragua * Juarez government in 1859- gave access to the US to build transit route across Mexico and the ability to intervene * The treaty was not ratified in the US – due to the conflict raging in the civil war * * In Nicaragua- Filibustering by US * Route across Panama becomes preferred route after conflict over Nicaragua * Eventually put in Panama * Desire by southerners in US to extend slave territory – especially Cuba * US tried to persuade Spain to sell Cuba to them * Southerners looking outside the US for expansion

Transformation of US foreign policy * End of US Civil War and expansionism * Us National, greatness includes new international rule * Hemispheric leadership, extension of Monroe Doctrine

Hemispheric system * US takes lead in the hemisphere to assert leadership – exclusion of Britain * US sees itself as a world power, notion of hemispheric system comes into play * Explicitly excluded is Canada (British North America) * Basically the notion that the US and Latin America have a special relationship- efforts * Pan American conference 1888 * Pan American Union 1890 * Pan American Exposition 1901 * Organization of American States 1948 * The US is seeing itself as an industrial power, industrial power * Once Great Britain is consumed with WWI, the US rises higher on the world stage * In the 1890s, the US begins to appropriate Christopher Columbus * Columbian exposition in Chicago in 1893, celebration of 400 years of European rule * Appropriating the Spanish legacy * First (and only time) that a foreign monarch is on a postage stamp- stamp with Queen Isabella and Christopher Columbus * US appropriates the symbolism of the Spanish empire – appropriating a whole imperial system * Places named after Columbus (ex: Ohio)

Mexican Railway Lines 1887 * Railway building in the 19th c a key for expansion and economic development * Way to get to far-reaching territories * Exports – get goods to ports in Mexico and in New Orleans * In Mexico- most rail lines go to the US – rail hubs along the border * Once Mexico is industrializing, after its own post-civil war period, they realize that a close connection to the US will benefit them

Transformation of Mexico: Railroads * Strengthens state control * Expands economic potential, links to US * Internal Markets; exports * Creation of new urban hubs- center and periphery: * The center of Mexico was periphery * Rich agricultural soil around some of the areas, but no transport to get products to market * There was no territory that was developed in the center * But with the creation of then railway network- growth of entirely new centers, which are not the old colonial centers * Dynamic agricultural region – newly-created estates for export agriculture * Increase in value of rural land * Rural police forces placed around rail lines – means that the continuous rebellions of some areas stopped * Brought “order and progress” – a large part of this was railways * Railway produces economic prosperity also means a strengthening of the role of the state in far-flung areas

Transformation of US foreign policy * Growing US parity with Great Britain * Search for external markets * Transportation links * Rise of naval power- need for bases, control of sea routes * Opportunity/threat to the US interests in Spanish Cuba * 1860s- beginning of Cuban independence wars * rise of the sugar industry in Cuba – one of the impacts of the Haitian revolution in the beginning of the 19th c. * US helps Cuba with independence movement- 1898- begins to embrace of imperialist role * Cartoon on gauchospace: Spain represented as feeble old woman with its colonies of Cuba and the Philippines

Cuban independence from Spain becomes the Spanish-American War 1898 * Cuban Ten Years war 1868-78 * Cuban war of independence 1895-98 * Spanish American War 1898- the US takes the opportunity in the revised war for independence to intervene * With the mysterious explosion of the USS Maine in Havana harbor * Cuba had a viable, multi-racial movement for independence which the US intervened- the war gets categorized as a conflict between the US and Spain – dismissing a whole movement and whole people * U.S. American Protectorate – Platt Amendment to Cuban constitution

Remnant of Spanish colonial empire * 19th c transition from tobacco to sugar, slavery * Independence movement of the 10 years war * Anti-colonial conflict, multiracial Cuban participation against Spain * Cuban War for independence 1895-98 * Cuban elites see possibility of social revolution * Perceived as weakness of Spain * Outcome of the Spanish–American war helps heal the rift bt the US north and the south * Joining of former Union soldiers and southern soldiers joining together in fight against Spain for Cuba * In Cuba, the southern racial prejudices begin to permeate society in Cuba where they were not there before * US occupiers enforce segregation, racial prejudice where it was not there before US arrival * Spanish-American war 1898 * US naval power crucial in outcome * Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines- all taken by the US * Desirable as ports- build strong navy - US gains strategic position * Initially, there is no major opposition to this in the US * Later, questions about what this is turning the US into – US ruling other cultures * Cuban revolutionaries excluded from negotiations at the end of the war * US gains Philippines by purchase $20 million * Opposition to US role- imposing peace and taking Cuba – See political cartoons on Gauchospace

Results of the Spanish-American war * Self-assurance of equality with Great Britain in dividing the world * Notion of the “White mans Burden” of empire * White men have a “civilizing mission to the world * Conquering peoples that haven’t had a chance to be “civilized” need to be helped (conquered) * Imperialist enterprises- based on racist notions * Ideas of social Darwinism * “Civilizing role” to new acquisitions

But there were some critics * See cartoons on gauchospace – Uncle Sam and John Bull (Britain) splitting up the world, “civilizing” * School as metaphor- education as the way to civilize the “barbarous” * Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippines portrayed as dark-skinned children, very poor- stereotypes that were typical of the period * Critique of these ideas in political cartoons * Pointed criticism of US policies and the notion of the “white mans burden” * Cartoon depicting “white-man’s burden”- cartoon showing uncle sam and John Bull lugging small children labeled Puerto Rico, Cuba up to a mountain top labeled “Civilization”

Theodore Roosevelt and Latin America * War hero- Spanish American war * Political career meteoric rise – vice president under McKinley * Cartoon on Gauchospace- “Walk softly and carry a big stick” * Roosevelt walking over the Caribbean with his stick * This was criticizing US policies * Roosevelt corollary – continues the notion that “civilized” society must intervene * Roosevelt corollary to the Monroe Doctrine seen as justification for intervention

US and a route to the west * 1836 Andrew Jackson study inter-oceanic route * 1846 treaty with Republic of New Granada (Colombia) for a railway line * 1855 Completion of Panama Railway
* 1880-93 French Panama Canal project – failed and went bankrupt * 1904-1914 US Panama Canal – US took over project * But they have to deal with the fact that Colombia had not given right to this – they create a treaty and assist creation of independent country of Panama * Panama cost so much a took so long to build- bc the Atlantic side and the Caribbean side are of a different height * Panama canal opens in 1914- this was seen as one of the wonders of the world- it still is * In terms of engineering, it is one of the wonders of the world * It also cut down transit time for goods * This whole era is part of increasing US influence militarily * The US beat out the French in completing the project

HIST 8 lecture notes 5.7.2013
The Mexican revolution – movie
• Big concerns of the revolution: land, peasants rights, income inequality
• 1910- celebration of MX independence- Mexico during the 19th c and the beginning of the 20th c- liberal programs of modernization- railroads, foreign investment- President Porfirio Diaz
• Mexico’s rural poor, the Indian campesinos left out of the narrative of progress
• Many worked land that their families used to own
• Porfirio Diaz now seen as a tyrant in Mexican
history
• He stayed in power for 35 years – was president, became a dictator
• Diaz ran for an 8th term as president- resistance to this in MX-
• Began with Francisco Madero – he was educated in Europe, was well versed in democratic ideals
• Madero calls the people to arms – Pancho Vllla was one of the commanders who answered
• Villa and other northern generals began a war in the North
• Fighting also began in the south
• Morelos rebellion and Zapata- fought alongside the people to get land back that had been taken by wealthy hacendados
• Zapata- land reform and social justice
• Zapata represented communal land ownership
• Villa represented more individual ownership
• Young and old fought in the MX revolution
• Those who fought thrown into battle with little preparation
• The rebels decimated Diaz’s troops
• In 1911, Diaz left Mexico in exile – the revolutionaries had triumphed
• Diaz famously said- “Madero has unleashed a tiger- now lets see if he can control it”
• End to the “Porfiriato”- the long period of Diaz’s rule
• Madero elected president 6 months later- and turned to task of governing MX
• But he lacked experience- was slow to act on land reforms, he told revolutionary generals to disarms themselves and refused to disband the army they had defeated
• Many rose up against him- saw that he had not given what was promised in the revolution – the things he himself demanded
• General Victoriano Huerta turned against Madero – La decena tragica- ten days of tragedy - after the fighting that took place in these 10 days, Huerta arrested Madero and his VP – He promised them he would let them go, but ordered them killed shortly thereafter
• MX was about to enter into most chaotic period ever
• Huerta tool presidency
• Venustiano Carranza was the first to rise up against Huerta
• Generals in the north answered Carranza’s call – Pancho Villa and Álvaro Obregón
• Zapata did not trust Carranza, but also fought in the movement against Huerta
• Mexicans were discovering new national identity as they battled in the revolution
• In 1914, the US intervened, declared Huerta’s presidency invalid
• The US Marines confiscated arms and supplies aimed for Huerta’s army- they gave them to Carranza’s army
• Huerta could not defeat revolutionaries- he fled to Texas
• Villa broke with Venustiano Carranza and occupied MX city
• Zapata came to capital to meet Villa- for a week, the city was run by revolutionaries
• Villa asked Zapata to help him fight Carranza, - he agreed, but only in Morelos, for his people and their land
• The war that followed continued to be the most violent
• Generals who previously fought together against common enemy now fought against each other
• War became between Villa and Carranza’s General, Álvaro Obregón
• By 1916, the conflict was over- Carranza was in control – the US recognized Carranza as rightful president
• Villa was outraged, he led raid on border town of Columbus, New Mexico in 1916– Presidents Woodrow Wilson’s US troops chased Villa and his troops across northern MX for almost a year
• Villa retired soon thereafter
• Carranza and 1917 constitution
• Recognized Madero’s anti-reelection stance
• Also Zapata’s demand for land reform
• But for Zapata, the constitution was just a promise – Carranza had little interest in land reform
• He continued to fight with the Zapatistas for land reform in Morelos
• Carranza ordered the assassination of Zapata, who was gunned down by govt troops
• Within a year, Carranza was victim of plot by his right hand man, Álvaro Obregón
• A year later, Villa killed as well
• More than 1 million Mexicans died in the 10 years of the revolution; The country was in ruins

In 1921- official end to the revolution
• Mexicans also celebrated 200th year of independence from Spain – (1821)
• A. Obregon was president (1920-1924)
• Began to conceive of new identity, rebuild country
• Obregon started state sponsored cultural renaissance- govt commissioned artists to paint huge public murals with strong messages
• Mexican murals reveal the horrors and hardships of the revolution, glories of peasant heroes
• Muralist established new identity for Mexicans- one that did not reject their Indian past
• Main statement made through art was the culture of the pre-Hispanic past was important
• Murals celebrated pre-Hispanic culture and mestizo heritage of Mexico
• Indian civilization glorified; Spaniards vilified
• Cortes depicted as evil character
• But murals recognize that the fusion of Spanish and Indian lead to the creation of a new people: mestizo people that made up Mexican identity

But Mexico fell back into chaos
• Álvaro Obregón elected president again in 1928, but assassinated before he could take office
• Mexicos countryside still run by regional strongmen; no central political system that could hold the country together
• Plutarco Elías Calles (Mexican general and politician, powerful interior minister under President Obregón) found a way to unite the country – he formed the National Revolutionary Party (the PRI)
• Calles asserted control over MX politics – he became known as the “jefe maximo”- supreme boss
• In 1932, Lázaro Cárdenas ran for president- he later became most popular president
• He modernized revolutionary party Calles founded, he enacted land reforms
• He consolidated MX political system
• He organized peasants into official sector – Cardenas tried to control labor with the creation of the Confederation of Mexican workers (CTM) in 1936

He enforced the labor laws provided for in the constitution
• Some labor unions and workers refused to be a part of the CTM
• Calles opposed Lázaro Cárdenas’ policies’ tried to re-assert power
• Cárdenas succeeded in exiling Calles
• He was a powerful president – Mexico had a stable political system for the first time since Madero started the revolution in 1910
• In mid 1930s, Cardenas implemented programs for Mexican campisinos- land reforms that were promised under 1917 constitution
• Cardenas redistributed land to peasants – he became immensely popular president
• 1938- Cardenas also used the power of the presidency to declare Mexico’s national sovereignty o Cardenas claimed sub-soil resources for the state- he nationalized 17 foreign oil companies (British and American oil companies)
• Cardenas asked the people to help pay for the oil expropriation – petitioned people to help pay the debt – to bring about the nationalization of the oil industry
• Pemex became the first Mexican oil company
• But oil expropriation and Cardenas’s populist programs had taken a toll on the economy
• He chose his successor as Avila Camacho – the election was won through fraud
• Cardenas stepped down- Mexico had a stable political system
• The PRI was the all-powerful party that was put in place by the revolution, was in power in MX for 80 years until they lost in 2000- now the PRI is back in power, after recent elections
• Returning land to the peasantry was one of the main things that the peasants fought for in the revolution – the promises made in the 1917 constitution on land reform were not realized until Cardenas (and even then, it was not fully realized)
• Redistribution of land- the constitution allowed for land that was nationalized, more marginalized land to be distributed
•

HIST 8 lecture notes 5.9.13

What is a revolution?
• Replacement of one regime or another
• Significant structural change
• Violence
• Ideologically driven
• Factions/parties emerge
• Phases not planned
• Perpetuating tradition uncertain

Cuban Revolution
• In the beginning of the Cuban revolution, Fidel was not a Marxist
• The possibility of a replay of Guatemala- one of the reasons that Cuba moves towards suppression of human rights, becomes more of authoritarian state
• Contingency of history- many cases not planned – one event can trigger how the revolution unfolds
• For those who won the revolution, always the question of how the revolution is going to be perpetuated
• In some ways we can think of the Cuban revolution as having the characteristics of old-style caudillos – military leaders who gain prominence on the field of battle
Mexican revolution
• Significant violence- civil war
• But this violence is not country-wide
• The south of mx and in the Yucatan peninsula did not see a lot of violence- in the areas where the most significant indigenous populations
• Those that are most oppressed are not always the first to rise up
• Mexican revolution was a regional revolution, in the north and in the center
• Diaz was ousted because military leaders bubbling up on the Northern border- showed how weak the MX army was
• Replacement of one regime over another
• Significant structural change – destruction of the federal army, land reform, new constitution
• Ideologically driven
• Factions /parties emerge
• Phases not planned
• Perpetuating a revolutionary tradition uncertain
• Northern armies had access to arms, the southern, peasant armies did not
• The armies of the north were armies of movement, and were paid- vs a guerilla force in the center
• The Northern generals – Calles, Obregon – that win the MX revolution – they are part of the northern dynamic society, closer to the U.S. than peasant culture in southern MX
• But the fact that Zapata and his followers could mount a resistance, that peasant demands for land were enshrined in the constitution is important
• In terms of the gains of the revolution, many people point to ideological gains- new constitution sets the road map for where MX was going for the next century
• Article 27- reassertion of the right of the crown in colonial period, that give the rights of the land to the state, rather than in private hands
• The state gives itself the right to expropriate property, if they saw fit
• Also limits the role of foreigners – a group of intellectuals seeing foreign ownership of mines, railroads- state asserts power to who can own land
• Article 27 was seen as one of the key aspects – peasant success in the revolution
• Industrialized working poor
• Article 123- it empowers labor in Mexico – sections in the liberal party program about labor were written word for word in article 123
• Mexico now had rights for the working class, enshrined in the constitution
• Workers were counted as a power group – labor is still a powerful group in Mexico
Oil expropriation
• The U.S. did not intervene to expropriate the oil – this is a big deal
• Due in part to FDR understanding that WWII was coming- wanted to have “good neighbors” in the hemisphere- Good Neighbor policy
• Control of the church
• Expelling of foreign priests
• Reaffirmation of anti-clerical aspects in the constitution, re-emphasized the notion that the state and the church should not have a close relationship
• Restrictions on religious expression
• The 1917 constitution was a key documents- gives huge power to the central government – suddenly the government had far more power than Porfirio Diaz ever dreamed of
• The establishment of the PRI (institutional revolutionary party) – an Institutionalization of the revolution’s structures
• Mexico is an example of a successful revolution
• Mexico had a template of a successful revolution that also came along with economic nationalism and to take a stand against the U.S.

Two case studies: Guatemala and Cuba
• Guatemala- 1944-54 Democratic radical reform/revolution
• 1954 coup supported by the United fruit company and the CIA- counter revolution
• Cuba- 1959 Castro’s reformist/Marxist socialist revolution
• Cuba’s revolution has endured – a thorn in the side of the U.S. since 1959 – a beacon to the rest of Latin America that you can have a successful revolution, even in the face of significant push back from the US

Structural similarities in Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba
• Significant socioeconomic inequalities
• Large, poor, non-white populations (indigenous., Afro-Latin Americans)
• Lack of access to land, education
• Labor coercion
• Role of foreign capital
• Mexico- US, UK, extractive industries o Guatemala- United Fruit Co (US, bananas) dominated the country ; German investment (coffee) o Cuba- sugar (US, Canada) o Prosperity tied to world prices

Guatemala timeline
• 1944 civilian overthrow of dictator Ubico
• 1944-54 democratic reform. Land reform, empowerment of indigenous
• 1954 CIA backed military coup – President Arbenz sent into exile
• 1954- 65- reversal of reform
• 1960 – start of the civil war between leftist guerrillas and government
• Genocide of the indigenous
• 1996- end of civil war

Guatemalan reform era 1944-1954
• Democratically-elected leftist o Free, fair elections
• President Juan Jose Arévalo 1945-51 o “Spiritual socialism”
• Jacobo Arbenz 1951-54
• Significant land reform legislation
• United Fruit Company interest directly threatened

Democratic revolution in Guatemala 1944-54
• Coalition of urban middle class groups with junior military officers
• Topple dictator Jorge Ubico (1930-44)
• Arévalo administration cleanly elected, deeply reformist
• Literacy campaign
• School construction
• Housing, hospitals
• New constitution – 1945- this is very important
• Seen as within that model of what was done with the MX revolution
• Labor rights, abolition of forced labor, land reform – similar to what you see in the MX revolution
• Mexico was a model for what could do to empower
• Continuing the Guatemalan reform – Jacobo Arbenz 1951-54
• Push for greater economic independence
• Import substitution industrialization
• 1952 expropriation of lands over 225 acres distribution to landless
• Successful CIA coup against a democratically-elected government 1954
• Reversal of reform
• A young Che Guevara present in Guatemala during the coup; flees to Mexico
• Seeing the Guatemalan reform/revolution and no major attempt within the country to defend it (when US led coup) made an impact on Che- need to defend the revolution you have won
• He fled to Mexico – met Fidel Castro – they plan the Cuban revolution

Cuba Timeline 1895-1960
• 1895-98 Cuban War of Independence
• 1898 Spanish-American War
• 1903 Platt Amendment to Cuban Constitution
• 1952-58 Dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista
• 1953 Castro attacks Moncada barracks July 26
• 1953-55 Castro imprisoned but becomes national figure
• 1957 Voyage of the Granma and the beginning of guerrilla warfare
• 1958 U.S. withdraws support of Batista
• 1959 New Year’s Day Fidel Castro is de facto leader of Cuba
• 1960 U.S. disillusioned with Castro, economic sanctions
• 1960 Cuban friendship with USSR

US and Cuba
• Monoculture sugar, US major investors, main purchaser
• Political control/influence
• Social/cultural relationship
• There was a working relationship between US and Cuba
• For Cuba, a small island trapped in this relationship with the US – leads to resentment in both the political and economic sphere
• These feelings just under the service, and under the right circumstances could foment into movement
• The conditions for a revolution became more possible with the regime of Batista

Fidel Castro
• His father was a Spanish immigrant, fathers Fidel out of wedlock
• Mother was a maid
• He was sent to elite Jesuit schools but was an outsider – Brilliant, athletic, and audacious student leader
• He went to University of Havana – got involved in revolutionary politics
• Batista was cracking down on leftists, people against the regime
• As a white son of an elite, how did Fidel successfully get a large population of mostly poor, black Cubans to follow him?
Batista regime
• 1952-58
• 1952 coup by Fulgencio Batista
• Canceled elections – began to centralize power in his own hands
• Opposition by the Cuban middle class
• Allies with the US- large scale foreign business
interest
• Regime continues only as long as it has US support
• Moncada and “History will absolve me”
• Attack on the Moncada barracks to obtain weapons July 26, 1953
• July 25 is St. James’ day – Fidel thought that the soldiers would have been out late celebrating the night before, and they would be groggy the next day
• A great deal of people died- it was a debacle
• But such a high-profile audacious event, then Fidel’s speech is disseminated, to people who are seeing how Batista’s regime is authoritarian
• Romantic martyrdom
• He is eventually given amnesty – goes to Mexico

Voyage of the Granma
• Ship that carried the Cuban forces from Mexico to Cuba
• The Cuban revolutionary movement was called the 26th of July Movement
• Exile and training in Mexico
• Landing of the yacht Granma in Cuba 1956
• Surviving Cubans flee to the Sierra Maestra mountains

Sierra Maestra, Guerrilla warfare
• Creation of a guerilla fighting force, including Che Guevara
• Increasing support of the peasantry
• Successful tactics against the Batista regime
• Shows the weakness of Batista and the growth, groundswell for regime change
• Builds widespread support in Cuba
• Fighting in the mountains, and the triumph of coming into Havana, Fidel was not a Marxist- he was more of a radical reformer
• The Early Cuban revolution
• The early reformist phase, eventually gets more radical
• Castro’s victory widely applauded in the IS- initial phase of the revolution is reformist
• Early period has diverse political elements
• - no fixed ideology
• Fidel even gave up his own families’ land
• He gave statements that clearly are not communist – he also travels to the US quite often, learned to speak English
• ..”.[communist] influence is nothing. I don't agree with communism. We are democracy. We are against all kinds of dictators... That is why we oppose communism.“ (Castro, 1959)
• But get increasing polarization, Castro’s regime becomes more radial
• US puts sanctions on Cuba
• Castro’s friendship with the Soviet Union strategic in many ways

Executions of Batista officials, 1959
• No truth and reconciliation commission
• Summary trials and public executions of those convicted of human rights abuses
• Widespread support by ordinary Cubans
• Unyielding stance that the Cuban revolution starts to take in defense of the revolution – where violence is necessary, they will do so
• Cuban Timeline 1960-62
• 1960 expropriations of foreign owned properties
• 1960 US embargo of trade with Cuba (still going on, still has a huge impact on the Cuban economy)
• 1960 Friendship treaty with the Soviet Union
• 1960 is also an election year in the US – between Nixon and Kennedy - political rhetoric at the time was how is the US going to deal with Cuba
• April 1961- CIA backed invasion at the Bay of Pigs fails
• May 1961- Castro declares Cuba a socialist country – this is after the triumph over the US at the Bay of Pigs
• 1962- USSR places mid-range nuclear missiles in Cuba
• 1962 October- Cuban Missile Crisis

Escalating Crisis- 1960
• Cuban economic independence on sugar
• Need for oil imports- USSR supplies
• US sugar quota abolished 1960
• Nationalization of the largely foreign-owned sugar industry
• Expropriation of Coca Cola & Sears Roebuck
• Soviet Union agrees to buy Cuban sugar

Cuba and the USSR
• 1960 Cuba approaches USSR for friendship and aid
• Castro declares Cuba a socialist country May 1961
• This is a mutually beneficial relationship – USSR is “benefactor” for Cuba- for both military might and economic means (investment)
• Castro declares Cuba a socialist country May 1961 immediately after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion
• Change over time o Soviet aid with few controls 1960-70 o 1970-1989 Soviet Union calls economic shots
• Crash of Cuban economy following the dissolution of the USSR

Literacy campaign 1961
• Universal literacy a revolutionary goal
• Model is Guatemala’s campaign
• Large scale participation of the population in the revolution - participation of Cuban population as teachers or students
• Commitment of universal education

US trade embargo- 1961 to present
• “The majority of Cubans support Castro . . . the only foreseeable means of alienating [this] internal support is through disenchantment and disaffection based on economic dissatisfaction and hardship . . . Every possible means should be undertaken promptly to weaken the economic life of Cuba . . . a line of action which makes the greatest inroads in denying money and supplies to Cuba, to decrease monetary and real wages, to bring about hunger, desperation and overthrow of government."

-- Declassified April 6, 1960 memo by U.S. State Department's Lester D. Mallory, Assistant Secretary of State for Latin America

Bay of Pigs 1961
• CIA trains 1500 Cuban exiles in Nicaragua
• Expectation of rising of Cubans against Castro
• JFK supports invasion
• Disastrous invasion – major misstep
• 1200 captured at Playa Girón, lack of US air cover
• Impact on Cuba and the world: Gives the Cuba a huge boost- Cuba was able to push back against the US
• People’s defense of their revolution, major defeat of the US

Cuban missile crisis – October 1962
• Placement of mid-range Soviet missiles on Cuba detected by U2 spy plane
• US demands removal
• Back channel communications between JFK and Khrushchev
• US promise not to invade Cuba but negotiations exclude Cuba as a partner

Achievements of the Cuban Revolution
• Literacy and universal educational access
• Universal, comprehensive free health care
• Aid to developing nations with doctors, education, military personnel
• Successful model of Revolution for other nations
• Defiance of the United States
• Commitment to ideology of Cuban Revolution – largely no self-enrichment by revolutionary leaders
• Survival of Revolution – legacy to this day

History 8 lecture notes 5.14.13

The larger impact of the Cuban Revolution 1961-85

• Greater impact of the Cuban Revolution in the hemisphere and beyond
• Also the larger impact of the Mexican Revolution
• Alliance for Progress 1961-1973JFK
• When you read this document for section, think about the way that Kennedy is framing what the US is about, and what sort of common ground they have with Latin America
• Date- this is the Kennedy administration’s response to the Cuban Revolution
• Increasing closeness between Cuba and the Soviet Union – with this alliance, the US fits US relations with Latin America into an East-West Cold War dynamic
• Banana Republics- an idea of US hegemony over Latin America o a political science term for a politically unstable country whose economy is largely dependent on the export of a single limited-resource product, such as bananas.
• The Alliance for Progress was trying to reinforce aspects of the Good Neighbor policy
• Pay attention to the language that Kennedy uses – about revolution

Mexico- a case of the way development occurred post-revolution
• A key factor in Mexico’s rise of and consolidation of its political system is the relationship with the US
• The Good Neighbor policy – FDR saw that war was coming, he knew that he needed the hemisphere to be be hostile to the US
• Also resources that could be useful to the war effort- iron, copper, oil, silver, and labor
• Particularly after the outbreak of WWII- lack of labor in the US, Mexico can help fill this
• US-Mexico relations- has impacts on both sides of the border o For Mexico- it gives them a market for their products, also the Bracero program- it frees up US labor to fight in the war, brings Mexican workers to the US as guest workers
• What this does for Mexico (period of WWII) brings closer contacts bt MX and the US
• For many Mexicans, can earn much more money than previous- also effects migration patterns- establishes this migration for work
• Cultural impact of the movement on the US- workers who had not come into contact with the US, development of capitalism
• Economic trends- 1930-1990
• Great Depression world-wide downturn in production and trade
• Latin America pursues Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI)
• Local production of manufactured goods previously imported
• Creation of new industries, development of a domestic market
• One of the things that Latin America turns to in a big way- creation of local industry to create what you previously imported
• Comes with government support, usually in places that are large enough countries- Largest, most productive countries implement it- Argentina, Brazil, Mexico
• Raul Prebisch an advocate of this (see reading 7.1)
• Economic Council for Latin America- rallied for Latin America to find its own course, not so much dependent on the US or outside forces
• It was successfully implemented in Mexico, in the post WWII period

The Mexican Miracle
• Rapid modernization
• ISI
• Cooperation between the state and private business
• Management of labor and peasant discontent
• Growth of a significant middle class
• Because of the close working relationship between the US and
• Period from 1946 to 1960- the Mexican Miracle begins to slow down o The Cuban Revolution was happening at this time- different vision for radical economic change- this created new model for change
• During this period, MX is able to diversify its economy
• MX entered a period of tremendous economic expansion
• Who gets left behind in the MX miracle? The peasants
• Supposedly, the plan of the Mexican Revolution was the re-distribution of land to peasants, subsistence farming
• But this plan was not going to create a prosperous, modern county
• In the mid 1940s, the govt decided that they are going to modernize and develop with a very strong model of the state
• Also growth of the middle class
• MX was producing an educated elite, middle class, seeking jobs in government
• In this era, peasants become increasingly discontent
• Cardenas’s reforms in the 1930s were the last hurrah of the revolution – land reform o In the 1940s, resurgence of big landed estates, hooked into a big domestic market and an export market, linked to the US
• The development of big agriculture, support of large enterprise

Miguel Aleman 1946-52
• The beginning of the Mexican Miracle
• Urbanization
• ISI
• Transnational subsidiary companies in Mexico
• Aleman – the big gift he gets from his predecessor was a huge stockpile of money that he now gets to use
• Economic solvency, political peace
• National Financiera- development Bank (founded 1947)
• Sole agency to negotiate foreign loans
• Development of natural resources
• Improve technology
• ISI
• The phrase for development in the 19th c- “order and progress”- get it again in action-
• And since there was political peace, the govt saw the opportunity to develop
• State-run enterprises in Mexico – paper company, telephone company- all state owned
• Govt owned newspaper- lead to govt control of the press, press was not free- a lot of newspapers just printed govt propaganda

Transnational business
• Production of goods under Mexican management
• Growth of the middle class – consumer market for durable goods
• Decentralization of industrialized plants – producers more regional development
• With the growth of industry, have more centers of industry
• Particularly in the North, have more people living in urban centers
• It is in the south, in Chiapas, Yucatan, areas with more indig presence stay more rural- we will see how this will come back in 1994 with the modern day Zapatistas
Mexico- 1968 Olympics
• 1968 became a year of world demonstrations about the Vietnam war
• Events with a high profile became a target for a way to undermine what the official image should be
• In Mexico, the limits of ISI came where the benefits were distributed as far as possible, but Mexicans began to get confused – is this what the revolution fought for? Where are the promises of the revolution?
• As the government spend thousands on the Olympics, students, workers- all questioning the amount of money spent on the event
• Increasing number of peaceful demonstrations – saying the MX government that they object to the amount of money spent on Olympics- money could be used to help the poor – return to revolutionary idea

Plaza of the Three Cultures, Mexico City Oct 2, 1968
• It began as a peaceful demonstration – government forces opened fire on protesters
• News did not go far- because the government controlled the press
• The Massacre was not reported
• 400 people were killed by government forces- they were peaceful demonstrators with no weapons
• The government “managed” the event- covered it up- and the Olympics went ahead as planned
• Now known as the Tlatelolco Massacre Oct 2, 1968
• Is the Mexican revolution Dead?
• President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz (1964-1970)
• No revolutionary credentials whatsoever
• Rose within the ranks of the PRI, elected president without viable opposition
• Authoritarian in practice
• Presiders over the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City
• “The Death of Artemio Cruz” by Carlos Fuentes is a metaphor for the death of the MX revolution

Oil boom — and bust
• Discovery of huge oil reserves in the Gulf of MX
• PEMEX had the rights to drill, but not the means to do so- they contract elsewhere
• MX and places that have resources are a place that first world bankers want to invest in
• High oil prices due to the formation of the organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
• Drop in price of oil, crash of Mexican economy 1982
• Mexicans had their loans valued in US dollars- they cannot pay their loans

Historical trends 1960-1985
• Cuban revolution 1959 has huge impact
• US views Latin American situation in terms of Cold War – East/West politics
• Cuban support of Latin American and African leftist movements
• US response to the Cuban Revolution - via development aid and covert action – Alliance for Progress
• Roman Catholic Church plays an active role in politics- left and right
• Latin American rightwing attempts to stop change- military coups, coordinated crackdown on dissent, protracted civil wars, suppression of leftist clerics of support from outside, esp US
• Vatican II- the church makes a new commitment to the poor o A political engagement that comes out of a religious engagement o If you are not actively opposing repression, you are supporting it- this empowers nuns, priests to act against repression – liberation theology
• In Guatemala- Rios Montt- waged genocide on the Mayans in the countryside – claimed they were Marxists
• US policies toward Latin America range from Jimmy Carter and JFK to Reagan
• Ronald Reagan- why US needs to intervene in Central American conflicts- waging this in East/West terms – look at the rhetoric that Reagan uses
• Also the rhetoric that Kennedy uses
• Cuba and economic realities
• Nationalization of foreign enterprises results in the US trade embargo
• Economic dependence on the USSR , rather than the US
• Cuba tries to import ISI, but it does not have the resources – it could not call on USSR- they were happy to buy Cuban cigars and Sugar, but they were not able to find a way to industrialize
• They had to rely solely on sugar and tobacco to export
• They also move toward helping others foment revolutions elsewhere
• Failure to escape dependent upon sugar
• Aging infrastructure, factories
• Suppression of private enterprise
• Ideological, rather than economic rewards
• Income distribution more equal

Cuba and Human Rights
• Committees for the defense of the revolution – are the eyes and ears, neighborhood watch groups- watch for activities against the revolution
• Imprisonment of opponents to the regime
• Political dissidents
• Artists
• Writers
• Homosexuals
• Religious opponents
• Solitary confinement, torture, murder
• UN Human Rights investigation
• Luster of the Cuban revolution fades – reality is more of an authoritarian regime
• Influence of the Cuban revolution
• Revolutionary fervor and gains for Cuban workers and peasants enormously appealing to leftists elsewhere
• Exodus of the white elites after the revolution – Cuban becomes much “blacker” after the revolution
• Despite revolutionary rhetoric about the dissolving of racism with the revolution is just rhetoric
• Cuba actively cultivates leftists elsewhere- Support of guerilla movements in Africa and Latin America
• Has training camps- it wants and needs to have higher profile
• The Soviet Union humiliated Cuba at the end of the Cuban missile crisis- Cuba had been written off – agreement between US and USSR
• Material, soldiers sent
• Military training for leftist in Cuba
• Attempt to retain Cuba’s role on world stage post-1962 Missile Crisis
• Continued US alarm at Cuba’s outsized influence

Che Guevara
• Argentine doctor – meets Castro and helps him to overthrow Batista
• Friendship and solidarity woth Fidel since his training in Mexico
• Che was made minister of finance, disastrous results
• Less pragmatic than Fidel on the role of the USSR, revolution – Che makes some high profile comment son how the Soviet Union should be doing more for the third world
• 1955 Che leaves Cuba and fights first in Africa and then Bolivia
• He is basically exiled from Cuba- he wants to go, they want him to go

Che in Bolivia
• Thor of a revolutionary vanguard- he thought there would be revolutionaries who could show the peasants to rise up
• Failure to gain peasant support – Bolivia had a revolution in 1952- land was distributed – they looked at Cubans with suspicions
• Fidel gives no aid
• CIA-trained military surrounds Che’s guerillas
• Capture and execution Oct 1967
• Burial in Bolivia, much later remains moved to Cuba
• Failed revolution

Che in death
• Che’s memorial in Cuba- it is not located in Havana
• The glorious dead revolutionary – Che’s image has been appropriated many times over
• Became a symbol of revolutionary struggle

Exporting revolution
• Solidarity with the struggles of peoples in Asia, Africa and Latin America
• Direct aid to Angola, Nicaragua
• Guerilla Movements in Latin America – MX, Guatemala, El Salvador , Colombia, Nicaragua, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay
• US response to Cuban revolution and its aftermath –
• The us realized that it needed to do something for Latin America
• Alliance for Progress, Peace Corps, Inter American Foundation , Inter-American Development Bank, School of the Americas, Central Intelligence Agency

School of the Americas
• Established in 1946 by the US army in Panama to train Latin American military officers
• Manuel Noriega, Rio Montt, and many other future dictators were graduates of the School of the Americas, or the School of assassins
• Military aid, training and financing

HIST 8 lecture notes 5.21.13

Movements for democracy in Latin America
• Lula da Silva- Brazil
• Mid 1970s in Brazil- begin of slow transition back to democratic govt
• In 1975, Lula became leader of the metal workers union in Sao Bernardo
• In 1978, metal workers walked out- first major strike in Brazil in 10 years
• Not a question of whether the military allowed an opening for workers to strike- there was an underground movement for democracy
• Upsurge of political activity through Brazil
• By the end of 1979, over 400 strikes in a variety of industries
• Lula and the strikes became symbols of resistance to the military
• 150,000 workers strike – shook the city o Lula was arrested during this strike
• 150,000 workers in the square outside the prison where Lula was imprisoned
• The workers surrounded the army – they knew they could not fire on the crowd
• The military retreated, a great moment of workers political consciousness-
• Lula went on to become successful president of Brazil
• Consciousness raising and the growth of a movement of workers against the military regime pushed back against military rule
• After the military takeover, workers were suddenly faced with lower wages, cut backs- the mobilization of labor was an important component in pushback against the military

Military or repressive govts in Latin America
• Nicaragua 1936-79
• Guatemala 1954-1984
• Cuba 1959-
• Ecuador 1960-79
• Bolivia 1964-1985
• Uruguay 1968-84
• Panama 1968-89
• Peru 1968-75
• Chile 1973-89
• Argentina 1976-83

Argentina’s return to Democracy – 1983
• Economic decline under military rule 76-83
• Civilian protests against military regime
• Disastrous war against great Britain in the Falkland’s/Malvinas war 1982
• Military sees that they need to re-mobilize support of the people- they start a war in the Malvinas – to drum up patriotism, get support back for the military regime
• Attempt to take back the Falklands islands from the British – they call them the Malvinas in Argentina
• The war mobilizes the military, but it is a disaster
• They don’t expect Greta Britain to defend the Falklands- Margaret Thatcher in power – sees an attack on the Falklands as an attack on Britain – brought full British army
• Argentines were outnumbered and unprepared – military commander surrenders
• GB sunk Argentine warship Belgrano in 1982- 323 Argentines die
• In Buenos Aires, no one knows that the war is going badly- press and propaganda
• What started off as a big campaign to build national unity and support for the military backfired-
• This was the big push to return to civilian rule – military falls from power

Brazil’s return to democracy 1985
• Showing of economic growth
• Rise of labor
• Discontent, resistance to military rule
• “Opening” for democracy
• Negotiated end to military rule
• Lula da Silva becomes a national figure – after his role in the strikes, labor leader
• He late became head of the workers party; won presidential election
• At the end of 2002, the worker’s party prevailed in the elections with Lula
• Lula president 2003-2011
• In Brazil, current president, Dilma Rousseff is not only female, but also the worker’s party candidate
• Now a sense of shared prosperity – polarization you see in many other places in latin America do not see in Brazil

Chile’s return to democracy 1988
• Pinochet government seeks to remain in power in 1988
• Chilean voters given choice of “yes” or “no” in plebiscite (national vote)
• Both internal factors (increasing sense by the population that the military regime should not continue in power) and external –
• NO campaign- marketing, images saying it is okay to say “No” to the military regime – saying “no” to dictatorship, to death
• Rather than emphasize the horrible aspects to the military regime, the plebiscite marketed the NO campaign as a more reasonable choice
• Pinochet regime thought it was going to win- they did not
• The loss of the military meant that democratization is going to happen
• Democracy represents major change
• Chile has now had a series of presidents in national elections
• “NO” wins – military loses bid to remain in power
• Chile moves toward democracy
• 2005 election of Michelle Bachelet, daughter of the Air Force general tortured and killed under Pinochet regime
• She is likely candidate in upcoming elections in Chile

Democratization in Latin America
• Variety of causes, but include
• Low intensity warfare undermines leftist governments, changed international situation, and military stalemates aid political solution in central America
• For example, in Nicaragua, fighting by the Contras- the fact that the Sandinistas had to spend so much money on fighting the Contras- there was economic sabotage of the countryside – increasingly the Sandinistas become more oppressive
• Nicaraguan transition to democracy
• 1982-88
• State of emergency in Sandinista Nicaragua
• Habeas Corpus suspended, the police can do anything they want- this was not the plan of the Sandinistas, but with Regan in power, funding the Contras, they needed to push back, or else would lose the revolution
• 1984- elections, Daniel Ortega elected presidents
• 1987- treaty brokered by Oscar Arias of Costa Rica o Calls for ceasefire o Freedom of expression o Elections
• Military stalemate- the Contras are not winning, but neither are the Sandinistas
• 1990- elections mandated by constitution

Nicaraguan election 1990
• International monitoring of elections
• Sandinistas lose elections
• Polls indicates that they would win
• Loss a major blow, but they accept this – they reformed as an opposition party
• Success of “low intensity warfare”
• Major gain from democracy when Sandinistas step down, become opposition party
• 2006- Daniel Ortega elected president again, 38% of the vote

El Salvador- Civil war to peace accords 1980-1992
• botht he Salvadoran govt and the FMLN (guerilla forces) – neither side could win
• Reach a stalemate
• East/west conflict, cold war mentality winds down – US realizes that they should not be funding a proxy war- push for peace from the US
• Negotiated settlement signed in 1992
• FMLN was a guerilla force that became a political party

Salvadoran civil war 1979-92, consequences and aftermath
• 1980 Assassination of Romero
• 1980s Salvadoran diaspora
• 1989- FMLN offensive fails, military stalemate
• 1992 peace accorded- FMLN became political party
• 2009 Mauricio Funes FMLN- elected president of El Salvador
• Large portion of the police in El Salvador are former FMLN soldiers
• El Salvador has become more of a center of commerce
• Institutionalization of political parties – see with both the FMLN and the Sandinistas

UN mediated accords 1991-1992 for El Salvador
• Reduction in armed forces, disbanding of national Guard and National Police
• Demobilization of guerillas
• Former guerillas receive land and agricultural credits
• End of US military aid
• UN truth commission – investigation into what went on in this period
• Attempt to codify, take testimony about what occurred to individuals- this is an important part of remembering and moving on

Consequences of civil war – Mara Salvatrucha
• 1980s Salvadoran diaspora – largest population went to Los Angeles
• 1980s founding of Mara Salvatrucha- Los Angeles area
• Gang started as self-defense
• Now is one of the largest narco-trafficking groups
• Known for extreme violence
• Drug trafficking
• Exploitation of migrants
• Members deported to El Salvador- consequence is that the drug and gang culture has proliferated there
• US crime problem from US to El Salvador- aided in the spread of drugs, violence in both areas

Democratization in Latin America
• Variety of Causes but include:
• Economic nationalism and/or stagnation under authoritarian regimes inconsistent with goals of international business
• Go back to the nationalization of oil in Mexico in 1938- foreign companies on a very short leash- not an open economic system
• After the end of the “Mexican Miracle” – push for other solutions
• Mexico actively campaigns to be part of NAFTA
• Increasing pushes within the country for more democratization – shift in Mexico comes over a number of years

Mexican elections 1988
• Split in the ruling Institutional revolutionary party (PRI)
Viable candidate from the right- PAN –Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas
•
• Genuine competition in campaign
• Massive electoral fraud on election day – govt controls the electoral process, the computers crash in the ministry of the interior- mysteriously they come back online and the PRI candidate (Salinas) is declared winner by narrow margin
• This was widely perceived as the election being stolen from Cardenas
• Issue becomes about free and fair elections

Mexican electoral reform
• Expansion of “Civil Society”
• Support of the Catholic church of Mexico
• Greater diversity of parties in congress
• New PRi policy goals
• PRI adopts neoliberal, pro-business policies o the national action party
• Neoliberalism
• Free trade (remove tariffs and other protections)
• Promote private enterprise
• Invite foreign investments, esp US
• Crackdown on corruption – PEMEX union
• Salinas switched- opened Mexico up to other markets – a repudiation of the program of the Mexican revolution – to bring about the spreading of power to other sectors

Neoliberal politics
• Mexican privatization: Carlos Slim, worlds richest man
• Privatization of Mexican state enterprises
• End of ISI and economic nationalism
• Enterprises sole at bargain-basement prices
• Purchase of TElmex 1990
• Integrated business empire
•

HIST 8 lecture notes- 5/23/13

New PRI Policy Goals
• After 1988 election PRI adopts neoliberal, pro-business policies of the Nation Action Party- neoliberalism
• Free trade (remove tariffs and other protections)
• Promote private enterprise
• Invite foreign investment, especially US
• Crackdown on corruption- PEMEX union

NAFTA
• Free trade pact between the US and Canada
• Salinas’s promotion of Mexico’s joining NAFTA
• Violation of the 11th commandment of Mexican politics – thou shalt not trust Americans
• For many Mexicans, NAFTA meant a serious turn away from the ideals of the revolution

Campaigns for Mexico in NAFTA
• Salinas argues that the agreement would decrease illegal Mexican migration
• Complementary economies of Mexico and US and Canada would be beneficial to all
• The US in many ways was a winner in NAFTA
• Increased cooperation well beyond what was seen with the good neighbor policy

New property rights under NAFTA
• No requirement for Mexican partners
• No compulsion about certain portion of the product being produced in MX
• Mexico became a very desirable place to invest o No restrictions on repatriation of profits o If you make profit on product, can take all of that money out of the country- foreigners do not have to leave any of the money there
• Violations of treaty determined by NAFTA tribunal not Mexican courts
• Think back to 1938 expropriation of oil with Cardenas- now with free trade agreement, cannot do this
• Country is giving up a portion of sovereignty
• Increased investment from foreigners
• Notion that that increased economic activity would bring Mexico out of doldrums – down economy – this does not happen

Desired outcomes for MX-
• Voiced desires
• Increased direct for investment
• Economic growth for Mexico- more firms, more jobs, rise in personal income
• What happened:
• Abandonment of peasantry
• Undermined the goals of the MX revolution that empowered the peasants
• Devalued labor, goods
• Issue of sovereignty for Mexico compromised – MX, US and Canada more as one single economic unit

Opposition to NAFTA
• In Mexico: o Political left o Peasants o Some business people
• In the US: o Anti-globalization activists o Labor unions o Environmentalists
• Thought that the implementation of NAFTA would ease narco-trafficking to the US
• But NAFTA coincides with an increase in drug trafficking between MX and the US
• NAFTA superhighway linking n North-South routes

NAFTA- Costs to Mexico
• Mexico enters agreement with least developed infrastructure and social services
• Historical benefits to unionized labor ending
• New jobs are “Mcjobs”
• Cheap food imports undermine peasant-produced food
• Office of technology assessment document – in particular the US – is going to have a much larger market for its subsidized agricultural goods o Limits the ability of small scale farmers to be part of the market o Collapse of small rural farmers, mostly in the south of Mexico
• For Mexico, the end of way of life for many small scale farmers- push to immigrate to the US

Unregulated immigration
• Collusion of businesses
• Benefits to US American consumers for skilled, motivated, low-wage, non-union laborers, non-documented workers
• Political cartoons – Free trade leads to only free capital, not free workers
• Chained workers latched to corporate America
• Free trade agreements create a race to the bottom
• The highest profits can be made by undermining workers rights and human rights

1994 rebellion in Chiapas, Mexico, Salva Lacandona (Lacandon jungle)
• Coincides with/spurred by the launching of NAFTA
• Marginal land, sparsely settled
• Small group of armed peasants – form the EZLN, the Zapatista army of national liberation
• Becomes multiethnic zone of settlement
• Religious diversity o “Folk” Catholics o Liberation theology – was a means for the indigenous in Chiapas to understand that they can organize and work on their own behalf o Evangelical protestants
• Central American refugees
• Political consciousness raised
• 1974- Bishop Ruiz calls together groups of indigenous who realize that they have issues in common
• Rise of new Zapatistas who are committed to action by violence if necessary
• 1994 Zapatista rebellion – Ruiz backs
• 1994 Ruiz acts as mediator between Mexican government and the Zapatistas
• Break between those groups that are non-violent and those who use violence to achieve goals
• The EZLN decides that armed conflict is the way to get the attention of the world
• Has roots in the religious sphere of MX
• Las Casas invoked to bring about justice for the indigenous
• UN convention on indigenous and tribal peoples 1991
• Governments shall have the responsibly for developing, with the participation of the peoples concerned, coordinated and systematic action to protect the rights of these people and to guarantee respect for their right to dignity “
• Notion that the indigenous have rights- should be incorporated into the way that

Columbus Quincentennial, 1992
• Encounter vs discovery
• 500 years of indigenous struggle against the colonial legacy
• Indigenous begin using legal, worldwide forums to argue for indigenous rights
• Consciousness raising – indigenous can fight for rights in new structures being created
• Mobilization of Latin American indigenous peoples – creation nof grassroots organization s
• Indigenous utilize gain visibility nationally- UN, NGOs
• Rigoberta Menchu – won Nobel peace prize

EZLN- Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional
• Chiapas, 1994
• Subcomandante Marcos- became the spokesperson for the EZLN
• His identity was not known for a long time; now know that he is a former university professor
• Understands the media and the rhetoric that is needed to gain attention for the uprising
• The Zapatistas were not well-armed, actually fighting was minimal
• International solidarity with the Zapatistas against the free trade agreement
• Marcos and internet presence- helped give them credence- the MX government should not just go in and massacre Indians- Marcos knew how to get on world stage, the government was forced to address concerns
• Great deal of international support for the Zapatistas, but there was opposition to the Zapatistas in MX- some in the north of MX saw NAFTA as helpful for MX
• Marco’s black ski mask becomes symbol for the movement-
• Women are important in the Zapatista movement
• The whole word was watching- photojournalists were watching this conflict
• Government troops could not attack women – especially when world was watching
• Zapatistas had many women as active participants
• Women’s demands in the EZLN demands
• Bishop Ruiz – a liberation theologian- he was the only one that the Zapatistas would trust-
• He did negotiating with he MX government
• shift in world catholic politics- new pope John Paul II- he systematically removed liberation theologians from their posts
• the Vatican tried to remove Ruiz from his post
• Ruiz became key player in negotiations

Pentecostals
• Ecstatic forms of religious practice
• Gift of the holy spirit
• Faith healing, exorcism, speaking in tongues
• Most followers are economically disadvantaged
• Community is accepting of all
• Growth of Protestantism in Latin America
• The catholic church was not successful in keeping people in the church – Protestant groups after 1950- see Latin America as an area to evangelize
• In 1950- China falls to the communists – it was a destination for both US and British missionaries
• After China became communist, missionaries directed attention to Latin America
• Now- growth of evangelical protestants – (as opposed to “mainline” protestants- Baptists, Episcopalians)
• Religion becomes safe haven –
• Some saw liberation theology as a way that the church gives support to people in need – impels them to political action
• But in countries that came under military oppressive rule, Protestantism grows enormously- saw link between Catholicism and liberation theology as dangerous
• Personal salvation- rather than seeing view of lib theology where politics and actions in the world as reflection of religion – Evangelical Protestants have more of a personal religious devotion – I cannot save the world, but can save myself
• Pentecostals in Brazil now outnumber catholic priests
• Take modern approach to spreading the word-

Hist 8 lecture notes 5/28/13

• In the news: Cubans getting access to the internet- which they have not had before
• Opening up of Cuba in various ways - Opening access to information

Leftist states in Latin America: the case of Cuba, Venezuela, and Bolivia
• We will discuss Brazil on Thursday
• Today discussing leftist states in Latin America

Free trade Agreements and transnational corporation power
• Lowering of tariffs between nations
• Loss of state control over many economic transactions
• Increase in corporate power
• Pay attention to what Morales says about economic nationalism

Transitional corporations
• Large for-profit enterprises that are not tied to a particular nation-state
• Huge investment capital, revenue equal or larger than nation-states
• Exxon, Walmart

Transnational corporations and political power
• Size, wealth and expertise give them power
• Negotiations with nation0states on infrastructure projects
• Transnational corps and labor
• Seek cheapest labor worldwide
• Cut production costs, maintain high profits
• “Race to the bottom” for workers – competition in the international arena
• Neoliberal policy pushed in developing world by world bank and the international monetary fund
• Aim to create competition in enterprises
• Privileging of private vs public good
• Govts wanted to spend on social programs, didn’t have the money to do it – the IMF was willing to float loans
• But when the oil economy crashes, many of these states could not pay off these loans easily
• Privatization as a solution to what the IMF and free trade people see as the “Inefficiency” of state-owned enterprises
• Privatization of state enterprises

One of the big push-backs against privatization –
• Cochabamba in 2000
• The Cochabamba (Bolivia) water War, 200
• At the end of the 90’s push eto privatize water in Bolivia
• The people of Cochabamba pushed back
• “Even the Rain”- movie that looks at this – even the rain belonged to the corporations – people not allowed to collect
• potable (drinkable) water had to be purchased- water meters installed in private homes
• What water was going to cost residents was more than 1/ 2 of their annual income
• People push back- people have the right to water- human right
• Pay attention to what Morales says about the rights of human beings –
• Bechtel corporation had contract in Bolivia- were going to build new infrastructure, charge for drinkable water
• The cost of the project was going to be exorbitant
• Also, the human right to water- this is a basic human right
• Context for the Cochabamba water war 2000
• Long history of labor mobilization in Bolivia
• Political instability and state weaknesses
• External pressures to privatize water
• Nationalization of the tin mines – opening up to citizenship to all- all have access to public health programs, etc. since 1952

Political consequences of the Cochabamba water war
• Successful left wing mobilization in Bolivia
• Mobilization helps translate into national, populist political movement
• Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS)- Evo Morales elected President in 2006
• Morales was able to use this as a platform
• He is an Aymara Indian, was the head of the coca growers union in Bolivia
• Unionization of the coca growers was the beginnings of his political savvy
• In the 2005 elections, Morales was able to mobilize ppl who had already become mobilized in earlier period
• Water wars lead to the election of a president in a free and fair election, who put a stamp on leftist politics
• Move towards socialist polices
• Soviet Union and Cuba – end of an era
• Gorbechev – visit to Cuba in 1989
• Cut back in economic and military support

Collapse of the Cuban economy in 1991 (crash of the Soviet Union), initiating the “special period”
• Special period- Your rewards are entirely ideological
• Without support from the Soviet Union, Cuba’s economy crashes
• Cuban agriculture in the “Special period”
• Return of the technology of the 19th century
• No chemical fertilizers, pesticides
• Without support of the Soviet Union, Cuba could not afford these products, so agriculture became “organic” because it had to
• Cuba now prides itself on organic agriculture
• Urban agriculture – “organoponicos”- vegetables, fruit

Health and the special period
• People were actually healthier in the special period
• Food rationing
• Weight loss country-wide
• Decrease in heart disease and diabetes
• Increase in malnutrition
• Increase in early term abortions
• Higher maternal mortality
• Higher mortality

Post-Fidel new economic policy changes
• Joint foreign-Cuban private enterprises initially
• Full foreign ownership of enterprises o This kind of economic nationalism now possible o New push towards this sort of economic nationalism in Venezuela under Chavez, in Bolivia under Morales, Fernandez de Kirchner in Argentina o Real estate, free trade zones, export zones permitted o No foreign presence in health, education, military
• Repatriation of profits
• In Cuba, there are 2 monetary systems- one for local use, and one for convertible use- that foreigners use- these monetary units are worth 4 times more than the local units

New economic policies
• Creation of enterprises using the US dollar
• Banking system reforms
• Cubans may own dollar accounts in Cuban banks
• Accumulation of private capital
• Growing economic inequality
• New economic possibilities
• Govt allows 100 trades, crafts, services to be pursued by individual entrepreneurs
• Computer experts, taxi drivers, mechanics, cooks carpenters
• NOT medical doctors
• Entrepreneurs may now employ other people, make profits
• In a lot of ways, the change in thinking is generational- those who grew up around the revolution saw how it was under Batista- they were thankful for the revolution
• But their grandchildren are starting to look for more- seeing a push toward more democratic elements

Tourism
• Cuba’s top source for foreign exchange
• European, Canadian, Latin American tourist
• Luxury hotels
• Related industries- tourist souvenirs, prostitution

Cuba is one of the main producers of nickel
• China is most interested in this – extractive industry
• Sugar used to be the only export for Cuba- they still produce, but only for domestic use
• Sugar is not one of the top ten products Cuba manufactures

Discovery of oil in the Caribbean
• Cuba and oil- they have the resource, but not the technology to extract it
• Like Mexico, they are looking to large multinational corporations to extract oil
• Cuba is in a better position and potentially will do better- but it is not the Cuba of the Revolution
• Catholic Church in Cuba
• 1998papal visit by John Paul II
• Pope condemns US embargo against Cuba as against human rights – “oppressive, unjust and ethically unacceptable”
• Public religious activities permitted again (street procession); Christmas a national holiday – it was not before
• Papal visit in 2012

Relationship between Cuba and Venezuela – friendship bt Castro and Chavez
• Leftist regimes
• For Venezuela, when Chavez came to power, Cuba has been a beacon for leftist revolutionaries in the 20th century
• Venezuela under Hugo Chavez 1998-2013
• Leftist, populist, charismatic military office elected 1998
• Specter of “another Cuba”
• Chavez was elected, did not come to power through a coup
• Commitment to leftist policies
• Bolivarian Revolution – Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
• Tension between Venezuela and Colombia

Changes under Chávez
• Turn to the left
• New constitution guarantees rights of indigenous and women
• Government commitment to lifting Venezuelans out of poverty
• Oil revenues spent on social programs and foreign aid, especially to Cuba but also the US
• Profits being distributed to the larger population
• Key factor for the relationship bt Cuba and Venezuela is the exchange of Venezuelan oil for Cuban doctors
• Small amount of doctors in Venezuela – push for Cuban doctors to work in Venezuela

Chávez and Cuba
• Ideological support for the Cuban regime
• Charisma that Chavez had was similar to that of Fidel – many thought of him as the “Other leader” of Cuba
• Economic aid especially oil
• Venezuela receives Cuban doctors
• Chávez sought cancer treatment in Cuba
• Benefits to Venezuelans
• Establishment of “Bolivarian missions”
• Antipoverty initiatives
• Access to health care and education
• Rise in real wages for the majority – criticized as buying votes
• Commitment to education and the environment
• Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA)
• Founding resulted from the relationship between Cuba and Venezuela - 2004 agreement
• Leftist trading zone – now joined by many other leftist governments- Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua

Criticisms of Chavez
• US and allies alarmed at Venezuela’s links to anti-US regimes – Cuba, Russia, Iran, Bolivia
• Hostility to private and foreign enterprises
• Use of oil revenues for social programs and international influence allowing petroleum infrastructure to deteriorate
• Economy remains primarily tied to oil revenue rather than developing economic diversity, balance
• Freedom of expression threatened- lack of access to certain TV stations
After Chávez
• Contested election 2013
• Slim margin for Chavez’s political heir Nicolas Madero
• All but the US accept the election outcome – US still does not recognize – calling for recount
History 8 lecture notes 5.30.13

• Next week in section – review for final exam
• Today we will be talking about Brazil and the rise of Brazil – it is not the 5th largest economy in the world
• It has slowly been moving up the list in GDP
• BRIC- Brazil, Russia, India, China- acronym for these countries, which are all deemed to be at a similar stage of newly advanced economic development
•
• Video clip on hyperinflation and the later move from this to stable democracy – in both Bolivia and Brazil see this pattern
Bolivia
• On of the poorest countries and a history of 189 military coups
• Inflation rate – in Bolivia, has the 7th highest in the history of man
• Total inflation averaged 1% every ten minutes
• Hyperinflation – root of the problem was govt finance – the govt was spending more than it received in taxes
• In the 1970s, massive hike in oil prices- the international banks lent money to Latin American countries- they were eventually not able to
• 1980s- “Latin Americas’ lost decade”
• In Bolivia- just printed money, did not collect taxes- Bolivia was a mess in the 1980s
• The world bank and the IMF refused to help – and the US govt as well
• Hyperinflation ravaging Bolivia
• In July 1985- inflation rate- 60,000%
• Push to stop the hyperinflation
• In August 1985- program called “shock therapy” for Bolivia- the end of dependency
• Import tariffs cut, balanced budgets - simple solution – the govt only spends what it gets
• No more borrowing from the central bank, no printing of money
• The prices of food, fuel, all shot up
• Started reforms without violence, - peaceful social reform

Today’s lecture: Changing economic and political landscape in Latin America

Brazil as a superpower in the 21st century
• Brazil is now the 7th largest economy by GDP in the world
• 2nd largest in the hemisphere after the US
• Rise in annual per capita income from $1000 to $10,000
• Trade grows by 20% a year o Now 200 billion annually o Major trading partner with US and China
• IMF creditor not a debtor country
• Emergence of Brazil as an economic superpower
• Did not endure an economic slump in 2008, like many other large countries
• Land wise, Brazil is huge, as large as the lower 48 US states
• This week’s readings- Lula da Silva’s speech – question of poverty alleviation
• Brazil has made tremendous strides in rising a large number of people out of poverty
• Status of Brazil has changed with the IMF- Brazil used to be on the receiving end of loans- they are not on the side of a creditor
• Brazil’s path
• Brazil had a well-developed economy (industry, export agriculture, large domestic market)- roots in the ISI
• “Market Friendly” policies under the military and subsequent civilian govts
• hyperinflation impedes economic growth in the 80s to mid 90s
• This is a huge disincentive to save money – money saved in a bank does not gain interest
• People buy things immediately, do not save ; money is not worth anything- people will not invest
• Real taming of how you are going to get at major change in economic balance is hyperinflation
• Have to have security that investments are sound
• Setting policies that are going to induce business to invest – not just foreign investors, but domestic as well
• More balanced economy

Ethanol- Alternative energy – Brazil
• Significant oil reserves discovered off the coast of Brazil
• Brazil made a concerted effort to develop alternative source of energy
• Can convert sugar and the by product, the waste product, into fuel
• Converted cars to run on part ethanol, part gasoline fuel
• Stopped them from having to import large amounts of fuel
• Flex-fuel cars produced in Brazil
• Not tied to a single export – they were very entrepreneurial in this approach

President Getulip Vargas (r. 1930-45; 1951-54)
• Populist, authoritarian, anti-communist
• State becomes the dominant force
• Creation of Brazil’s Novo Estado “New State” on model of Portugal’s fascist dictator

Brazil’s Novo Estado (“new state”)
• Better working conditions for labor, but govt control of unions
• Min wage, better working conditions
• Modernization via industrialization
• Growth of airline industry, cars- big items both for local and international consumption
• Sport as a function of the state- growth of Brazil as a soccer power
• Having the state support sports as an ideological stance – building of large stadiums, large infrastructure projects- provides jobs, but also provides for a major aspect of Brazilian culture
• Some argue that sports is a form of religion in Brazil
• State control of natural resources
• Vargas creates Petrobras- national oil company 1953
• State assertion over major natural resource – exploration, extraction, refining, marketing
• Now a mixed public/private corporation

Brazil’s rise
• Fernando Henrique Cardoso’s policies – stabilize currency- Plan Real (1994-2003)- new currency
• Hyperinflation tamed - Stabilization of currency
• Privatize inefficient state industries – eg, Telebras telephone co.
• Continuation of business friendly-policies under Lula da Silva (2003-2011)
• Many worried that Lula was going to be another Castro or Chavez- due to his leftist tendencies
• Nationalize industries – redistribute wealth that was not there was not the way to go – Best for the Brazilian poor- Lula took a middle course of progressive programs, but also not turning away from business programs

Mercosur/Mercosul
• Established in 1991- Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, 250m people
• Initially, Chavez thought that Lula would be ally- that Lula was going to take Brazil into ALBA- leftist trading block
• But Brazil became large part of Mercosur
• “Our North is the South”
• Sets up a trading block
• Foreign investment in Brazil
• Stable economy makes it a good place to invest
• Large international market, growth of consumer buying power
• Most sectors of the economy benefit – 60% of industrial production in Latin American is Brazilian
• Manufacturing sector- cars, airplanes, ships, railroad cars, locomotives, electronics, chemicals, fertilizers, paper

China and Brazil
• Rise of the Chinese economy as a world power
• Looking for sources of food – China may be a large country, but the amount of tillable land in China is very small
• Brazil has a lot of tillable land

Brazilian agriculture
• Advantage of abundance of tillable land
• Agricultural superpower since the colonial period – sugar, coffee, cacao
• Balance of craps, expansion to new export crops- esp soybeans, but also cotton, oranges, corn, tobacco
• Economy not tied to price of any single opportunity
• Rise of china as major consumer
• Concerns about acquisition of Brazilian land
• Environmental costs of agricultural boom
• Some of the expansion into Brazilian rainforest – cutting down of trees
• Brazil asserts national sovereignty over Amazonia
• Environmental movement in Brazil
• Soy bean harvest – crop destined for China
• Highly capitalized agriculture- a lot of equipment, petrochemicals
• Shitinf agriculture in Brazil

Bolsa familia- Brazil 2003
• Center piece od Lula’s social program
• Conditional transfer of cash to poor
• Children stay in school
• Money given to the women
• Significant decrease in poverty in Brazil
• Money creates consumer as basic needs are met with support payments
• Bolsa familia is one of the ways that Brazil has lifted many people out of poverty –
• Education, ability to buy consumer goods
• Other countries look at this as a model program to help the poor, rather than to blame the poor
• The state is playing a significant role in social welfare
• Very similar to what is done with microfinance
• Women as key – govts targeting women as key players to help families save money, manage money and life out of poverty

Brazilian cultural shifts- 1930s
• Urbanization, growth of favelas (slums)
• In major cities
• Emergence of Afro-Brazilian culture as mainstream: Samba, Carnival, soccer
• Elite (white) culture no longer defines Brazil
• Pelé- soccer player that became part of Lula’s ministry of sports

Brazilian Futbol and racial democracy
• Sport initially racially segregated
• State under Getulio Vargas promotes Afro-Brazilians as national identity in the 1930as
• Gilbrerto Freyre- Brazil as a “racial democracy”
• Brazil to host the world’s cup in 2014

Brazil and Futebol
• A truly national game, played everywhere
• Initially an upper class game played in private clubs
• Immigrants own clubs
• Employers of immigrants encourage participation – lessens drive to unionize
• Becomes national game, no existing game in Brazil to rival it
• Helps create national identity
• Defined rules as opposed to politics where there is corruption and lack of rules
• Soccer fans no mere observers but participants
• Brazilian futebol and racial democracy
• Brazilian “futebol mulato” as “poetry”= “football art”
• Improvisational style

Peron and Argentine Futbol 1947-52
• The state becomes involved in creating infrastructure
• The shaping of a larger culture
• Large scale construction of soccer stadiums
• Point of national pride
• Argentina hosted the world cup – just after the coup in Argentina
• Hosted world cup in 1978
• Sport triumphed over politics – there was not a protest of the games
• Sport is above politics –

Brazil’s current boom and soccer
• State no longer directly involved in sport
• Brazilian currency (real) up against the US dollar an the euro
• Terms of trade improve significantly
• Baseball and Latin America
• Baseball huge in many Latin American countries
• Evo Morales, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez- all make very public appearances playing baseball, soccer
• Morales was a soccer player- joined coca growers union so that he could play soccer
• He rose in politics through the union- he keeps his strong interest in sport as a way of forming national identity
• Connection of leadership with sport
• Colombia and futbol- movie, “the 2 escobars”
• Pablo and Andreas Escobar

HIST 8 lecture notes

Cheryl’s lecture:
Indigenous in Argentina:Historical memory and the reclaiming of public space

* Argentina not usually associated with indigenous identitybut indigenous groups are part of Argentine history even if they’ve been excluded or erased from national narratives. * Rocacontroversial figure, former president of Argentina, led the conquest of the desert from 1878-79; killed and displaced thousands, a question of taking over and controlling land * Roca’s monumenthow indigenous people are forgotten, written out of the national narrative * Late 19th century push to modernize the nation; sanitize indigenous identity * Beginning of the 20th centurypampas become breadbasket of the world. * Late 19th and early 20th centurylarge number of immigrants flooded into Argentina. * Order and Progress tied to ideas of modernization * Monument of Roca in Buenos Aires”the tallest monument to a genocide hero” * Buenos Aires modeled after a European city. * Chau Roca festivalcampaign to draw attention to the absence or silencing of indigenous presence in Argentina. Started by Osvaldo Bayer * La mujer originariasolution to removing Roca’s monument; completely remove Roca’s monument and construct a new monument with donated items; keys, faucets, doorknobs, etc. * Website to donate keys: http://www.mujeroriginaria.com.ar/

* Historical reconciliationwhat is going to happen with Roca’s monument? How will Argentine’s reconcile Roca’s legacy with the need to rescue indigenous peoples from anonymity? Street names, subway stations, towns, etc. What type of stories does history privilege or silence? * 100 peso bill, replaced Roca’s image with Eva Peron, change just declared permanent.

Prof. Cline’s class lecture:

* Intersection of sport and narco-trafficking in Colombia the two Escobars (Pablo and Andres) * Pablo Escobarbuild soccer fields, housing in Medellin and other Colombian citiesearly kinpin of drug trafficking * Sport and drug trafficking (money laundering)soccer tournaments with low ticket prices with large number of attendees * Pablo Escobarinfusion of money could allow talented players to stay and play in Colombia. * Pablo Escobarnational memory; if you benefitted from Escobar’s charity you may have mourned his assassination * Escobar: hero or villain? Polemical figure * “War on drugs”US government established drugs as controlled substances; establishment of DEA in 1973. Latin American context; production and distribution networks, esp. Colombia, Mexico * Bilateral agreements with US to stem supply side—Plan Colombia, Mexico—Plan Merida. Military and helicopters, funding of soldiers, eradication of fields, attempt to control distribution networks. Influx of resources and military aid for security reasons. * What does narco-trafficking do to governments and the state? Profits generated are high because of the commodity’s illegalityundermines the legitimacy of the state, inability of the state to maintain territorial sovereignty and internal order, escalation of violence, impact on civil society. Profits from drug trafficking escape the state; cannot tax commodity or production * International networks of drug trafficking (MS13; LA gang is now a transnational crime organization, deportation of mara salvatrucha back to El Salvador; success of DEA is the cutting off of one of the major trade routes (through Miami). * No mas sangre (No+blood)movement in Mexico against violence and kidnapping * The state and drugsstrength of the state relative to traffickers; weakness allows traffickers to operate with impunity—Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala * Narco-states—Panama under Noriega; implicated in narco-trafficking and money laundering; operation just cause, US invasion of Panama to topple Noriega * Assertion of state control to rein in traffickers; nation-to-nation strategies: Plan Colombia and Plan Merida * Legalization of coca—Bolivia under Evo Morales. Connections with traditional uses of coca. * Coca as a commodityLatin American competitive niche in a globalized economy; high return for investment; creates local jobs when free market policies undermine other products and employment; livelihood for peasants without alternatives; eased pressure on central banks. * Cocaine as “gangster capitalism”promotes political instability; illegal commodity outside of state controls that regulate capital accumulation and competition. Drug mafia warfare for turf and market share; extensive networks of corruption. * Narco-trafficking and guerrilla movementsproduction of cocaine to aid guerrilla activities—guns, men, territorial control; guerrilla movements aided by narco-trafficking; antecedents US funding of Contras aided by drug trafficking. Sendero Luminoso1990s Peru. * FARC—Colombia 1960-present; shift from taxation of producers to production. FARC have wondered considerably from their ideological origins; armed struggle is in the rural areas; current talks between FARC and Colombian government in Havana. Involvement in drug-dealing, kidnapping, and military training. * FARC and kidnappingpolitical prisoners as bargaining chips; show vulnerability of the state; ransom as income to finance guerrilla war; FARC has given up new kidnapping for ransom as it heads for peace. During current talks they have not taken any additional prisoners but have not released current prisoners held as bargaining chips. * Children soldiers recruited by the FARC * Civil society push back against the FARCordinary people wanting an end to the violence. * Waning of the FARC

HIST 8 lecture notes, 6/6/13

Legacies of the colonial era 1500-1825 * Integration of the Americas into a global trading system * Economies oriented toward export of commodities/import of finished goods * Unity of dominant religion - Roman Catholicism * Linguistic unity – Spanish & Portuguese languages * Persistence of racial/ethnic/gender hierarchies * Economic and social inequities – rich/poor * Lack of democratic traditions * Strength of the military as an institution Cultural legacies of the colonial era * Linguistic era * Linguistic unity- Portuguese (Brazil) Spanish * Paraguay is the only country that is dominated by 2 official languages- Spanish and native language, Guaraní

Cultural legacies of the colonial era * Social and economic dominance and formal power * Persistence of racial/ethnic/gender hierarchies * Some change over the last few years- mobilization of those who were previously marginalized groups - empowerment of indigenous, Africans * About the 1930s, Brazil started to embrace African heritage * But the structure of power has kept whites on top, keeping hold of the political structure * Economic and social inequalities – rich/poor * Access to resources * How mobilization from the bottom sometimes resulting in the overturning of regimes – Porfirio Diaz is an example- but in terms of who remains on top, the rich and the white remain there * Pushback from the bottom has been a success story for some – Nicaragua is an example * One of the big things with the study questions- how Latin America has fit within the economic structure * Economies oriented toward export of commodities/import of finished goods * In the 19th c., a technological revolution in Latin America- the building of railroads, building of infrastructure for ships- get the integration of Latin American into the larger world economy * Brazil early on was a major commodity producer- coffee later takes over from sugar as the major export product * Export economies mean that these countries have many products that rise and fall in price * Latin American entered the world economy at a point when Britain and the US are already complexly involved in the economy * Latin America is lumped into the extractive economies (mining, now petroleum) and the so-called “dessert economies” sugar, coffee * Latin American export economies * Markets in western Europe and the US – entry of China * Capital investment by local elites and foreigners * Many Latin American countries have been able to return to a relative level of prosperity * Think about ISI- happens right after the stock market crash of 1929- countries were trying to build up economic sectors – ISI didn’t work the way it was envisioned * Brazil’s recent rise to prosperity – also a product of economic nationalism * Foreign oil investment- after Mexico nationalized oil in the 1930s, one of the places that investors went was Venezuela * Other countries have discovered oil- it means a source of wealth that can be tapped as a source of wealth for foreign investors and for domestic development * China and Latin America * China seeks new connections to Latin America * Access to raw materials to sustain economic growth * Markets for Chinese goods * Creation of free trade agreements with Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, Brazil * Growth of trade - $12B (2000) to $150B (2010) * The US is worried about the rise of China as a world power, particularly in Latin America * China and the pacific rim * Creation of these trading groups * Asian Pacific economic cooperation APEC - China, Mexico, Peru, Chile, US, Canada * Peru has a very high growth rate at now – outward trade connections with China have fueled this growth * President Fujimori

NAFTA * Has not allowed for the free movement of labor * Capital has been able to move freely, but not labor * Free trade’s promises * Reduction of protectionism will produce dynamic and competitive economies * Closer connections between countries sharing free trade agreements (NAFTA, DR-CAFTA, Mercosur, ALBA, China-Latin America agreements) * Increased capital investment from foreign and local sources * Job creation * Overall prosperity that will fuel future growth

Economic challenges of free trade * Collapse of rural economies * Los of market dominance for major commodities (except cocaine) * Loss of quality job opportunities for factory workers * Insufficient capital to fuel growth informal economy * Over-supply of micro-entrepreneurs * Out-migration of significant number of talented and upwardly mobile workers * Environmental degradation * Brazilians are adamant: the rainforest is ours” we can do what we want with it – but on the ground, the Brazilian state does not have much control over what goes on there * Evo Morales- a huge part of his policies are to better take care of the planet

Cultural legacies of the colonial era * Lack of democratic traditions * Latin was for a depressing amount of time in a very bad situation – military dictatorships of the 1970s and 1980s * Reasons for hope? * Growth of civil society , mobilization for change * Changing social patterns- empowerment of marginalized indigenous, afro-Latin Americans, poor and women * Mobilization at elections * Push back against bad situation- Argentina, the mothers of the Plaza de Mayo – example * In Colombia, mass demonstrations against the leftist FARC- kidnapping, extortion, violence that Colombia has experiences, a large part of the population has pushed back * In the news now- the FARC is in talks with the government * The questions– is the Colombian government going to allow for amnesty?

Democratization and the left * Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Evo Morales in Bolivia, Mauricio Funes in El Salvador, Dilma Rousseff and Lula in Brazil, Rafael Correa in Ecuador, Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua * In Brazil- Tilt to the left, but not so radical as in Venezuela – Lula was a labor organizer, but pragmatic * Ecuador – rich in resources – Chevron in the Ecuadoran Amazon, polluting the environment- the indigenous sued Chevron and won enormous settlement for that * This is part of the empowerment of groups that have been marginalized previously * Leftists – but none came to power through revolution- they all were elected with significant majority

What lead to this tilt to the left? * End of the cold war - The US is less concerned about communists * People willing to vote for leftist parties, not the possibility of the military taking over * A vote for leftists before would trigger a military coup and or US involvement * Mobilization of marginalized groups * Not just * Wealth from export boom allows for the redistribution of wealth from which the marginalized benefit * Concern if boom turns to bust – leftist governments able to draw on much capital and wealth that has been generated by commodity boom, but it could all go bust

Reasons for hope? * New discoveries of valuable natural resources * New technologies * Lefts commitment to sharing benefits of wealth * Lefts commitment to improving environment * These are many reasons why the left is broadly supporting by many people

Leftist governments on the world stage * Ecuador has given asylum to Wikileaks Julian Assange in their London embassy * Leftist opposition to the US- for Ecuador to give asylum to Assage is part of this

Cultural legacies of the colonial era- Religion * Liberation theology- partly being brought back by the new Argentine pope * Question of what did he do during the dirty war in Argentina- how much he did not protect priests under his supervision * ON the other hand, the new pope has consistently given his support to the church being on the side of the poor – message that the church should help the poor- he is less political though * Potential for the church to be a re-vitalizing force for social Catholicism * Gay rights in Latin America * Recognition of same-sex marriage in Argentina and Uruguay- law is likely to come about in Brazil to legalize * Cuba in transition * Fidel stepped down as head of state in 2008- turned power over to his brother Raul, who is now 82 * Raul has said that he will step down in 2018- already an articulated end to the Castro brothers running Cuba * A designated heir- Miguel Diaz-Canel made the Vice President * He is apparently not just a leftist, but seriously a Marxist-Leninist * So the kind of opening that is happening right now in Cuba, unclear if that is going to stop * But it is impossible, to a certain extent to stop this opening