Similarities Between Latin America And East Asia

The years 1850 through 1960 had a great Impact on the regions of Latin America and East Asia. During this time, they faced many political and economic challenges however, these challenges and the way Latin America and East Asia reacted to them had similarities and at the same time were very different. Economically, both of these regions relied heavily on imports from industrialized countries and were both politically instable although more so Latin America than East Asia. Communism during this time was spreading rapidly. Their forms of government and the growth of Communism in these regions also differed greatly. Industrialization continued to pose problems for non-industrialized portions of East Asia and much of Latin America. Swings in world economy greatly affected the Latin American region as well as East Asia. Any problems in the world economy
meant that the demand for raw materials drastically declined, undermining many of the economies of Latin America. They depended heavily on the U.S. for materials such as steel and oil however, when the Great Depression hit, the U.S. was no longer able to provide these materials to Latin America. In Brazil, in an attempt to form their own industry and not have to rely on other powers for imports, Getulio Vargas, the president of Brazil, formed the import-substitution industrialization policy. Like Brazil, Japan, who was also dependent on the U.S. for raw industrial materials, wanted to be independent although from much earlier on. Latin America and East Asia were similar in that they were not strong politically which made them suffer economically.
In Latin America, they went through various political leaders who both brought many positive changes but also hurt the economy. Under the rule of Hipólito Irigoyen, Argentina used profits accumulated during the war to industrialize and improve their transportation systems and public utilities but it was also a time of social tumult. Workers and middle-class people demanded social reforms and a larger voice in politics. Later, in 1946, Juan Perón developed a populist dictatorship very much like the Vargas regime in Brazil. In East Asia, Yuan Shikai was a strong military leader but had no political program. He later formed the political party called Guomindang which was unsuccessful and eventually led to the military control of the government. Mao Zedong and the Communist party came to power in China in 1949 and significantly changed the shape of Chinese government and politics. Communism in China however made them dependent on the Soviet Union as they tried to provide for such a large
population. While East Asia and Latin America had many similar and unlike challenges that both of them faced. An underlying issue that was distinguishing was East Asia’s battle with Communism. While this brought about political instability and troubling conflict, it hindered and changed the path of development in countries like Korea, Vietnam and China. Chinese communist influence in Korea and Vietnam divided the north and south regions of the countries. This permanently separated the country in Korea’s case. The communist control over Chinas economy held back economic and political modernization as competition wasn't allowed. Latin America comparatively didn’t have this problem. They slowly developed through several leaders, two of the most significant being Getulio Vargas and Juan Perón. The reforms instigated such as Vargasa's policy of import-substitution industrialization in different Latin American countries had unexpected negative effects both environmentally and socially. At the same time the lack of equality in these reforms would later lead to more radical changes. The political challenges that these areas confronted during this time period would have a lasting effect on the economic growth of the countries. The difficulties to industrialize and reform the economies of East Asia and Latin America during periods of depression would also introduce political change that removed ties with those of already industrialized nations. Revolt and revolution politically would bring added difficulties as regimes restricted trade with countries that didn’t agree with differences of policy.