Latin American Exam 2

Neoliberalism:

deregulation of economy (for example: they would not have implemented New Deal like FDR did, assumed that Depression would work itself out) neoliberals could not get political support to test theories in early- 1900s but dictators agreed to allow them to but it to the test; Latin America was the #1 place with the most extreme income inequality or distribution; effects of neoliberalism in Latin America: 1. economies began to stagnate→ led to massive urbanization → population increased → 34% of population was unemployed; 30-40% of people working in informal sector; half of brazil lived in shanty towns; government attempted to fix inequality problems (i.e. employment benefits); income inequality continued to grow; would never have worked in Latin America because you can't have a repressive government in a free market economy; attempted in Chile first and then Argentina

Dependency Theory

developed in late 40s/ early 50s; based on a Latin American economic model; Poor nations provide natural resources, cheap labour, a destination for obsolete technology, and markets for developed nations, without which the latter could not have the standard of living they enjoy. Wealthy nations actively perpetuate a state of dependence by various means. This influence may be multifaceted, involving economics, media control, politics, banking and finance, education, culture, and sport. some believe that best solution for underdeveloped countries is import substitution industrialization

Consejo Maya

"Mayan Council" in Morganton founded by Francisco Risso and Justo Castro in 1998; provided English-speaking classes, alcoholics self-help group; support work for Case Farms Union and immigrant rights; class on leadership training; sponsored group for poetry and music of the marimba; essentially helping the indigenous mayans be more accessible in the workforce while continuing ancient traditions

The Rio Pact:

(Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance), signed Sept. 2, 1947, and originally ratified by all 21 American republics. Under the treaty, an armed attack or threat of aggression against a signatory nation, whether by a member nation or by some other power, will be considered an attack against all (see Pan-Americanism). The treaty provides that no member can use force without the unanimous consent of the other signatories, but that other measures against aggressors may be approved by a two-thirds majority. It differs from previous inter-American treaties in that it is a regional treaty within a larger international organization; it recognizes the higher authority of the Security Council of the United Nations; security treaty: Rio Pact- "closed hemisphere in an open world" : gave US permission to intervene militarily

After decades of violence and political terror, Latin America experienced a wave of democratic reform in the 1990s that ended authoritarian military regimes or dictatorships. Why did it take so long—nearly two centuries—for democracy to take root in Latin America?

-after wars of independence were over, Latin America went through a series of battles and wars within over differing ideologies and politics (this instability is no place for democracy)--usually there would be a peaceful election but then one party or group would up rise and perform a coup (Colombia--Gaitan; Liberals vs. Conservadores in the 1940s) -nationalism did not occur until decades after independence wars; so racism kept the countries separated within each and continued violence -wave of democracy after WWII but the US didn't want that due to spread of communism so assisted in multiple military coups throughout latin America (ex. Chile and Allende; Guatemala and Arbenz) -dictatorships remained and democracy was repressed by these dictatorships -economic instability within the countries; ISI, Neoliberalism -after the failure of Neoliberalism, the Pink Tide occurred and democracy and elections were back;

Greg Grandin has argued that Latin America suffered a "third conquest" since the globalization that began in the early 1980s. Explain what he means and evaluate the consequences of neoliberalism (globalization) in Latin America. To what extent have Latin Americans accepted, resisted, or accommodated to the demographic, economic, cultural, and political changes of the second quarter of the twentieth century?

-insurgency/guerrilla was the only way to stop injustice; -political system fails after 1978, so indigenous and the poor turned to violence -repression and death of indigenous has been occurring since colonial period -struggle for basic human rights- not just social change -Neoliberalism in Latin America only worsened conditions; it raised unemployment as well as inflation; benefited the wealthy at the expense of the poor; widened wealth gap even further;Guatemala had long been independent, but I use the phrase "last colonial massacre" as a metaphor to distinguish the killings in May 1978 from the subsequent genocide. The Panzós massacre was similar to earlier forms of official reaction to Mayan protests, stretching back to Spanish colonialism. Panzós marked a turn in Guatemala's then fifteen-year-old civil war. Before Panzós, government repression was directed mostly at urban, nonindigenous activists. Afterward the government security forces increasingly targeted rural Mayan peasants, culminating in the scorched-earth campaign of 1981-83. At the same time, the Mayans no longer looked to the central government to temper the exploitation of local planters but increasingly confronted the government directly and challenged its legitimacy. While the Panzós massacre was mostly a local affair, the 1981-83 genocide was a centrally planned national campaign. Soldiers swept through the countryside, committing over six hundred massacres and razing hundreds of communities.

Globalization

According to Leon Fink "a social process in which the constraints of geography on social and cultural arrangements recede and in which people become increasingly aware that they are receding" ; breakdown of national identity;

Puntofijismo:

Betancourt (r.1945-1948)-"third way"/Venezuela; no communism; leftists revolution, nationalism, multi class alliance based on anti-imperialism, social democracy, power-sharing (two political parties), respect for elections; rentism: using national income from oil revenues to start social reforms; prevent extremism on left and right; ignored any government that came to power through coup or force; faced Castro communist insurgency after 1960; in 1961 youth traveled to Cuba to learn about rural insurgency (Foquismo)-1962: used tactics they learned to start an uprising, the senseless violence backfired and delegitimized leftist movement

Jorge Eliécer Gaitán

Colombia/assassinated in 1948/ leader of the Liberals/

Fidel Castro

Cuba/Communist/big leader of Cuban communist revolution; wrote book "History will Absolve Me"; hundreds killed in Mancata assault (attempted coup) and Castro sentenced to 15 years in prison but released after 2 years; went to Mexico to plan revolution, radical students were major part in revolution; Batista fled in 1959 and Castro gained power; originally very popular in the US; solidifies relationship with USSR because sees US as a threat;

National Security Doctrine

During the second half of the twentieth century, large sections of the population were exterminated in various parts of Latin America. Most of these events followed a similar pattern and were the result of what became known as the National Security Doctrine. The practice of systematic annihilation of political enemies in Latin America, which began as early as 1954 with the military coup in Guatemala, continued almost until the beginning of the twenty-first century, spreading throughout practically all of Latin America.

Jacobo Árbenz:

Guatemala/President 1951-1954/Arbenz made agrarian reform the central project of his administration. This led to a clash with the largest landowner in the country, the U.S.-based United Fruit Company, whose idle lands he tried to expropriate. He also insisted that the company and other large landowners pay more taxes. As the reforms advanced, the U.S. government, cued by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, became increasingly alarmed, fearing the threat to sizable American banana investments and to U.S. bank loans to the Guatemalan government as well. Also of concern to the United States were the increasingly close relations between Guatemala and the communist bloc of nations. A public-relations campaign painted Arbenz as a friend of communists (whose support he undoubtedly had); and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, working in Honduras and El Salvador, helped to organize a counterrevolutionary army of exiles led by Col. Carlos Castillo Armas.;Jacobo Arbenz was democratically elected and very popular--used New Deal ideas from FDR; redistributed land to peasants--expropriation of 400,000 acres of US farm United Fruit (bad for US); PBSUCCESS was an operation to promote rebellion (broadcasted fake news, culminated in 1954 in Guatemala); Arbenz cracked under pressure and resigned

Bolivarian Revolution

Hugh Chavez; Venezuela;refers to a leftist social movement and political process in Venezuela led by late Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez; named after Simón Bolívar, an early 19th-century Venezuelan and Latin American revolutionary leader;seeks to build a mass movement to implement Bolivarianism—popular democracy, economic independence, equitable distribution of revenues, and an end to political corruption

The Chicago Boys

Neoliberalism/ group of economists from Chicago University that wanted to implement neoliberalism, but South America was the only place for them to test it because dictators were the only ones able implement this form of economics; Shock Doctrine: removable of government subsidies and price control; Friedman's economic policies benefited the wealthy at the expensive of the poor;

NAFTA

North American Free Trade Agreement: between the United States, Canada, and Mexico; ratified by the US Senate but with great opposition of House of Representatives and labor unions; lower trade barriers and tariffs; US citizens opposed NAFTA--might outsource jobs to Mexico→ estimated that 150,000 - 550,000 jobs would be lost; Mexico wanted the potential job creation to lower poverty because more than 50% were below poverty line; expected to ruin Mexican agriculture and small farms; Mexican Revolution had broke up those small farms→ US produce would be cheaper (Mexico corn cost 2-3 times more than US) Consequences:Zapatista Rebellion (Jan. 1994); hurt mexican farmers; undermined support and popularity and legitimacy of PRI; brought immediate recession to Mexico--growing trade deficit and high inflation; significant migration to the US (mostly illegal);

Operation PBSUCCESS

PBSUCCESS was an operation to promote rebellion (broadcasted fake news, culminated in 1954 in Guatemala); Arbenz cracked under pressure and resigned

Panzos

Panzós (Spanish pronunciation: [panˈsos]) is a municipality in the Guatemalan department of Alta Verapaz.On 29 May 1978, the village of Panzós was the site of a massacre in which between 30 and 106 local inhabitants (figures vary) were killed by the army; Early that morning, hundreds of Mayan peasants marched to the plaza of Panzós to demand an end to abuses by local plantation owners. What happened next is disputed. Some say that the protesters were peaceful and that soldiers stationed in the square opened fire in order to eliminate the leaders of the land movement. Others say that they provoked the soldiers by throwing chili powder their eyes, threatening them with sticks, and demanding the installation of a "Mayan king" to head the republic. No one has ever been held legally responsible for the killing.

Tupamaros:

Uruguayan guerrillas; declared war against government and US government; Raul Sendic (Marxist organizer); 2000 members; inspired the Montemeros in Argentina (15,000 members); goals: radical revolution, eradication of democratic parties, anti-capitalists (even though most members were affluent) cause: upsurge of popular protest (economic challenges); dislodged social and religious norms; growing inequality; inflation; reduced earnings for workers; modernization: middle class of disillusioned young people--few students turned out to vote; economic downturn;

Caracazo

Venezuela/27 February 1989 in and around Caracas.wave of protests, riots, looting, shootings and massacres[4] that began on 27 February 1989; one day government rose bus transportation prices drastically due to trying to make more revenue after the huge drop in oil prices

The Dirty War

a coup against Isabel Peron was welcomed; new government was welcomed; the junta gave appearance that it would be a democracy but clearly a dictatorship infamous campaign waged from 1976 to 1983 by Argentina's military dictatorship against suspected left-wing political opponents. It is estimated that between 10,000 and 30,000 citizens were killed; many of them were "disappeared"—seized by the authorities and never heard from again.; Videla initiated a campaign against suspected dissidents. Throughout the country the regime set up hundreds of clandestine detention camps, where thousands of people were jailed and persecuted. Because leftist guerrillas had been widely active in the country beginning in the late 1960s, the Argentine government, which maintained that it was fighting a civil war, initially faced little public opposition, but this began to change in the late 1970s, with growing evidence of civil rights violations;-fascism; use of propaganda to provoke their ideals and fear in citizens; order and subordination is important

23 de Enero

a parish located in the Libertador Bolivarian Municipality west of the city of Caracas, Venezuela. The parish receives its name from the date of the 1958 Venezuelan coup d'état which overthrew dictator; marks beginning of democracy

Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)

amnesty to certain illegal immigration (about 3 million were pardoned) ;which was passed in order to control and deter illegal immigration to the United States. Its major provisions stipulate legalization of undocumented aliens who had been continuously unlawfully present since 1982, legalization of certain agricultural workers, sanctions for employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers, and increased enforcement at U.S. borders.; unintended consequence was that more illegals crossed border to be with family that were now legal

Liberation theology

collection of dissident Christian ideas of 50s and 60s; called for social justice; believed Church needed to combat socio-economic inequality;Gustavo (church must place its process in revolution); more legitimate because rejected violence

FSLN"New Left Turn"

he Sandinista National Liberation Front is today a democratic socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas.The party is named after Augusto César Sandino who led the Nicaraguan resistance against the United States occupation of Nicaragua in the 1930s

International Monetary Fund

in 1980s during debt crisis, loaned Mexico $3.9 billion with strings attached and added more debt to Mexico; Hugo Chavez left IMF in 2007. said Venezuela no longer needed to depend on it, nor Washington, nor World Bank;

Alliance for Progress

initiated by U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1961 aimed to establish economic cooperation between the U.S. and Latin America; because of the program, economic assistance to Latin America nearly tripled between fiscal year 1960 and fiscal year 1961; the amount of aid did not equal the net transfer of resources and development as Latin American countries still had to pay off their debt to the US and other first world countries. Additionally, profits from the investments usually returned to the US, with profits frequently exceeding new investment

urbanization:

is a population shift from rural to urban areas, "the gradual increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas", and the ways in which each society adapts to the change. It predominantly results in the physical growth of urban areas, be it horizontal or vertical.

Getúlio Vargas

leader of Brazil from 1930-1945 (dictator) then ruled 1951-1954 as an elected president;who brought social and economic changes that helped modernize the country. Although denounced by some as an unprincipled dictator, Vargas was revered by his followers as the "Father of the Poor," for his battle against big business and large landowners;

Augusto Pinochet

leader of coup against Allende (president of Chile in the 1970s); leader after Allende was assassinated during coup; military dictatorship; help from the US; blamed for many war crimes and crimes against humanity;

Anastasio Somoza

military dictator of Nicaragua between 1967-1972 and 1974-1979;The son of a wealthy coffee planter, Somoza was educated in Nicaragua and the United States. By marrying the daughter of a prominent Nicaraguan family, he ensured himself a secure political career. Rising quickly through the political ranks, he became head of Nicaragua's army, the Guardia Nacional, in 1933. With the army at his disposal, three years later he deposed the elected president, his uncle Juan Bautista Sacasa, had himself "elected" president,

The Washington Consensus

new left rejected Washington consensus; allowed foreign investment in Mexico;

Illiberal democracies

new politics that emerged in the 1980s and 1990s; new democracy was limited--military still held power; the pink tide/new left: against poverty and corruption, rejections of neoliberal politics by IMF

Informal sector

no contract labor (i.e. domestic service, construction, working/selling on the street)

barrios/favelas

poor neighborhoods in South America;these neighborhoods are on land that is not owned by anyone and are essentially a cluster of make-shift houses with barely tolerable living standards but do to such a large inequality gap, they have no place to go and many of them are unable to move up into middle classes; Brazil started program where they paid families to take their children to school

toma

seizure of the sites were people lived and worked or hope to live and work by the citizens starting a revolution from below in 1970s in Chile

La vía Chilena

slogan of Salvador Allende of Chile (1970-1973); it was his idea of the way to get Chile to become a socialist nation using only democratic processes (i.e. Congress and legislation); however, his process was too slow for those citizens in need of social change right away and they took his election as starting out for a revolution from under the political system;