Post independence era in Latin American
...forced into situations like prostitution in order to support themselves. We can see the repression people must have faced under such governments and their extreme dislike and the strong will for change of the old political system. Since these were the four advanced countries in Latin America, they set an example to the rest of the continent for the decades to follow. As social problems kept accumulating in various countries of Latin America, the market crash of 1930 became a dramatic turning point since it affected each of the economic, social and political views and ways. Economies in most of the countries suffered severe recessions and public unrests, and consequently so did the political systems. The global depression led the middle and lower classes in Latin America to revolt against their governments. These revolts were not the typical government overthrows but rather real grass root uprisings. In other words, the 1930s depression was central in the collapse of prevailing political systems as well as their economic structures. Even though the direct causes of the collapse were economic, social and political issues were also responsible. Once the old system of oligarchic control had deteriorated, a new challenge of reconstruction emerged. As a result, new political and social movements appeared and were actively seeking to accomplish reform and democratization. Meanwhile, the now powerless elites tried to hold on to their old privileges by any means necessary. For decades following the 1930’s global depression, Latin American countries experimented with various forms of government. Some became authoritarian regimes, others populists, socialists, radical and finally democratic. Some countries tried to combine several of these alternatives and some jumped back and forth from one to another. In each case, the push towards democratization in Latin America was very strong but the economic struggles throughout the years made it harder to be achieved. As the global economy began to recuperate, so too did Latin American countries. The great demand for their products during World War II in Europe helped boost the economies and stabilize the political systems once more. However, some countries opted for different routes towards stabilization. Mexico for example, replaced its old regime with an authoritarian government that controlled power for many years to come. The National Revolutionary party (PNR) was established and controlled politics for the next few decades. Contrary to what the Mexican revolution of 1910 intended, the emerging elites kept control of power and lower and working classes were still under repression. In Argentina, after various alternatives for government were tried, Juan Peron came to power in 1946. Peron was an unashamedly nationalistic leader who worked for the hardworking masses. He was followed by a group called “The Peronistas”, which were mainly members of the working class, also known as “Los Descamisados”, which in Spanish means "shirtless ones," implying that they did not wear suit coats like the middle class. As president, Perón pursued pro-Labor, pro-Nationalist policies, helped by Evita, who became an influential, although informal, member of his government. The masses loved Peron because they felt they were finally been taken into consideration, but they specially loved Evita, whom with they identify well since she came from a lower class family. She became a myth and Peron’s administration was made considerably more powerful through her efforts and accomplishments to control the masses. “Eva herself, through La razon de mi vida, stated, ‘I know that like every woman of the people, I have more strength than I appear to have.’”(Taylor, 88) Evita considered herself a woman of the public. Under Peron’s regime Evita maintained a lot of control inside the government. "Evita confronts us with the enigma of power attributed to a woman in a traditionally and formally patriarchal society, a society that devalues women as against men." (Taylor, 10) The Peron era was characterized by improved lower class conditions, better opportunities for women and a reduction in the power of the elite. Socialism was another alternative seen after the widespread revolutions of the 1930’s in Latin America and Cuba was the country that embraced it. Immediately following the revolution, Cuba went under a tough dictatorship that brought business and middle classes into power and stimulated development. Fulgencio Batista in Cuba was a brutal right wing leader whose leadership caused the historical left-wing revolution of 1959. His government established an economic development program based mostly on sugar exports. Unfortunately, for Batista the price of sugar was decreasing at the time and Cuba’s economy was considerably affected. The working classes saw wages being reduced and unemployment rate increased, leading them to discontent and support for a radical revolution. This revolution created a socialist country in Cuba, the first of its kind in Latin America. Fidel Castro came to power after overthrowing Batista, and allied Cuba with the Soviet Union through an economic agreement that saw the USSR purchase 450,000 tons of sugar from Cuba a year. (Haynes, 442) Fidel broadened his political support and accomplished his economic goals – land reforms, income redistribution, agricultural diversification, and economic independence from the United States. (Haynes, 442) With economic and political union with the Soviet Union, Fidel’s Cuba had a huge effect on Latin American relations with the US, largely due to the stage and timing of the Cold War. Not only that Cuba set a new example for other countries to follow in future years, but the foreign policy of the US itself, towards Latin America as a whole, changed dramatically. The US developed a doctrine called the “lesser evil” doctrine, that indirectly supported authoritarian or military regimes in countries with unstable governments. (Wiarda, 25) The whole purpose of this was to prevent another socialist revolution and another country allying with the Soviet Union. During this same period there was a brief interval of democracies in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and some others, but they were quickly consumed by a new wave of militarism. It is possible to say that because of the policy adopted by the US towards Latin America, militarism gained momentum once more. There are also some other events that induced this new wave of militarism. The economies of Latin America were in recession and governments had a harder time budgeting for the social programs they had offered. Consequently, left-wing guerrillas, sponsored indirectly by Cuba and the USSR mobilized. The most notable of these guerrillas was led by the Argentine revolutionary with strong ties to Castro, Ernesto “Che” Guevara in Bolivia. Guevara moved to Bolivia in 1966 in order to set up peasant uprisings that would create a domino effect on the neighboring countries of Peru and Paraguay. (Gilderhus, 196) Unfortunately for Guevara, he faced unexpected problems and subsequently failed in his intended mission. The US viewed his actions as threatening within the continent and tightened their relationships with unstable governments in Latin America. A very clear example of these issues can be seen in Chile’s politics during the 1960s and the 1970s. Chile since 1964 had been lead by the Christian Democrat leader Eduardo Frei. Frei had won the elections of 1964 over Salvador Allende, and took over the presidency by somewhat democratic means. He promised a “revolution in freedom” that will end all of the inequalities of Chilean society without violence. He performed few land reforms but managed to take control over the copper industry, the main source of Chile’s income at the time, from the foreign companies. In other areas, he was not able to fulfill his promises, and by 1970 much of his power had eroded. Frei’s administration was supported by the US, but when Salvador Allende, leader of the socialist and communist party of Chile, the FRAP (Frente de Accion Popular), won the elections of 1970, the US turned its back on Chile. Allende h...