The Consolidation of Latin America

1830-1920

Part IV - Conclusion

In Depth: Explaining Underdevelopment

Latin America, because of its early winning of independence and entry into the world economy, provides a useful example for study of the problems faced by underdeveloped nations.

Hispanic Legacy vs Maxism

Their experience grew from the influences of their Hispanic cultural heritage.

When independence came, the European models of economy, law, and government failed to bring either prosperity or social harmony.

Looking for Answers

Latin Americans often compared their experiences with those of the United States.

Answers for the questions increasingly were sought in analyses of a world economic and political system.

They turned to modernization theory, a following of the path taken in western Europe.

Modernization Theory vs Dependency Theory

Modernization theory: the belief that the more industrialized, urban, and modern a society became, the more social change and improvement were possible as traditional patterns and attitudes were abandoned or transformed.

Dependency theory: the belief that development and underdevelopment were not stages but were part of the same process; that development and growth of areas like western Europe were achieved at the expense of underdevelopment of dependent regions like Latin America.

Acceptance of
Dependency Theory

Refinements of the theories led to an acceptance of the dependency theory that foresaw development and underdevelopment as part of the same process.

The process of theorizing continues to this day.

The Great Boom, 1880-1920

The increasing demand in industrializing Europe stimulated Latin American economic growth.

Liberal ideology, individual freedom, open markets, and limited government intervention in the economy prepared the way for expansion.

Liberal Ideology that worked like Conservative Ideology

This liberal ideology was adopted by the small urban middle class, landholders, miners, and export merchants.

These groups forged political alliances to direct governments in their favor at the expense of the peasants and working class.

Exports Fuel Expansion

Export products fueled the expansion and provided resources for imports of foreign manufactures and local development projects.

It was always a risky business since market prices were dependent on outside conditions.

Foreign Investments
The Double Edged Sword

The capital brought in was useful, but it placed key industries under foreign control, and it influenced the internal and external policies of governments.

Mexico and Argentina: Examples of Economic Transformation

In Mexico in 1876 Porfirio Díaz was elected president

Diaz dominated politics for the next 35 years.

Diaz’s Government

Díaz imposed a strong central government and utilized foreign capital for internal infrastructure development and industrialization.

His administration subverted liberal democratic principles to preserve power and continue modernization.

Opposition was suppressed and growth occurred at the expense of the peasantry and working class.

When strikes and unrest increased a national police force and the army kept order.

Regional political bosses rigged elections in support of the regime.

A Demand For Reform

By 1910 a middle class reform movement emerged and sought electoral reform.

Other opposition groups joined it and a bloody ten-year civil war followed.

Argentina’s Path

In Argentina another path of economic expansion was followed.

Buenos Aires and the rest of the nation worked together after 1880 to bring expansion and stability.

A Flood of Immigrants

Technological change - especially refrigerated ships for exporting meat –helped the process; labor came from a flood of immigrants.

By 1914 one-third of the population was foreign-born.

They fused their various European identities into a distinct culture.

The Socialist Party in Argentina

Workers wanted political expression and in the 1890s a socialist party formed.

Strikes and government repression marked the decade after 1910.

The Argentinean oligarchy attempted some reforms, but in the end most failed.

The Radical Party in Argentina

A party representing the emerging middle class, the Radical Party, took shape.

Aided by the reforms of an electoral law of 1912 it came to power in 1916.

When it met labor unrest the party was as repressive as its predecessors.

Latin America Labor Rebellions

Similar patterns occurred in the economic and political life of the rest of Latin America.

Ruling oligarchies of the traditional aristocracies allied with the middle classes faced rising labor and rural unrest and rebellion.

Uncle Sam Goes South

American political and economic interest in Latin America grew after the Civil War.

The Spanish-American War of 1898 brought the United States directly into Latin American affairs.

The Spanish-American War

Fought between Spain and the United States, the war resulted in the annexation of Puerto Rico and the Philippines and permitted American intervention in the Caribbean.

The United States and Cuba

American investment in Cuba predated the war, and following it, the door was open for direct involvement in the Caribbean.

Cuba became an American economic dependent and Puerto Rico was annexed.

The Panama Canal

When Colombia was reluctant to meet American proposals for building the Panama Canal, the United States backed a revolution in Panama in return for the exclusive rights for a canal across the Panamanian isthmus.

The Bully to the North

As a consequence of starting the Spanish-American War and provoking a war in Columbia over the Panama Canal, Latin Americans became very suspicious of the expansionist United States.

Conclusion:
New Nations, Old Problems

Despite all of the economic, social, and political changes occurring in Latin America after independence its countries remained remarkably unchanged.

Revolutions and reforms changed little.

The elite held on to control of economic resources and the urban sector was weak and often accommodated the elite.

Most of the population worked the land without hope of improvement.

The End


	Latin America, because of its early winning of independence and entry into the world economy, provides a useful example for study of the problems faced by underdeveloped nations.


	Their experience grew from the influences of their Hispanic cultural heritage.
	When independence came, the European models of economy, law, and government failed to bring either prosperity or social harmony.


	Latin Americans often compared their experiences with those of the United States.
	Answers for the questions increasingly were sought in analyses of a world economic and political system.
	They turned to modernization theory, a following of the path taken in western Europe.


	Modernization theory: the belief that the more industrialized, urban, and modern a society became, the more social change and improvement were possible as traditional patterns and attitudes were abandoned or transformed.
	Dependency theory: the belief that development and underdevelopment were not stages but were part of the same process; that development and growth of areas like western Europe were achieved at the expense of underdevelopment of dependent regions like Latin America.


	Refinements of the theories led to an acceptance of the dependency theory that foresaw development and underdevelopment as part of the same process.
	The process of theorizing continues to this day.


	The increasing demand in industrializing Europe stimulated Latin American economic growth.
	Liberal ideology, individual freedom, open markets, and limited government intervention in the economy prepared the way for expansion.


	This liberal ideology was adopted by the small urban middle class, landholders, miners, and export merchants.
	These groups forged political alliances to direct governments in their favor at the expense of the peasants and working class.


	Export products fueled the expansion and provided resources for imports of foreign manufactures and local development projects.
	It was always a risky business since market prices were dependent on outside conditions.




	The capital brought in was useful, but it placed key industries under foreign control, and it influenced the internal and external policies of governments.


	In Mexico in 1876 Porfirio Díaz was elected president
	Diaz dominated politics for the next 35 years.


	Díaz imposed a strong central government and utilized foreign capital for internal infrastructure development and industrialization.
		His administration subverted liberal democratic principles to preserve power and continue modernization.
		Opposition was suppressed and growth occurred at the expense of the peasantry and working class.
		When strikes and unrest increased a national police force and the army kept order.
		Regional political bosses rigged elections in support of the regime.


	By 1910 a middle class reform movement emerged and sought electoral reform.
	Other opposition groups joined it and a bloody ten-year civil war followed.


	In Argentina another path of economic expansion was followed.
	Buenos Aires and the rest of the nation worked together after 1880 to bring expansion and stability.


	Technological change - especially refrigerated ships for exporting meat –helped the process; labor came from a flood of immigrants.

	By 1914 one-third of the population was foreign-born.
	They fused their various European identities into a distinct culture.


	Workers wanted political expression and in the 1890s a socialist party formed.
	Strikes and government repression marked the decade after 1910.
	The Argentinean oligarchy attempted some reforms, but in the end most failed.


	A party representing the emerging middle class, the Radical Party, took shape.
	Aided by the reforms of an electoral law of 1912 it came to power in 1916.
	When it met labor unrest the party was as repressive as its predecessors.


	Similar patterns occurred in the economic and political life of the rest of Latin America.
	Ruling oligarchies of the traditional aristocracies allied with the middle classes faced rising labor and rural unrest and rebellion.


	American political and economic interest in Latin America grew after the Civil War.
	The Spanish-American War of 1898 brought the United States directly into Latin American affairs.


	Fought between Spain and the United States, the war resulted in the annexation of Puerto Rico and the Philippines and permitted American intervention in the Caribbean.


	American investment in Cuba predated the war, and following it, the door was open for direct involvement in the Caribbean.
	Cuba became an American economic dependent and Puerto Rico was annexed.


	When Colombia was reluctant to meet American proposals for building the Panama Canal, the United States backed a revolution in Panama in return for the exclusive rights for a canal across the Panamanian isthmus.


	As a consequence of starting the Spanish-American War and provoking a war in Columbia over the Panama Canal, Latin Americans became very suspicious of the expansionist United States.


	Despite all of the economic, social, and political changes occurring in Latin America after independence its countries remained remarkably unchanged.
	Revolutions and reforms changed little.
	The elite held on to control of economic resources and the urban sector was weak and often accommodated the elite.
	Most of the population worked the land without hope of improvement.