Lecture 12: Dictatorship, state and non-state terror, and the post-boom Flashcards
What is Operation Condor?
- Secret alliance implement by the US that linked the military dictatorships of Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Brazil
- They coordinated arrests, detentions, disappearances, and torture of dissidents during the 1970s-1980s
What was Mexico’s one-party rule?
- It was led by the PRI and lasted almost 70 years
- Party maintained power through the “Mexican Miracle” of economic growth
What happened during Mexico’s Portillo’s presidency and the oil crisis?
- Portillo borrowed heavily for newly discovered oil reserves
- However, during the oil crisis, Mexico is plunged into debt
What is the Tlatelolco student massacre?
1968: the PRI army killed at least 100 student protestors, 10 days before olympics
Damaged the PRI’s legitimacy
Who was Salvador Allende?
President of Chile in 1970s
What were Allende’s goals?
Build socialism through democratic means, nationalizing industries and accelerating land reform
What challenges did Allende face before the military coup?
- US economic pressure and domestic opposition led to severe shortages and hyperinflation
- The middle class turned against Allende as economic chaos grew
Who become dictator after the 1973 military coup in Chile?
Pinochet replaced Allende, suspended democracy and installed systemic repression
What was the economic situation of Chile during the military rule in the 1970s?
The “Chicago Boys” economists implemented radical free-market reforms, privatizing state companies and opening the economy to foreign investment. Their policies produced the “Chilean Miracle” of economic growth but increased inequality
How did Pinochet lose power?
- Organized a referendum under his own rule
He thought he could win easily, but he believed he needed this to gain more power - Pinochet lost and was removed from power, although still retained important status as an army commander and senator-for-life
What was the dirty war in Argentina?
- 1976 coup d’etat
- The military justified its intervention by claiming the need to eliminate “subversion,” but its true aim was a complete restructuring of Argentine society.
- Junta led by Videla
- Very violent regime
Who were the mothers of Plaza Mayo?
- Mothers calling for justice to los desaparecidos
- Focused specifically on locating children born to detained mothers and illegally adopted by military families.
- They became a symbol of resistance –> white scarves as an international symbol of human rights activism
After what event did the military dictatorship in Argentina collapse?
After the Falklands defeat
What are characteristics of Brazil’s military dictatorship in 1964?
- Overthrew Goulard claiming to protect Brazil from communism
- Initially democratic, however, later on suspended civil rights and established full dictators following growing student and labor protests
- Under President Emílio Médici, Brazil experienced both harsh repression and rapid economic growth—the “Economic Miracle.”
- The military cooperated in Operation Condor while maintaining a less visible –but not less effective- apparatus of repression than Argentina or Chile.
What is the post-boom?
Literary movement in the late 1960s onwards that wants to address Latin America’s new realities
- Privileges urban chronicles and testimonial literature
Critiques magic realism as a form of exoticism
What is nueva cancion?
- Proactive movement that contested the political dictatorships of the times.
- Primarily from Indigenous communities- to move to cities → bringing distinct musical traditions that students and the middle class blended with other styles rooted in European culture → new artistic hybrids that transcended class distinctions.
- Outlets to denounce political oppression.
