Political developments in Latin America (1945-80) Flashcards
To what extent did economic factors bring about the rise of Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution?
Contribution to nationalism and anti-imperialist sentiment
• 90% telephone and electricity services in Cuba came from US owned business
Failure of Batista to address socioeconomic conditions:
• 1952-58 decline of sugar prices led to series of recessions
• Historian Samuel Farber: Failure of leaders to address conditions set scene for Castro’s revolution to gain traction
Castro’s appeal to common worker:
• 1953 Speech and revolutionary laws: promised employers and employees would share 30% of profits and denounced Western intervention in political and economic sectors
To what extent were social factors the main cause of the Cuban Revolution and the rise of Fidel Castro?
Discontent with maltreatment:
• Historian Hugh Thomas: Batista’s indifference to social and economic needs led to fertile ground for Castro’s revolution
Support of young people:
• Between 1955-58, 200,000 young men were put into job market, but only 8,000 new jobs created
Discontentment among peasants:
• Peasant workers and farmers were excluded from lands owned by cattle ranchers and large sugar companies (22 of which owned 22% of all agricultural land)
To what extent were political factors the main contributors to Castro’s rise to power and the success of the Cuban Revolution?
Discontent with US domination:
• 1901 and 1903 Platt Amendments: US given power to intervene politically
Discontent with Batista’s corruption:
• Use of brutal police force and embezzlement was high
• Rural Guard outposts in Sierra Maestra were unpopular
Discuss the origins and growth of the liberation theology movement in Latin America
Roots of social discontent and break from belief of the church only empathizing and caring for poor:
• El Salvadorian St Oscar Romero: Human rights, need for education, hunger, social injustices
• Belief that Church should help solve systemic oppression of poor
Spread throughout Latin America
• 1968 Peruvian priest Gustavo Guterriéz presented “liberation theology” to CELAM (Episcopal Conference) contributed to atmosphere of clerical reform
Violence against Catholic clergy due to criticism from conservative hierarchy led to curb on liberation theology:
• 1970s El Salvador: priests and nuns were routinely attacked, imprisoned, exiled, deported
Discuss the impact of liberation theology in Latin America
Threat to traditional oligarchies and power elites:
• 1979 Nicaraguan Revolution: priests, nuns, and foreign missionaries made peasants/workers/poor more open to revolutionary leaders like the Sandinistas (guerrilla group who defeated dictator Somoza)
Contribution to Cold War tensions:
• Departure from Church as separate from state & only dedicated to spiritual matters was frowned upon as mixing of Marxist ideology and Christian values
• Base communities embodied the power of grassroots initiatives
Discuss the conditions to the rise of Peron
Discontent with previous political leader:
• 1943-44 Military government under military leaders of GOU (Grp of United Officers): jailed opponents, banned Jewish and leftist newspapers, outlawed Marxist-dominated trade union CGT
• 1943 Juan Peron got directorship of Argentine Department of Labor and Social Welfare —> metal workers union grew from 1,500 members to 300,000 in 1943 to 5 million during Peron’s presidency
Socioeconomic populist policies:
• 1943 to 1945 real wages among unskilled workers jumped 17%
• Historian Adams: Perons most dramatic device was the ‘thirteenth month’ of wages/Christmas bonus
• Eva Peron publicized Peron’s reforms
Compare and contrast the economic policies of Peron and Castro
Failure to create real change:
• Cuban split with USA meant reliance on USSR to purchase their sugar -> continued economic dependence on one foreign power
• IAPI was given monopoly over exports, but purchased from farmers at smaller price and sold for larger price -> Great Britain continued to be greatest buyer of Argentine goods and was among the greatest sellers of metallurgical (etc.) supply
Breaking the influence of traditional elites:
• Castro nationalized 382 US-owned companies in 1960 and 1959 200,000 peasants received titles to land in Las Manantas
• Peron allowed existence of Latifundia landowners and didn’t nationalize industries like meat-packing and sugar-refining
• Benjamin Keen: these failures made Peron’s policies ineffective
Compare and contrast the social policies of Castro and Peron
Health care in rural areas:
• Castro sent medical students and doctors to rural and mountainous areas to set up clinics -> from 1959-89 the life expectancy rose from 57 to 74
• Eva Peron initiated campaigns against tuberculosis and malaria -> improved health care outside of Buenos Aires
Role of religion in maintenance of power:
• Castro declared an atheist state, which followed communist ideology
• Peron demanded that Congress disestablish the Catholic Church in 1955
• Historian John Fagg: Peron gave his enemies something to criticize him with
Increasing role of women in the state:
• 1960 Confederation of Cuban Women - participation in literacy brigades, day-care, etc. and from 1959-89 women in the workforce increased from 13% to 43% but 1/4 of managerial positions were held by women
• Under the Perons, in 1951, 24 women were elected members of Congress and 7 women entered the Senate
Compare and contrast the treatment of opposition of Peron and Castro
Methods to consolidate power:
• Castro arrested and killed 500 Batista supporters + expropriated their land in the first 3 months of his rule
• Peron persuaded National Congress to charge the Supreme Court with treason and corruption because they resisted his earlier reforms (eg. land redistribution)
Control of culture:
• Repression of the arts in Cuba - folk singer Silvio Rodriguez described bureaucrats as having ruined the revolution
• Publisher Victoria Ocampo was persecuted for allowing subversive literature to appear
Discuss the factors of the rise of one military dictatorship
Political factors of Uruguayan military dictatorship rise:
• Failure of previous government: 1958 Blanco victory attempted to implement measures to promote liberalization of economy and agro-exporting sector
• Western Cold War conspiracy: guerrillas inspired by the Cuban Revolution were seen as bad
Social:
• 1962 Leader of sugarcane workers union joined Tupamaros (guerrilla movement) in urban terrorism, kidnapping, attempt to overthrow government
• Increase in military force and repression: 1967 President Pacheco Areco increased military spending from 13% to 26% of budget & 1972 Bordaberry continued this
• Historian Benjamin Nahum: savage repression of social mobilization was the start of the loss of democracy
Economic:
• Failure of new economic model by both industrial groups and urban workers
• Mid-1960s inflation increased 50%
• Historian Jose Rilla: economic crisis, social discontent, violence, extremist ideologies set scene for military dictatorship
To what extent were economic reasons the main factor to the failure of elected leaders?
Arbenz 1951-54:
• 1954 Operation PBSuccess: US CIA spent $5-7 million to train 100 Guatemalans to overthrow Arbenz
• Partially ideological: Arbenz was friendly to communists
• Mostly economic: US economic interests were threatened by Arbenz (eg. Arbenz attempted expropriating United Fruit company’s idle land)
• US exaggerated Arbenz’s relationship to USSR and communist countries
Peron:
• Failure of economic policies: IAPI was ruled by corrupt forces & economic dependence on Great Britain for trade continued
• Benjamin Keen: failure of economic policies occurred because of failure to nationalize important industries and break up Latifundias
• Significance of opposition groups: 1955 challenge to Catholic Church
• Historian John Fagg: gave Peron’s opponents something to criticize him with
Evaluate the success of policies of one military dictatorship
Economic:
• National Plan of Development: 1972-82 monetary policy reduced inflation from 100% to 20%
• Impact of 1980 US recession: 1981-83 GDP fell 20%
• Economic policies justified harsh rule
Social:
• Censorship of the press: writers forced to leave country to publish their works
• 1972 General education law: rid of autonomous education councils and censored textbooks
Political:
• Banning unions and stopping student protests
• Doctrine of National Security: reduce the people’s rights in the interests of global fight against communism/ideology
• Operation Condor- 60,000 killed in the military dictatorship member states
