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Early Latin America. Before 1492. Most areas were inhabited by non-sedentary and/or semi-sedentary people How many people were really in the Americas before it was “discovered?”. Sedentary People. Aztec Empire Tenochtitlan – modern-day Mexico City Ruled by the Mexica
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Before 1492 • Most areas were inhabited by non-sedentary and/or semi-sedentary people • How many people were really in the Americas before it was “discovered?”
Sedentary People • Aztec Empire • Tenochtitlan – modern-day Mexico City • Ruled by the Mexica • Inherited a civilization that had developed over thousands of years (Olmec, Maya) • Inca Empire • Cuzco, Peru • Long history of cultural evolution in the Andes
Iberia “800 years of multicultural experience and centuries of reconquest dissolved in an intolerant drive for religious purity.” (Chasteen, 31)
Conquest • Brazil • Non- & semi-sedentary people • Swept away and replaced by plantations (and African slaves) • Brutality of conquest • Existing communities did not survive • Mexico • 1521 – Cortes defeats the Aztec Empire • Peru • 1532 – Pizarro defeats the Inca Empire
Conquest • In Mexico and Peru, existing communities survived conquest (sedentary people) • New colonial structure used the existing foundations of the ancient empires and just replaced the top level of the hierarchy.* *This theme will repeat itself.
Colonization • Spanish • Encomiendasystem (feudalism) • Silver mines – large urban centers • Spanish men + indigenous women = mestizos • Portuguese • Captaincies & plantations – scattered administrative towns • Importation of African slaves
Hegemony • How did Iberia rule such a huge area for so long? • “Soft Power” • Religion • Caste System
Religion • Latin American Catholicism: blend of indigenous, African, and European religious attitudes • Good: retained some amount of indigenous culture • Bad: indigenous “bought in” to the basic ideology of colonization • Catholic Church controlled almost every aspect of daily life • Education, controlled time (bells, seven-day week, yearly calendar), place names, every town had a patron saint
Caste System • Based on race – but in practice, other characteristics factored in as well (“money whitens”) • Gracias al sacar • A person’s caste was noted in the baptismal register and certain low castes were legally prevented from becoming priests, attending university, wearing silk, owning weapons, etc.
Caste System • Peninsular (born in Iberia) • Criollo (Iberian descent born in America) • Indio (native American) • Negro (African) Gray areas?
Las castas. Anonymous, 18th century, oil on canvas, 148x104 cm, MuseoNacional del Virreinato, Tepotzotlán, Mexico.
De español y mulata, morisca. Miguel Cabrera, 1763, oil on canvas, 136x105 cm, private collection.
Caste System • Natives and Africans could move up the ladder • Good: opportunities for advancement • Bad: people, again, are “buying in” to the social hierarchy of colonialism
Independence • Late 18th and early 19th century – Latin American Wars for Independence • Why now? • Peninsular War (1807-1814) • Haitian Independence • Napoleon turns to domination in Europe • Spanish criollos in America questioned their loyalty to the metropole and led the independence movement • Who is in power after independence?*
Desire for True Independence • Were they truly independent? • Criollos and wealthy landowners took the place of the colonizers and controlled politics • Economies were still based on exporting raw materials, but the Spanish and Portuguese were just replaced by U.S. and British businesses • By the early 20th century, “the people” wanted to be truly independent and reformist governments came to power across the region.
Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI) • Attempts to reduce a country’s foreign dependency by encouraging local production of industrialized goods • Nationalized industry, highly protectionist trade policies • 1930s-1980s in Latin America • Why the 1930s? What’s going on in the world?
Populism • Political doctrine that urges social and political system changes • Compares “the people” against “the elite” • Charismatic leaders • Getulio Vargas in Brazil • Lázaro Cárdenas in Mexico
Peronism • 1973-1974 • Efforts to eliminate poverty and dignify labor • Opposed by upper classes and educated elite • 1500 university professors were fired for opposing him • Opposed all competition (from outside and from within his own party)
Juan Perón • Military general • Complicated – but pragmatic • Admired various forms of socialism around the world, including FDR, Mussolini, and Adolf Hitler • Controversial reforms • Legalized divorce and prostitution – was excommunicated by the Pope • While conditions for “the people” dramatically improved, his economic model was unsustainable • Overthrown by a military coup in 1955
Eva Perón • Eva Peron Foundation • 14,000 employees • $50 million budget (1% of GDP) • Founded new schools, clinics; distributed household necessities, scholarships, etc. • Symbol of hope for “the people” • Despised by the wealthy
International (U.S.) Response to Populism • Seen as a challenge to U.S. hegemony in the Americas • U.S. intervenes repeatedly to overthrow populist (or any left-leaning) regimes in Latin America • 1954 overthrow of the populist Arbenz government in Guatemala • 1964 support of the Brazilian coup over Goulart • 1948 assassination of populist leader Gaitán?
Military Dictatorship Throughout the 1950s-1970s, leftist reform governments are overthrown by a conservative military, backed by the elite who want to keep the status quo. Two examples: • Argentina • Chile
Argentina • Alternation of military juntas and civilian governments throughout the 1950s and 1970s. • Conservative generals vs. Peronists • Dirty War (1976-1983) • Intensified measures against militant left-wing groups and political dissidents • 9,000 – 30,000 desaparecidos • “Operation Condor” • U.S. provided support to the military dictatorship
Falklands War • 1982 – Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands (controlled by the British) • Attempt to rally public support • Thought that the U.S. would support them and that the British would not fight over the tiny island – they were wrong on both accounts • British won in just 74 days – prompted mass protests against the military government
Chile • After a long period of military rule, Socialist Salvador Allende was elected president in 1970 • Nationalized many businesses • Instituted social reforms • “Capital flight” – many who were nervous about Allende’s presidency took their money out of the banks, causing an economic depression
Augusto Pinochet • 1973 – military coup overthrew Allende Human rights violations • 1,200-3,200 killed • 80,000 interned in camps • 30,000 tortured (including women and children) • 1980 – new Constitution named Pinochet President for 8 years • Late 1980s, economic collapse and mass civil resistance led the government to permit greater freedoms, launch market-oriented reforms • 1988 – Chileans elected a new President but Pinochet remained Commander of the army until 1998
International Response • Argentina • U.S. backed the British in the Falklands War • U.S. supported military government during Operation Condor • Chile • Nixon Administration inserted secret operatives to destabilize Allende’s government • Restricted international economic credit to Chile
1980s - Today • Return to democracy (mostly) • 1980s: “The Lost Decade” • Liberal economic reforms and growth • Continuing problems: • Gap between rich and poor • Corruption in government • Drug trafficking and violence
CIA Intervention • Army School of the Americas • Nicaragua • 1981-1989 • U.S. funding and support of the “Contras” – rebel groups who opposed the socialist Sandinista government • Iran-Contra Affair • Reagan administration secretly sells arms to Iran, partly to fund the Contras in Nicaragua
U.S. Army School of the Americas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dle2F3-A4E0
