Modern Latin America

1
Modern Latin America

• Poverty
• Population
• Political Problems
• Neocolonialism Debt
• Rich-Poor Gap
• Cold War
• OAS
• Alliance for Progress
• Drugs
• Democracy

2
Population

• 1950
• Latin America 165 million
• North America 165 million
• 1980s
• Latin America 400 million
• North America 270 million

3
Rich-Poor Gap

• Social Structure
• Land-owners urban elites largely descended from
  Europeans colonists

4
Political Problems

• Rising middle class
• Repressive military regimes (1960s)
• Argentina
• Brazil
• Chile
• Encouraged business of foreign companies

5
Neocolonialism

• Import-Export economies
• Export of raw materials (minerals food)
• banana republics
• Import technology consumer goods
• Exploitation by Foreigners (Adler pp. 683-84)
• Terms of foreign trade
• High interest rates
• Latent environmentalism

6
Debt

• Between 1970-82, foreign debt increased from 27
  billion to 315 billion

7
Effect of Cold War

• OAS (1948)
• USs Alliance for Progress
• US Military aid to anti-Communist regimes
• Nicaragua
• Somoza
• Sandinistas (Marxist)
• Contras
• Iran-Contra Affair

8
Drugs

• 80 of cocaine 90 of marijuana used in US
  comes from Latin America
• Supply Demand
• US as worlds largest consumer of illegal drugs
• Effect on peasants
• Effect on governments

9
Democracy

• Through 1970s
• Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica
• 1980s
• Everywhere but Cuba, Chile, Paraguay, some
  Central American states
• Chomorro defeats Sandinistas in internationally
  observed election (1990)
• Role of Protestant Christianity