…THE STORY OF NEO-COLONIALISM?

Latin American in the 20th C

Heavily Influenced by:o

(1) Lingering 19thc Social Problems(2) Global Developments

1910-1920: Mexican Revolution

1920-1950: Democracy Questioned Amidst Great Depression

1950-1965: Cold War & USSR’s Progress Champions Communism

1965-present: Cold War & USA’s Progress Champions Alternatives

ReviewHistorical Context for 20thcMexico 1300-1910

• Lower classes experience little improvement in quality of life

• As a result, many celebrate indigenous heritage

• Murals of 20thc reflect Mexico’s history & perspective of 20thc

Mexican Revolution via Murals

•As early as 1000 BCE – Toltecs and Maya adorned temples and public building

with murals. Murals told stories of everyday life (Mexican Realism).

•Post-Spanish invasion = Christian murals

•Mexican Revolution = native Mexican culture again

Teotihuacan

1345 Aztecs built Tenochtitlan at Lake Texcoco

Snake on cloth represents Quetzalcoatl- goddess of creation

The city was an important religious center filled with pyramids topped with temples

Slave laborer is identified by simple loin cloth

Mountains and lake provide natural defense of city

Importance of family as mother carries child in rebozo

What raw materials would be used to create mats?

Aztecs called

themselves Mexica

Moctezuma II 1502

Petates, or mats, were woven out of reed

Tenochtitlan Marketplace by Diego Rivera

Spanish Conquest

Hernan Cortes 1519

Aztecs surrender 1521

Winged angel shows partnership of Church and Cortes

Cortes is carrying an iron sword – resting on dismembered bodies of Aztec victim

Aztecs had no metal to match iron’s strength

Fire in background represents widespread destruction of Spanish soldiers and smallpox.

What is this?

Cortes is a machine… symbolic of European technology

Conquest by Jose Orozco

Small pox decimated Aztecs

Video Clip: European Rule (United Streaming)

Absorption of the Indian by Jose Orozco

White European, Hernan Cortes, sits with an Indian woman, Malinche.

Symbolic of mixing of two groups to create mestizo people.

Mestizo make up majority of Mexicans today

Dead mestizo shows unhappiness and ill-treatment of mestizo

Partnership

Yet, restraint – many Mexicans consider Mayan Malinche a traitor

Legend: Malinche was given to Cortes as a translator – later they produced a son

Colonial Domination by Diego RiveraCross, Spanish flag and sword represent colonization

Cuauhtemoc, last Aztec emperor, bowing to conquistadors

Conquistadores use branding iron to brand Indian slave

Brutal labor of gold mines

Yoked to plow

Bag of goldDescribe the European faces…

Euro faces drawn as animals

Huge land grants given to Spanish - encomiendas

Rivera attempted to summarize 300 years

Total Indian population fell from 25 million to 1 million by 1700

Video Clip: Mexican Independence (United Streaming)

Fight for Liberty by Jose Orozco

Mexican Independence

1810-1821

Father Hidalgo (killed 1811) against Spanish rule

Color red – death and violence

Masses of people – popularity of independence movement among Indians and mestizos.

Priest’s collar and cross – role of Church in rebellion

What do you think a fiery machete represent?

Machete is symbol of agriculture and fire is revolt.

Hidalgo and Father Morelos both executed during war by Mexican creoles (Spanish decedents)

Creole Agustin Iturbide then lead independence from Spain, but without reforms of masses

Criollos – Spanish descent

Independence in early 19thc

• Mexico is in political and economic chaos after independence

• Race/Class Structure Remains– Creoles– Mestizos– Indians– Africans

• Iturbede ousted in 1824 and Mexico becomes a republic

• Santa Anna is the most dominant political leader.

Mexican-American War

• Americans proclaim independence of Texas—March 2, 1836

• French try to take Mexico in 1838.• Mexican-American War (1846-

1848)– Mexico defeated.– Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo

on February 2, 1848.• California, Texas, Arizona

and New Mexico to US.• US pays Mexico

$15,000,000• Property owners assured

can keep property

Liberalism Re-Emerges in Late 19thc

• Benito Juarez elected president in 1858– confiscated Church

property– suspended payment of

foreign debt in 1861.• France, Great Britain, &

Spain protest

French occupy Mexico

• The French occupy Mexico in 1861 and capture Mexico City in 1863.

• Louis Napoleon makes Archduke Maximillian Emperor (April 10, 1864)– Maximillian was Austrian and never

understood Mexico– There were many revolts– Maximillian is captured and

executed with the rest of his family.– Juarez is restored.

Juaraz 1831-1872 and the Fall of the Empire by Jose Orozco

Juarez - Zapotec Indian - first to bring legitimate reforms to MexicoMexican flag – patriotism of middleclass

Violent colors

Control of Church

Machetes in hands of peasants

1862 – Mexico conquered by France (Napoleon III). Archduke Maximilian of Austria became

Emperor of Mexico. Cinco de Mayo = Mexican victory, though French eventually won war.

Juarez leadership came against European intrusion from Spain and France

1867- Juarez conquered Mexico City and executed Maximillian Then continued his reforms until his death in 1872

1855 – overthrew dictator Santa Anna, began reforms

Porfirio Diaz

• Order & progress – Stability to industrialize

• Develops industry with foreign capital

• Develops railroads with foreign capital

• Oil Industry– Standard Oil– British Petroleum

Mexican Revolution1910-1920

Repression – History and Perspective of Mexico

Repression during rule of Porfirio Diaz (34 year rule)

Note force used to control farmers (land fell into hands of huge hacienda owners).

Sickle represents farm workers

Government forces on horse heavily loaded with weapons

1876 Diaz came to power – dictator for 34 years.

Welcomed foreign investors

Police enforced Diaz’ laws

Foreign/Mexican owners discriminated against Mexican Workers & Mexican Middle Class

Did nothing for poorest Mestizos Neglected Education Confiscated ejidos (common land)

Reign of Porfirio Díaz Ruled as a dictator

“New Creoles” Modernized Mexico Masses suppressed

Working class wages declined

95% of rural population did not own any land

Mestizo population grew rapidly after 1850

Porfirio Díaz (1876-1910)

By 1910 – large portions of Mexican society fed up with Diaz

Political & social turmoil resulted Displays…

Political instability of 19th century Failure to fulfill promises of independence Failure to integrate poor & indigenous

Revolution was first and foremost a social movement

Cause: landlessness, oligarchy, foreign influence

1. Calls for Change: Diaz v. masses May 25, 1911 Diaz overthrown Nov. 6, 1911 Francisco Madero, leader of revolt =

President

2. Moderate position pleases no one: Madero & assassination Madero unprepared & lack of land reforms led to open

rebellion

3. Radical efforts: Pancho Villa, Zapata4. Moderates return: PRI

PRI – one party rule, limits foreign ownership, incorporates workers & indigenous into party

Revolution against Porfirian (Porfirio Diaz) Dictatorship 1911 unseated Diaz

Peasants lost lands and were forced to work on large haciendas for little wage – conditions near slavery

Government forces used to coerce the farm hands to work.

Peasants responded by rebelling against government.

Video Clip: Mexican Revolution (United Streaming)

Emiliano Zapata – organized peasants from southern Mexico “Land and Liberty”

Francisco “Pancho” Villa - organized peasants from northern Mexico Understood new technology (machine guns)

& role of media better than most Villa raids New Mexico Farm on March 9, 1916. Impacts the reaction to the Zimmerman

Telegram

Radicals Can be divided into 2 groups:

Agraristas – groups led to revolt due primarily to agrarian grievances. Thus, main goal was agrarian reform (e.g. Zapata)

Serranos – groups led to revolt due to threats to way of life, varied based on region. Main goals included autonomy, political control, cultural independence (e.g. Pancho Villa)

Both groups have common ground: they entered into revolution due to expansion under the Porfiriato

The Trench by Jose Orozco

Mexican Revolution

By 1910, dissatisfaction of Diaz regime lead to open revolt.

“Viva la Revolucion”

Three soldiers mirroring the Christian Trinity, add religious element to the movement

The carbines and rifle reinforce the atmosphere of revolution

Red – violent and bloody nature of 10-year long revolution

Sharp angles of bodies inject drama

Ratified on January 31, 1917 Conferred strong powers to the president Laid basis for land reform

No major redistribution until 1934 Government ownership of mineral &d water

resources Placed restrictions on the church and clergy New labor laws

Universal suffrage Restrictions on Foreign Ownership 8 hour day Minimum wage Agrarian reform

Alvaro Obregón (1920-1924) Built schools and encouraged nationalism

Diego Rivera

Mexico becomes a single-party system Party of Revolutionary Institutions (PRI)

Dominated politics until 2000

Lázaro Cárdenas (1934-1940) Redistributed 45 million acres of land

253 million would be redistributed by 1984 Promoted economic nationalism

Nationalized railroads (1937) and oil (1938)

Land Distribution by Diego Rivera

Most tangible result of revolution was the redistribution of hacienda land to landless

1917 Constitution guaranteed lands and factory workers protection

Nation Culture changed as Zapata and Madero became heroes.

1910 – 2% owned land

1940 – 33% owned land (President Lazaro Cardenas)

Madero became president 1911

Over one million people died Revolution lacked a plan, a philosophy,

intellectual leadership, or political parties Farming, ranching, and mining economies

were destroyed Oil industry improved during revolution

No major bank or newspaper survived

BENEFITS DOES NOT BENEFIT

Mexican middle class Some Mexican workers Greater integration of

poor & indigenous Emphasized nationalism &

indigenism Seen in artistic movements

(Diego Rivera) The PRI

Picks Mexican leaders Little Real Democracy

Poorest Mexican Agricultural Workers Poorly paid Illiteracy

Mural by Diego Rivera showing aunified Mexican society

Democracy Questioned Amidst Great Depression1920-1950

Authoritarianism on the Rise

• Latin America’s export oriented economy hit hard by Depression

• Governments not easily categorized – Populist rhetoric of left

• Goals = social reform & improved conditions for poor

– Fascist rhetoric of right• Nationalism & strong government-industry

cooperation to foster industrialization

Economic Policy• Import substitution policies were adopted by most

nations in Latin America from the 1930s until the late 1980s.

• Adoption of ISI is attributed to the impact of the Great Depression, when:– Latin American countries, which exported primary

products (henequen, fruit, beef) and imported almost all of the industrialized goods they consumed (radios, appliances), were prevented from importing due to a sharp decline in their foreign sales.

– This served as an incentive for the domestic production of the goods they needed.

Import Substitution Defined• Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI)

– a trade & economic policy based on the premise that a country should attempt to reduce its foreign dependency through the local production of industrialized products

– ISI requires state-induced industrialization through government spending

ISI in Latin America• Efforts at ISI based on pragmatic choices to face

the economic limitations caused by recession

– Populist governments in Brazil (Vargas) & Argentina (Peron) modeled Fascist Italy as inspiration of state-induced industrialization

• Vargas & Perón saw industrialization (especially steel production) as synonymous w/ "progress"

– Positivism which sought a "strong government" to "modernize" society – played a major influence on Latin American military thinking in the 20th century

Changes in Brazil’s Economy

• Interwar Years– rapidly industrializing nation– "the sleeping giant of the

Americas" & potential world power

• Oligarchic “Old Republic” dominated however– landed interests resisted

change, industrialization, urbanization, & other broad interests of new middle class

Vargas-Brazil• Dissatisfaction grew in

Brazil over oligarchic rule– frustrated with the politics of

the cafe’ com leite (landed elites in coffee and cattle business)

– election of Washington Luis denounced as fraudulent (often the case in the period known as the Old Republic 1889–1930).

• Vargas’ Liberal Alliance forms to challenge the political status quo– won support of Brazil's

growing urban middle class & military officers

– October 1930: bloodless coup

Vargas & ISI in Brazil• Getúlio Vargas enters

– served as president & dictator from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1954

• Focused on state interventionist policy to stimulate economy– Utilized tax breaks– Utilized import quotas to expand

the domestic industrial base

• Linked pro-industrial policies to nationalism– Advocated heavy tariffs to "perfect

our manufacturers to the point where it will become unpatriotic to feed or clothe ourselves with imported goods."

Vargas-Brazil• Parallels European police

states in 1934– new constitution w/

direct quasi-fascist influences

• Fascist-style programs serve two important aims in Brazil– stimulating industrial

growth– suppressing communist

influence

Vargas-ISI in Brazil• 1934 Constitution

– placed government authority over the private economy

– Established a system of state-guided capitalism aimed at industrialization & reducing foreign dependency

– Promoted corporatism: a strategy to increase industrial output utilizing a strong nationalist appeal & co-opting workers' demands under the banner of nationalism

• expanded social programs & set minimum wage • but also placed stringent limits on union organizing

& "unauthorized" strikes.

Vargas & Brazil – example of Authoritarianism 1920-1950Populist-like• "the father of the poor” • expanded the electorate • granted women's suffrage

Fascist-like

• whittled down the autonomy of labor

• crushed dissent

Cold War & USSR Championing Communism1950-1965

Cold WarStruggle between U.S. & USSR

dictates government forms in Latin Amer after WWIIWhen USSR peaks = communism spread

in Latin AmerEx = Cuba

The Spanish-American War: 1898The Spanish-American War: 1898The Spanish-American War: 1898The Spanish-American War: 1898

Cuban Cuban “Independence” ?“Independence” ?

Cuban Cuban “Independence” ?“Independence” ?Platt AmendmentPlatt Amendment (1903) (1903)

1.1.Cuba was not to enter into any agreements Cuba was not to enter into any agreements withwithforeign powers that would endanger its foreign powers that would endanger its independence.independence.

2.2.The U.S. could intervene in Cuban affairs if The U.S. could intervene in Cuban affairs if necessary to maintain an efficient, necessary to maintain an efficient, independent govt.independent govt.

3.3.Cuba must lease Cuba must lease Guantanamo Bay Guantanamo Bay to the to the U.S. forU.S. fornaval and coaling station.naval and coaling station.

4.4.Cuba must not build up an excessive public Cuba must not build up an excessive public debt.debt.

American Soldiers in American Soldiers in Cuba in 1902Cuba in 1902

American Soldiers in American Soldiers in Cuba in 1902Cuba in 1902

FulgencioFulgencioBatistaBatista

FulgencioFulgencioBatistaBatista

Fidel Castro as a Fidel Castro as a Young Young

RevolutionaryRevolutionary

Fidel Castro as a Fidel Castro as a Young Young

RevolutionaryRevolutionary

Cuban “Young Cuban “Young Pioneers”Pioneers”

Cuban “Young Cuban “Young Pioneers”Pioneers”

What were some of Castro’s What were some of Castro’s reforms??reforms??

What were some of Castro’s What were some of Castro’s reforms??reforms??

Cuba is Cuba is 9090 Miles Miles from the Florida Coastfrom the Florida Coast

Cuba is Cuba is 9090 Miles Miles from the Florida Coastfrom the Florida Coast

A Soviet “Client-State”A Soviet “Client-State”A Soviet “Client-State”A Soviet “Client-State”

The The Cuban Cuban Missile Missile Crisis:Crisis:

OctoberOctober,,

19621962

The The Cuban Cuban Missile Missile Crisis:Crisis:

OctoberOctober,,

19621962

SovietSoviet--Cuban Cuban ConstructionConstructionSovietSoviet--Cuban Cuban ConstructionConstruction

SovietSoviet--Cuban Cuban ConstructionConstructionSovietSoviet--Cuban Cuban ConstructionConstruction

Global Thermal Global Thermal Nuclear WarNuclear War??

Global Thermal Global Thermal Nuclear WarNuclear War??

Range of the Cuban Range of the Cuban MissilesMissiles

Range of the Cuban Range of the Cuban MissilesMissiles

Cuban RefugeesCuban RefugeesCuban RefugeesCuban Refugees

The Cuban The Cuban Adjustment Act - 1966Adjustment Act - 1966

The Cuban The Cuban Adjustment Act - 1966Adjustment Act - 1966

Cuba todayCuba today

• Remains the most rigidly communist Remains the most rigidly communist nation in world, along w/ North Koreanation in world, along w/ North Korea

Cold War & USA Championing Alternatives1965-present

Cold WarStruggle between U.S. & USSR dictates

government forms in Latin Amer after WWIIWhen U.S. peaks = military dictators…then democracyRemember: “the enemy of my enemy is

my friend”