Bell Ringer What do you know about Latin America? What is an oligarchy? Name a country that is in Latin America.

Bell Ringer

• What do you know about Latin America?

• What is an oligarchy?

• Name a country that is in Latin America.

Bell Ringer

• What can cause instability in the government?

• What European Powers had Latin American largely won their independence from?

• What type of governments did the New Latin American countries want to set up?

Bell Ringer

• Why were elite vs masses struggles common in Latin America?

• What things were exported from Latin America?

• Name an individual associated with the Mexican Civil war or Revolution of 1910

Bell Ringer

• Name one person who was a President of Mexico between 1910 and 1914.

• Name a US President who supported a Mexican Leader. Why?

• What affect do you think the Great Depression would have on the instability of Mexico?

CH 21: Influences & Political Revolutions in the Americas

Changes to Latin America• The 1800s saw a number of

revolutions that brought South and Latin American independence from European powers, specifically Spain & Portugal

• These new nations modeled their new constitutions and governments on the USA and other European countries (France)

• Traditionally, Latin America had been ruled by oligarchies, or small groups of upper class citizens

• Though many of these nations received independence from Europe, their countries were plagued by instability.

• Caudillos, army generals or powerful civilian leaders backed by armed groups, attempted to seize power of these countries

• Caudillos were often from the upper class, so when they assumed control of the government they did so with the support of the upper class.

Argentina• One exception to the chaos was

Argentina.• Juan Manuel was able to rule

Argentina from 1835-1852• He successfully defeated multiple

overthrow attempts by caudillos• Most countries were not so lucky– Mexico had 48 governments between

1825-1855– Chile had 30 governments between

1823-1830

Elite v Masses• Latin America was denoted by a

struggle between the Elite and the Masses

• The Elite attempted to preserve the old colonial ways, where much of their power base was found

• The Elite was composed of wealthy merchants and professionals

• Though the Elites often claimed they would rule in Enlightened ways to best benefit all people: they often only had their own well being in mind, and believed most commoners were not ready for more rights

• The result were strong governments, and civil unrest• Most Latin & South American nations (Argentina, Colombia,

Uruguay, and Venezuela) experienced long periods of unrest• Venezuela continued until 1908 when a military dictator took

over (an is currently rebelling)

Economic & Social Trends of Latin America

• Latin America was largely based on exports– Americans and Europeans bought

coffee and sugar– Great Britain bought cattle and sheep – Rubber, wool, copper, and nitrates

were brought across Europe• These Latin American countries

started to develop their roads, harbors, railroads, and invested in steam power. Foreign investors were often involved in these upgrades

• By the early 1900s the US replaced Britain as the biggest investor in Latin America– What have we learned that helps to

explain this (Doctrine & Corollary)? • US investments brought about rapid

industrialization• By World War I Latin American

produced– 18% of the world’s grain– 38% of the world’s sugar– 62% of the world’s coffee, cocoa, & tea

• This made Latin America rich, but the masses did not benefit as much as most

• As ranches and plantations grew many peasants and native Indians were forced off their land.

• Many of these people moved to the cities in search of factory jobs, and the population of cities boomed– San Paulo, Brazil: 1883-1907: 35,000 -

> 350,000– Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 1890-1920:

500,000 -> 1,000,000• The populations of Bolivia, Ecuador,

Paraguay, and Peru remained largely rural

Mexican Revolution

• In 1910 Mexico had 30 years of stable government

• The President, General Porfirio Diaz, had repeatedly won re-election in rigged elections

• He also kept control of the country by suppressing the newspapers, and killing those who opposed them

• Diaz kept control by claiming that he was modernizing the country and preparing it for democracy– Foreign investors built railroads,

factories, mines, irrigation, agricultural communities, and the oil industry

• Most of the wealth accumulated from stayed in the upper class.

• This upset the middle class, the poor stayed poor, and the criticism of Diaz continued to grow

Revolution of 1910• The discontent with Diaz grew,

and in 1910 a wealthy land owner, Francisco Madero, ran for President

• Diaz was not overly concerned about Madero, and believed that he would be able to control this election like the previous 30 years

• The problem for Diaz, however, was that the popular support for Madero continued to grow

• Faced with the fact that he might not win the election Diaz took reasonable steps– Diaz had Madero arrested

• Madero escaped from prison and called on the people of Mexico to revolt– Madero was shocked when no

uprising happened• Madero used his wealth to start a

rebellion– He hired bandits in the North, the

most famous being Pancho Villa– In the south an Indian leader

Emiliano Zapata raised an army of 5,000 men

• The rebels faced the Mexican Army and won, Diaz fled to Europe & Madero became President

• Madero was president, but only briefly– Zapata stopped supporting Madero when

the President refused to return lands taken from Indians

• Unhappy workers took advantage of the situation, joined unions, and started going on strikes for better labor conditions

• Diaz’s former supporters launched their own revolts, which were put down by Army General Victoriano Huerta

• Madero placed taxes on Mexico’s oil production, which annoyed the US and British investors who controlled the fields

• US President Taft took measures to protect US investments and supported General Huerta– The US mobilized troops to back a

revolution, but they never got involved• Huerta forced Madero’s resignation

in 1913, and became President– Huerta had Madero executed shortly

after

• Huerta was soon overthrown by Madero’s ally Venustiano Carranza– Villa, Zapata, and a rancher named Alvaro Obregon led

the army• US President Wilson, when he became President in

1913, supported pro-Carranza rebel– This was contradictory to the fact that the last US

President had supported Huerta

• Huerta fled Mexico under increased US pressure

• In August of 1914 Carranza declared himself President

• Villa and Zapata turned against Carranza, but the Mexican army had defeated both by 1915

• Periodic fighting took place until 1934

Constitution of 1917

• In 1917, under President Carranza, created a new constitution

• It turned revolutionary ideas into law– The government could seize and

redistribute land– Created minimum wage– Limited working hours– Created government sponsored

retirement, life, health, and unemployment insurance

– Workers could create unions and strike– All Mexicans could have free public

education– Created Freedom of Religion

• The last stipulation of the new constitution nationalized Mexico’s mineral and oil resources

• Though Carranza helped to form the constitution he didn’t carry it out

• The people lost faith in Carranza, and backed the Revolutionary hero Alvaro Obregon.

• When Carranza tried to arrest Obregon fighting broke out, and Carranza fled the country

• Obregon would become the 1st Mexican President elected in a free and fair election

Post-Revolution• Many historians called Obregon’s

election the end of the Mexican Revolution

• Obregon took significant steps to institute social reform throughout Mexico

• He moved slowly to avoid angering– The Catholic Church– Foreign Investors– Elites of Mexico

• There were still period rebellions & assassination attempts

• In 1928 Obregon was re-elected as President, but was assassinated before he could take office

• His replacement, Plutarcho Calles, developed a plan on how to make Mexico Politically stable

• He created the National Revolutionary Party– It invited leaders from the

military, peasants, labor, regional, and religious groups to help select a new president• NRP is now called the PRI

• In 1934 a radical reformer was named President of Mexico, Lazaro Cardenas

• He carried out the reforms of the Constitution– He distributed land to landless farmers– He strengthened labor unions– He seized the railroads and oil industry

from foreign countries.– He strengthened the peasants influence

in the PRI– The PRI would help to control Mexico

for the rest of the 20th century• The implementation of these reforms

makes some historians say the Mexican Revolution in 1940

Mexican Revolution’s Impact

• Most of Latin America admired the Mexican Revolution

• The Mexican Revolution weakened traditional power structures across Latin America– Argentina gave all males the right to vote in 1912– Argentina would elect it’s first President and not

an oligarchy– Peru would give native Indian political rights

– Chile benefitted urban workers– 1929 Ecuador gave women the right to vote

(Brazil, Cuba, Uruguay all did by 1934)– In 1925 Ecuador overthrew their government– Bolivia waged war with Paraguay– Brazil’s wealthy landowners controlled the

government, and became known as the “coffee elite”

– Venezuela was the world’s largest exporter of oil (Still high in that list)

Great Depression• The Great Depression

destroyed the economy of Latin America– The price of sugar, bananas,

copper, and oil all fell dramatically

• The Elites still had power, but they weren’t as powerful as before

• Reform minded governments cracked down on labor and peasant groups

• The Depression cut down on exports, and Latin American nations became more self reliant

• Across Latin America life manifested in many different ways– Columbia and Brazil became more self reliant– Mexico and Bolivia struck against their foreign

investors– Paraguay remained largely rural and isolated