Latin America’s road to democracy is longer and more complex than that of Africa or Asia. Colonized by Spain, Portugal, France, and Britain, the predominant cultural influence in the region has remained Spanish. After the arrival of Columbus in 1492, subsequent Spanish explorations forced an end to native imperial cultures, such as the Aztec in Central America and the Inca in South America. European colonization introduced a complex class system based on ancestry, and Spanish companies invested in massive plantations. While some Europeans saw in the Americas a nearly endless opportunity for religious conversions, the region was seen by Spanish and Portuguese royalty as a major source of income. Indigenous people were often subjugated and forced to work for very little compensation on plantations, and eventually, African slaves were added to increase the labor force.
By the beginning of the 19th century, the system in Latin America was due for change. It started with rebellions against the French in Haiti, where the native population--along with slaves and Mestizos (those of native and Spanish ancestry)--began to take advantage of Napoleon’s destabilization of Europe. Spanish dominance in America began to fracture, with Simon Bolivar leading several nations to independence by 1815, and other nations well on their way to freedom by the middle of the century.
Many of the newly independent nations struggled to maintain order from the beginning since they had depended on the Spanish for security and economic development. The region also had no strong history of democracy, and dictators and strongmen, called caudillos, were eager to seize power. When Spain's influence ended, the United States tried to exert economic influence and control in the vacuum created by Europe's departure. Today, Latin America still suffers from corruption and policies that often prevent sustained economic growth and development.
Read about these three examples of Latin American democracies. Would you consider them successes or failures?
Costa Rica
Argentina
Venezuela
Costa Rica began as part of the Spanish colony of Guatemala. Due to trade restrictions and a lack of native population to press into work, the region was never developed fully under Spanish control, leaving settlers to work their own land. The Spanish continued to ignore what it believed to be a poor and worthless province, which allowed Costa Rica to develop without much interference. In 1821, as Mexico broke from Spain, Guatemala declared independence, too, and Costa Rica followed its lead. In 1838 after some internal struggle, Costa Rica declared itself free and independent.
Almost immediately, American interests pushed into the areas abandoned by Spain. The United Fruit Company and other business ventures tried to exert influence in the region and to dictate the direction of government in their favor. However, Costa Rica's independent streak allowed it to resist U.S. influence and expel overly aggressive American businesses by the early 1900s. Other than two periods of violence--the dictatorship of General Federico Tinoco Granados and the Costa Rican Civil War--the nation has operated as an unbroken democracy since 1948. Its stability has even allowed the goverenment to eliminate use of a national military.
What is now Argentina was colonized by the Spanish as the Governorate of Rio de la Plata in the mid-1500s. By 1776, the region had become a viceroyalty. However, by 1810, the local population had formed a new government to replace colonial power, writing its own Declaration of Independence in 1816. From there, a series of power shifts occurred, causing Argentina to change direction again and again. In 1861, Batolome Mitre finally united the nation and served as its true first president. A period of real democratic freedom prevailed for the next 80 years until the military coup of 1930.
The military coup brought an end to Argentina's progress toward a stable democracy. A series of military leaders failed to redirect the nation until after World War II when Juan Peron was elected. Serving with his wife Eva, he led what has been described as a liberal dictatorship, a form of government that left the nation in severe debt. Throughout the 1960s, power shifted between Peron and more radical factions. By 1983, a new system had emerged that was Peronist in approach, leading the nation into further economic troubles. Finally, in 2015, Argentina had its first true election. The new leader, Mauricio Macri, took an austere approach to government, ending Peron's approach to spending.
Venezuela was first colonized by Spain in 1522. Ruled as a part of other colonies for centuries, it was reorganized as a self-ruling colony in 1776. Then, after a series of unsuccessful revolts, Venezuela declared independence on July 5, 1811. A rebellion and a natural disaster ended its experiment with autonomy soon after it started. A second republic, proclaimed on August 7, 1813, lasted several months before being crushed as well. It would take war and the help of Simon Bolivar and José Antonio Páez to gain true independence in 1830, but any success with democracy was limited by dictatorships and military caudillos until 1958.
Throughout the 1960s, Venezuela had a series of democratically elected governments. Exploiting its massive oil reserves, the nation saw an economic boom that failed after huge public spending and accumulation of internal and external debts, along with a drop in oil prices. in 1992, Venezuelans were desperate for change. Two coups were attempted and failed that year. By 1998, one of the coup leaders, Hugo Chavez, was elected on a reform platform called the "Bolivarian Revolution," but his administration quickly become a socialist dictatorship. Nationalizing all industry and redistributing wealth and land, Chavez made the nation dependent on oil alone. Elections occurred regularly, but there was only ever one name on the ballet: Hugo Chavez. Chavez died in 2013, and his lieutenant, Nicolas Maduro, took power. Stepping up the ideals of Chavez, Maduro drove the nation into poverty when oil prices fell. In addition, he also suppressed the legislature and drove the country further into debt, all while wielding iron-fisted control over the populace via the military. As of 2018, Maduro remains in power, and the general population faces starvation daily.
Question
What is different about Latin American independence movements compared to Africa and Asia?
