In this last week’s readings and videos, we see how Latin Americans have been dealing with the array of issues that face the modern world. Many democracies have taken hold throughout the region and Latin America has generally seen economic growth. However, the most interesting change in the region has been the shifting methods of political participation. Whereas in the past violence and revolution were seen by many Latin American activists as the most effective way to enact change. Dawson argues that change can be enacted from within the existing political systems. Politics in Latin America are still quite volatile, and unrest driven by persistent inequality and dissatisfaction with existing governments is still very much present. A major manifestation of this is the “Left Turn,” which refers to a series of elected, left wing governments that are in power across Latin America. These leaders, such as Rafael Correa in Ecuador and Evo Morales in Bolivia, can still be considered revolutionary leaders, but their rise to power came from within widely accepted forms of government.

Today, many of the problems that effect Latin America and global issues that are also experienced in North America and across the world. An obvious sign of this is global environmental issues. Exploitation of natural resources remain the backbone of the economy in many states, and today many economies are experiencing an export boom similar to that experienced in the early twentieth century. As many domestic and international companies extract resources from the land, many Latin Americans today are dealing with a series of problems associated with deteriorating quality of land. In the face of this, many marginalized people have found ways to work within the system to have their voices heard. As Dawson noted, many of the leaders who allowed for mining to go unchecked found it difficult to maintain power as marginalized people withdrew support.

Interestingly, this is not necessarily a new idea. Dating back to the Colonial era, Latin America has always been a site of resource extracting that has had drastic effects for local populations. This is very much an endemic issue to the region. The interesting part of this is the changing methods of political participation that we can see. This is most evident among indigenous communities, who for centuries have been excluded from political processes, but today have found a way to work themselves into new democracies.