Week 5: Caudillos Versus the Nation State

This week’s readings dealt with the caudillo leaders after independence was introduced. From google searching the definition of a caudillo, it was easily concluded that caudillos were military leaders who were had an extreme amount of power and had the ability to use this power along with violence to defend and spread their interests. It is due to these leaders that there were barely any times of peace shortly after independence. Caudillos provided security, food, and support to the people that were at the bottom of the power hierarchy if the caudillos received support in return; the two scratched each other’s backs.

“The Slaughterhouse” by Esteban Echeverria was one of the longer reads, but was engaging. It gave a tangible image of how large differences between two groups of people can lead to conflict. The text depicts the story of the conflict between two groups on opposite ends of every spectrum: the Unitarians and Federalists. From the way Echeverria wrote the text, it is safe to assume him to favour the Unitarians. He depicts the Federalists as extremely cruel and gross barbarians and the Unitarians as a civilized people. Echeverria also uses the theme of slaughterhouses and animals to emphasize the barbarian nature between the Federalists and Unitarians.

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