This source will be very useful to our project, because it contains a lot of information on caudillos. It has a few paragraphs defining what a caudillo is and their role in Latin American history. It also lists some examples of famous caudillos from a variety of countries. This source is more academic and contains more facts than my other source, which is mostly opinion based. I think the examples of famous caudillos will be very useful for our project as well as the definitions and time periods the source gives us. It talks about how caudillos rose to power and how they were important in Latin American history. It even talks about how caudillism developed. I think this source has a lot of information we can use in the project.

“Caudillos in Spanish America 1800–1850 – Oxford Scholarship.” Caudillos in Spanish America 1800–1850 – Oxford Scholarship. N.p., 17 Nov. 2014. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.

In an article from Politico Magazine, Donald Trump is compared to the caudillos of Latin America. Since this source comes from a magazine, it may not necessarily be the most academic, but I think it is very relevant to our studies on caudillos. It relates Latin American history to the modern day United States and the issues we are facing today. The article compares Trump to many Latin American dictators and caudillos who reached a position of a government leader. It focuses mainly on Ecuador and their president, Rafael Correa. Trump’s political ideas are nothing like those of Correa, but his method of reaching power was very similar. Both men reached power through means very similar to those of caudillos. They motivated people to believe in them through charisma and promises of change, rather than through any political ideas or views they possess. Even though Trump represents the opposite of what we claim our country stands for, he has no experience in politics, and no political agenda, he was still able to gain power through solely his personality and the show he put on for people, much like caudillos. The article talks about the “Latin Americanization” of the United States and how our politics may be becoming more like those of Latin America. This article is very interesting, because it connects history with modern times as well as Latin America with the United States.

 
Wofford, By Ben, By Gillian Brassil, By Jack Shafer, By Marion Smith, By J.M. Berger, By James Higdon, and By Julie Sedivy. “Pinochet. Chavez. Trump?” POLITICO Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2016

This week’s reading focused on the positive changes as well as the problems that occurred during the Gilded Age in Latin America. While much of Latin America experienced economic growth during this time, there were also a lot of social problems created. Many problems occurred with the rural and indigenous populations. These populations became more active in society due to these problems and civil rights movements began. This created civil wars and violence in many Latin American countries. The modernization of Latin American countries did not benefit all of their citizens equally. Porfirio Diaz can be seen as an example of the how this time brought both positive and negative changes all at once. He brought many positive changes to Mexico, helping it to modernize and become more economically stable. However, his government was a dictatorship due to the rigged election and it created the beginning of revolutions and civil wars within the country. This time in Latin America caused many changes to occur within both governments and society and it has greatly influenced Latin America today.

As someone who grew up in the United States, this chapter was very interested to me. It is shocking how little we are actually taught about even the history of our own country. Our government has interfered with so many countries, in Latin America and around the world, and we are barely taught anything about it. The overthrow of Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala is a good example of this. Jacobo Arbenz was making positive changes in Guatemala, but these changes interfered with trade between the U.S. and Guatemala through the company UCFO. It seems ridiculous to think that the United States overthrew the government of an entire country just for the sake of trading bananas. Another example of the United States meddling in Latin American politics is the Civil War in El Salvador. The U.S. supported the Salvadoran government while several communist states supported the rebel forces. We were never taught about these events in U.S. education even though our government played a large role in them. I am sure that there are many other events such as these that we also never learned about. It appears that the U.S. did not act as a “big brother” in these situations. The responsibility of a big brother would be to help less powerful countries succeed and build strong relationships with them. However, the U.S. appears to have only interfered with these countries for the purpose of only strengthening its own economy, regardless of what happens to the other countries’ governments and citizens.