This week, I came to realize that social structures in the world today are just a subtler version of social structures long ago. While some claim that, in free countries, success is based on merit and creativity – working hard and working smart. There is another element that prevails and, in my opinion, will always prevail which is networking. While today, a good relationship with someone holding a high position can be more sufficient than the difference between two candidates for a job and can contribute to one’s success, the wellbeing and life of people in post-independence Latin America DEPENDED solely on their relationship with the elites of society in the Caudillos system.

I learnt about the power vacuum that was filled by the Caudillos and left by the colonialists, which dominated Latin America. The elites of society took advantage of the lack of powerful governments and political instability in the 19^th century, which was filled with war and conflict, who did as they pleased and traded financial and security benefits for the support of peasants to defend their actions.

Liberalism did not seem to be popular amongst the people of Latin America, who grew used to the high levels of corruption. I however, do not entirely agree with “The Slaughterhouse” where Echeverria saw those who backed the Caudillos at fault. Although the adoption of liberalism by peasants would leave the Caudillos much weaker, the priority of a peasant every morning is to ensure they are able to put a meal on the table for their families. The process of a liberalist revolution would be slow and difficult to spread as peasants would risk losing their relationships with the Caudillos and, more importantly, risk the wellbeing of their families. I blame the Caudillos themselves for not using their power to influence change, perhaps because they enjoyed the wealth and wellbeing gap between them and the less privileged. I also blame the European colonialists for not facilitating the instalment of a powerful system, for they were the ones responsible for the societal gap.