The reading of chapter 12 are quite new and strange to me. Like many events in Latin America, it was a mystery to me, and quite honestly I’m shocked that I had never heard of this. Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, were protesting and demanding answers for the disappearance of their children. The association was first organized in 1977 following the disappearance of their children. It was said that their children went missing during the military dictatorship in Argentina which took place between 1976 to 1983. It was a truly devastating story, mothers protesting against the government, and demanding to know where THEIR children were, is strange and heartbreaking. For a mother to demand to see her child again, is not something that should be considered outrageous.

Initially the Argentinian government was comfortable with The Mothers’ protests, assuming that their presence wouldn’t cause a disturbance. But their perseverance, and their traumatic story reached national headlines, and started to become an issue. To oppose The Mothers the government began to threaten and in extreme cases kill them. This story is an example of how countries in Latin America are have always in some ways been ruled by repressive governments. The countries in Latin America, have struggled with maintaining the peace between the government and the people.

In the short documentary that we watched in class they said that the mothers are still protesting, and their legacy lives on.

I had already heard of Fujimori and the terror that he caused in Peru. Both my parents are from Peru, and I myself was born there, so this chapter wasn’t new to me. The only way that I can relate to this chapter is through persona; experiences, and stories which my parents experienced and had to live through.

Both of them we born in Lima which meant that in some ways they experienced more privileges that others did not. In Lima, at the time, there were many more opportunities, technologies and social systems that weren’t available anywhere else. So when the people outside of the city felt compelled to fight to have those same resources, it felt justified. The internal war that broke out in Peru, was supposed to be mitigated by Fujimori, but in reality, he was responsible for the killings of innocent people, who were wrongfully prosecuted. Fujimori had violated many human rights regulations and was ultimately punished for his crimes.

I think for me this takes a personal turn in the stories that my parents told me about that time, they said that there were power outages and bombing within Lima. That the city didn’t feel safe. My father once told me that he would have had to fight in the war if he hadn’t been in university. The Lima of that time was not the Lima I had grown to know. I only really found out about the events that occurred in the 80s. when I asked my father if we had ever experienced any wars like the ones I had learned about in school. I found it odd that we weren’t required to learn about this important and saddening event in school because it wasn’t required. Although it’s no secret that the school curriculum is very westernized, I still felt that we had to learn about these kinds of events, because if we didn’t then we all would have a very narrow and limited view of the world around us.

In the latest presidential campaign in Peru, Fujimori’s’ daughter chose to run. It’s a little scary because she came very close to winning as well.

The first source I chose is Rewriting Womanhood: Feminism, Subjectivity, and the Angel of the House in the Latin American Novel, 1887-1903 by Nancy LaGreca. It was an important piece of literature which is centralized around life for civilians in Puerto Rico. The novel is significant because I used it to give a bit of a backstory for the articles written by Maria Eugenia Echenique and Josefina Pelliza De Sagasta. It discusses the life of women and how the church influenced their way of living. The church created an outline one of which women were expected to live by. They believed that the Virgin Mary was the ideal that all women should follow, that they should present themselves as the sacrificial image of “the Angel of the House”. This in some ways shows the kind of world Josefina lived in, it also shows how it had an impact on the way she perceived her position in the world as a woman. It was interesting to see how she held herself in an important position in the household, but at the same time, she downgraded herself, as she thought that women weren’t, and couldn’t be better than men.

The second source I chose to use is: “The Emancipation of Women: Argentina 1876”, written by Maria Eugenia Echenique and Josefina Pelliza De Sagasta. It was a fantastic source because it presented an extensive view of the discussion between Echenique and De Sagasta. It presented a wider view of their argument, which included a less generalized point from either side. Although the textbook gave me the gist of what each writer thought about, the source included new arguments, and also brought new scholars into the conversion, overall orchestrating a more interesting and in deep discussion. 

This chapter is an extension of the previous chapter. it focuses on the export boom, but it gives us an different point of view, one which paints a totally different picture. The boom created wealth for many nations in Latin America. Wealth, and modernity always has a two sided story: the exapnsion of richess of the wealthy, in extchange for the exploitation of the many. The elites at the time had a great deal of power over the middle and lower classes. The elite’s power created a clear division between many socities, as was seen in Mexico and Argentina. The middle class fought for demoracy and better ways of living, making clear and resonable demands, but as it has always been the case, the power withheld by those few elites, was able to supress them.

Although the export boom in 19th century Latin America happened quite a while ago, it’s still quite relevant today. The needs of those few, are always more important than the majority. In some ways the elites have a very narrow view of what the world, and what their view of progress really looks like to others. Although, they may be progressing as their wealth keeps on growing, others may be struggling to keep up. There is a similarity bewteen the society in 19th century Latin America and the one which is presented today. The wealthy create what the world looks like, and the rest are meant to follow, because what other choice do they have? Some have an accumulated wealth of 40% of Americans (Bill Gates), enogh to feed and house many people who are faced with devasting condions, this is the system in which we live in.

Chapters 4 and 5 have showed me the two sided world of Latin America in the 19th century. Although , there has always been two sides to every story, to me it’s saddenning to see that the problems of the past, have followed us on the road to modernity.

Chapter 4 of Dawson’s Latin America Since the Independence focuses on the modernization of Latin America, in some ways, it can be perceived that Latin America is more concentrated in transforming itself to be European. Modernization in some of Latin America’s nations focused on innovation in the expansion of new technologies. The export boom in Latin America saw the emergence of new technologies in new road development, the expansion of trains, trolleys, and sewage systems. The export boom in Latin America, of course, created wealth for many nations, which inevitably made the rich richer.

Exportation called for a new found dependence on other nations. Latin America’s dependence on others was a huge problem. If the other nations decided that they would no longer do business with Latin America, then it would create serious problems for Latin America. Being reliant on others is never a good option, although there weren’t many other choices presented in Latin America. Exportation was the way to modernity, but it was also it’s downfall.

The road to modernity was documented in Latin America, by photographs in the 19th century. Cameras documented construction projects, new buildings, national festivals, electrical lights, and paved roads all created physical copies of the export boom. Although all these new things were a sign of Latin America adopting new European ideas, it became more than that. Latin America was showing itself capable of modernizing, both in its artistic mediums but also in its scientific innovations.

Photographs were also a great way of documenting “Latin America for outsiders” (123). These new photographs presented a way to introduce the peasant and the laborers in a realistic light. By the way they dressed, the background of the photograph, and the accessories they chose to wear, all worked together to present a racial identity. The way one dressed could say a lot about where they came from and where their social standing was. They could reinvent themselves if they chose to, by simply wearing different clothes, they could eliminate some of their pasts. This was a clear sign of modernity, to illustrate a different image of the peasants, and the laborers through the photographic medium was a clear sign that things were beginning to change in Latin America.

This week’s chapter amplifies the importance of technology when it comes to speaking to the masses, and spreading a message. The radio was an important and easy way to make the people feel united as if together they held an importance over the elites, and without their support, the elites could not succeed. Civil society felt empowered, they could share their cultures with each other and develop an even greater sense of community. This new age of technology brought power to the people.

The radio was also an effective way for politicians to get their message across, now rather than just speaking to a small gathering their voices could even reach other nations. So, of course, they would try to exploit the power offered by the radio. They saw that the radio was used by the majority of the population, they could easily spread government ideals (Hora do Brazil), but such advances were often ridiculed. The problem was that citizens had built a sort of exclusive community, one which did not include the elites.

In contrast, sometimes the views of the government and specific politicians could also empower the people like Evita did. She was able to expand social aid, and to this day remains a powerful figure in Argentina.

The use of media by politicians to reach the people is a tactic that is still used today. With new social networking platforms, it becomes increasingly more difficult for politicians to break through to the people. Media gives power back to the people in the sense that they can choose to reject or accept a politicians approaches, but it also has the effect that politicians are able to speak to the masses, and whose voices now reach different countries, but at the end of the day by standing together the people hold a great amount of power, one that should not be taken for granted.

This chapter was fascinating to me because it speaks as to how Western ideals and media have contributed to forming a stereotypical view of Latin America. It also discusses the topic of America’s Empire which was propelled by their military and commercial intrusions, this affected how Latin America was shaped and the needs and aspirations they had were influenced by American ideals.

The banana was in many ways influential in Latin America. Bananas were easily cultivated in Central America, which of course attracted North American influence. The UFCO had a significant impact in Latin America, not only did it control a massive fruit company it had control over cities as well. The plantations were sites of hard work and horrible treatment, and communities were faced with many internal dilemmas.The UFCO took over Guatemala and trying to combat the UFCO or American forces seemed to be a losing battle, as they were backed by powerful influences like the CIA. Which forced many to simply adopt American influences.

American products stemmed a new culture of consumption in Latin America, where Jazz, and Coca-Cola, and Elvis were admired and wanted. This to me seems to be where so many problems began. Latin America wanted to be like the North, but the North only viewed them as a foreign, and exotic place where they could spread their influence. It was only seen as a place to visit. The North still viewed them an unknown, and to try to understand they painted Latin America in a stereotypical light, which in turn influenced how the United States viewed them. This picture is skewed, and some of these same stereotypes are present today.

For me, it’s just frustrating to see how American influence affected Latin America whose people are unique and special in their own way, but they’re still influenced by their Northern counterparts. This was seen through the 50’s to today. These views as Latin America as a vacation spot and an adventure failed to teach others the vast cultures found there, that can’t be modeled in only one version of Latin America.

Growing up in Canada the topic of slavery wasn’t really discussed, especially not the events that happened in Latin America, which is what makes this chapter kind of eye opening for me, I now have a different view not just how slavery affected western societies, but how others were affected as well. The topics of caste systems, race, rights, and the limitations of citizenship are just some issues that affected many in the New Republics. The chapter also compares how slavery functioned in the United States to how it functioned in Latin America, highlighting how slavery in Brazil, didn’t have much to do with race. The chapter was particularly interesting to me as it contrasted slavery in Brazil, to the one in the States.

In the USA slave owners wanted their slaves to live longer, even wanting them to form a family, as to create a lineage that would work for the owners for generations to come. Obviously, this was not to say that their living conditions were improved by any means, The life expectancy in Brazil of slaves was three years.The treatment of slaves in the United States heavily affected their politics. It created a clear division of race and generated stereotypes and prejudice attitudes which are still present today.

And of course, the ever so surprising passage written by Josefina Pelliza de Sagasta. I found the way that she described women to be in some ways contradictory to what she said their roles were. Although she painted women in this poetic and beautiful form, she still believed they were inferior to men. It was just strange to read that someone genuinely believed that women did not deserve the independence that their male counterparts had because it would “lose their poetic charms and prestige of their weakness”, it’s troubling and saddening to read, because women are seen in her eyes, as beautiful creatures, whose limitations make them desirable.

This week’s readings were as insightful as last week’s. I had no previous knowledge of the Caudillos and how they influenced politics in the Latin America. I found it compelling how they caused a lot of terror and were incredibly violent but the people were still interested in following them, and they continuously went back to the Caudillos looking for guidance.

What I found the most interesting about the Caudillos was their ability to attract the people despite being corrupt. They were able to present themselves in a way that made them out to be “brotherly or fatherly” to the people. They were also incredibly charismatic. It’s clear to see why the people would be more willing to follow someone who they believed could voice their opinions, and not only that but someone who could also give them the respect they deserved. In return for their loyalty, the Caudillos did just that.

But it’s also obvious that the people from the rural villages would be more willing to follow the Caudillos. They were more action oriented, they showed their faces to the peasantry, and served as this middle ground between the peasants and the more powerful elites. These countries were also politically unstable, which helped the Caudillos gain popularity. The peasants weren’t educated, the state hadn’t served them and seemed to be following their own personal agenda, and when the Caudillos came, they promised them the opposite, speaking to them in a manner they could understand, of course, they’d favor the Caudillos.

The one thing that I’m unsure about is why they kept coming back to the Caudillos after they’d caused them so much turmoil. For example, Juan Manuel de Rosas was a brutal leader. He led by a dictatorship, accompanied by his own secret police. How did they continue to gain power? Maybe it was because they were more appealing that being led by the state, who would disregard the peasantry, I’m not sure.

Whether or not the Caudillos were completely bad or good it’s hard to say, but their presence was instrumental in Latin America’s political development.

This week’s readings were quite interesting as it offered a new perspective for me. I had basic knowledge regarding who Simon Bolivar was, he was a The Liberator, and a soldier who led the revolutions against Spain, but I wasn’t quite aware of his ideas, or his political agenda.

The part that I personally found the most interesting was how Bolivar said that to be a functioning society Latin America had to first work together, but this was not going to happen. The countries in Latin America have very different histories, and cultures for them to be led under one ideology might simply be unrealistic. In Bolivar’s perspective to expel the Spaniards, first, a union must be formed.

There’s a lot of different points of view in Latin America regarding politics from Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Haiti. In particular, I found his idea regarding the future of Peru to be fascinating. I had some previous knowledge of Peru’s struggles regarding liberty while at the same time having that class division between gold and slaves. Bolivar’s point stating that Peru has a lot of work to do if they plan to recover their independence is quite logical. How will they achieve liberty if the rich won’t accept democracy and the slaves will never accept aristocracy. Their divisions are preventing the country from achieving freedom. This great division of ideas can kind of give an idea of what the government of Peru will look like in the future. It’s evident in the text Bolivar’s disparity when in comes to their inability to rule themselves, and in turn, they will always need the guidance of the Spaniards.