Modernity in Spain and Latin America

Modernity in Spain and Latin the StatesHistory of Latin America II (Revolution Dictatorship) wherefore has it been so difficult to establish elective political institutions in Latin America? IntroductionThroughout history, Latin America has struggled with repeated clashes between politicians and citizens. The problems caused by these periods in these nations history are still felt today and in order to understand the reasons as to why it has been so difficult to establish antiauthoritarian political institutions in these countries, we must wonder distinct periods in their histories that have shaped the countries into what they are today.Many of the countries in Latin America undergo their post-independence periods well-nigh the same time, with the majority of countries experiencing their Early Nation full point between 1825 and 1850. These periods can be characterised by the struggles for independence and constant civil war and unrest as class systems operated in the countries and so political independence meant different things for different classes1. Because of this system and their vastly different needs that were to be met by regimens, any attempts to mix the many sides and create democratic political institutions that represent the whole of society were, and are still, met with strong opposition.However, it is to be noted that not all of the problems in the field were as a result of government opposition many of the problems arose cod to the countries being so vast and infrastructure being so poor, meaning it was fractious to communicate with, and so govern, the people living outside of the main cities2. The majority of these people were indigenous and did not speak Spanish3 and this added to the issues if the people could not understand what they were sense of hearing from the government, and not respond to this because of a language barrier, no democratic system would represent their views, no matter how hard it tried. For these marginalised groups, it did not matter which group of Creole elite were in power this time, it was simply another political party who did not understand their views in order to represent them.4For ease of illustration, we shall look more(prenominal) closely at two specific countries and two different but defining periods in their histories.MexicoFocussing firstly on Mexico Mexicos Early National Period spanned from 1821 to 18765. During this period, it was clear each region had strong affinities with their own area and so from the outset the political parties who formed the apparent systems of democratic government had to not solo convince the people that they were the best party to be in power, but also, and arguably more importantly, that they should replace their ties with the caudillo6 who ruled their area with an affinity to the country-wide leader who, for many, was energy more than a name.This problem of the peoples reluctance to embrace a democratic political system for the whole of M exico was exacerbated by the fact the caudillos were strongly averse to such(prenominal) a big change these leaders had ruled their area for over a decade and were not going to submit to a national governing body system easily. Indeed, such a system was entirely antithetical to the interests of the caudillos who would inevitably suffer in these systems7. Thus, they led coups and revolts of their people against the government and since domineering caudillos ruled the people, if the caudillo did not agree with the new system of government, then the people should submit to the views of the caudillo and not agree with the new system of government either8.During this time, not only was Mexico attempting to create a democratic political system amidst unrest from its own citizens, but Spain attempted to reconquer Mexico (1829), France blocked their Atlantic coast (1838-41) and the United States seized half of Mexicos land (1846-49). commodious Britain also seized the Falkland Islands as Las Malvinas in 1833. Clearly, then, this unstable political environment did not encourage people to embrace the haphazard attempts at creating democratic political institutions in Mexicos Early National Period. Uprisings inspired by caudillos, language barriers preventing understanding and poor infrastructure preventing communication all contributed to the difficulties of the time.It is clear to see that Mexicos early attempts to create democratic political institutions were thwarted by worldwide attempt to reconquer the country and by internal attempts to overthrow new governments by caudillos and their supporters. The people felt estrange and isolated from central government, and so when their caudillo whom they knew and with whom they could communicate told them what to do, they understood his rules and followed those rather than follow rules made by the government who did not represent them.BoliviaMoving on to investigate a different time in Bolivia. The causes of the difficu lties in establishing democratic political institutions in more recent times in Bolivia were less intra-national and more international, due to countries becoming more reliant on international trade and the world economy. Thus, when this crashed in the 1970s the relatively new democratic governments could not withstand the squash and the countries reverted to past authoritarian ways.9One school of thought reasons that this was due to the extremely high poverty rates in the country citizens were more concerned approximately fighting for their lives by ensuring they had sufficient necessities in order to live than they were close fighting for political democracy. Indeed, in 1976 85% of the Bolivian population were living with insatiate basic needs10. This was caused by constant changes in ruler since 1964 and almost antithetical policies of successive leaders,11 meaning people could not rely on the government as policies introduced by one party were overturned and directly opposi ng policies introduced by the next12. The people became apathetic to politics as their participation was limited and they knew that military leaders and dictators would not represent their views. No matter which military regime stormed their way to power, they would continue to suffer.When General Ren Barrientos orchestrated a coup in 1964, the following 18 years in politics saw uninterrupted military rule, and General Hugo Banzers authoritarianism between 1971 and 1978 was the longest spanning of the different regimes13. This time was filled with unrest and power the military regimes did not appreciate criticism or opposition. Things were done how Banzer wanted them to be done and opponents simply disappeared14. Clearly this is not democratic since a dictatorship is the exact opposite of democracy and the peoples views are irrelevant in such systems. Banzer did not seek to redistribute wealth and the people were, again, the ones to suffer. They did not want Banzer to be in the pos ition he was, but he forced his way to power and there was nothing a normal citizen could do about it. as yet after the end of Banzers rule, extreme political instability meant people distrusted the government. The succeeding governments seemed to forget about the countrys internal problems and focussed so much on international spending and borrowing15 that the people continued to suffer. It wasnt until 1982 when the country elected Siles as president did the people begin to have a say again and attempts to restore democracy were made.Bolivia remains one of the poorest countries in Latin America16, generally seen to be a result of the past authoritarian dictators and their regimes creating insurmountable debt. These leaders did not care about the countrys internal affairs and sought to boost international trade at the expense of their people. The people, therefore, suffered undeniably at the hands of these leaders. It is impossible to create democratic political institutions if the leaders do not care about the citizens of the country and seek only to benefit themselves. Bolivia is a prime example of a country who experienced great difficulty in establishing democratic political institutions as the military ruled the country for a long time, and any change in government was not as a result of democratic election but violent coup. The people simply had to accept what was happening in the politics of their country, or risk their lives trying to change it.ConclusionIt is clear, then, that establishing democratic political institutions has not been easy in Latin America, specifically in Mexico and Bolivia, for many reasons. From the outset, Mexico had to tackle twain international opposition to their ruling of their own country, and internal resistance from caudillos and their supporters, while Bolivia continued to struggle until very recently with dictatorship and extraordinarily high levels of debt preventing phylogenesis of democracy.BibliographyAtlantic Coun cil, Urbanization in Latin America. (2014) uncommitted at http//www.atlanticcouncil.org/publications/articles/urbanization-in-latin-america accessed on 30/11/16BBC, Mexico Profile- Timeline. Available at http//www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19828041 accessed on 30/11/16BBC, Timeline Bolivia. Available at http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/country_profiles/1218814.stm accessed on 30/11/16Ewout, Frankema The Colonial Origins of Inequality Exploring the Causes and Consequences of Land Distribution in Poverty, Inequality, and Policy in Latin America (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2009) pp19-45Fowler, go out. Latin America Since 1780 (Hodder Education, 2008)Hansen, Edward C. Wolf, Eric R. Caudillo Politics A Structured Analysis in Comparative Studies in Society and History, Volume 9, Issue 2 (January 1967) pp168-179Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, General statistics on killings and disappearances of union activists. BOL5479, 11 June 1990. Available at http s//www.ecoi.net/local_link/170859/272293_en.html accessed on 30/11/16Lynch, John Caudillos in Spanish America 1800- 1850 (Oxford University Press, 1992)McNeish, John-Andrew, Stones on the Road The Politics of Participation and the Generation of Crisis in Bolivia in Bulletin of Latin American Research, Vol. 25, No. 2 (Institute of Anthropology, University of Bergen, Norway, 2006) pp. 220-240,Morales, Juan A. Sachs, Jeffrey D Bolivias Economic Crisis in growth Country Debt and the World Economy (University of Chicago Press, 1989) pp57- 80Pastor, Manuel younger Bolivia Hyperinflation, Stabilisation and Beyond in Journal of Development Studies, 1991Republic of Bolivia, Poverty reducing Strategy Paper (La Paz, 2001)Sivak, Martin El dictador elegido biografa no autorizada de Hugo Banzer Surez (Plural Editores, 2001)UNICEF, Bolivia. Situation of Poverty in the Country. Available at https//www.unicef.org/bolivia/english/resources_2332.html accessed on 30/11/161 Will Fowler, Latin America S ince 1780 (Hodder Education, 2008) p342 In 1950 only 40% of the Latin American population lived in urban areas. Atlantic Council, Urbanization in Latin America. (2014)Available at http//www.atlanticcouncil.org/publications/articles/urbanization-in-latin-america accessed on 30/11/163 Fowler, Latin America Since 1780 p364 ibid5 BBC, Mexico Profile- Timeline. Available at http//www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19828041 accessed on 30/11/166 Caudillos is most accurately translated as chieftain, lineage from the Latin caput meaning head. See Eric R. Wolf, Edward C. Hansen Caudillo Politics A Structured Analysis in Comparative Studies in Society and History, Volume 9, Issue 2 (January 1967) pp168-179 at p1697 Wolf, Hansen, p1708 John Lynch, Caudillos in Spanish America 1800- 1850 (Oxford University Press, 1992)9 Fowler, Latin America Since 1780 p13410 Republic of Bolivia, Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (La Paz, 2001) p1611 Juan A. Morales, Jeffrey D. Sachs Bolivias Economic Crisi s in Developing Country Debt and the World Economy (University of Chicago Press, 1989) pp57- 80, table 3.2 p5912 BBC, Timeline Bolivia. Available at http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/country_profiles/1218814.stm accessed on 30/11/1613 Martin Sivak, El dictador elegido biografa no autorizada de Hugo Banzer Surez (Plural Editores, 2001)14 Exact figures are unknown. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, General statistics on killings and disappearances of union activists. BOL5479, 11 June 1990. Available at https//www.ecoi.net/local_link/170859/272293_en.html accessed on 30/11/1615 Manuel Pastor, Jr. Bolivia Hyperinflation, Stabilisation and Beyond in Journal of Development Studies, 1991. p21316 UNICEF, Bolivia. Situation of Poverty in the Country. Available at https//www.unicef.org/bolivia/english/resources_2332.html accessed on 30/11/16