A History of Modern Latin America

Now available in a fully-revised and updated second edition, A History of Modern Latin America offers a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the rich cultural and political history of this vibrant region from the onset of independence to the present day.

• Includes coverage of the recent opening of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba as well as a new chapter exploring economic growth and environmental sustainability
• Balances accounts of the lives of prominent figures with those of ordinary people from a diverse array of social, racial, and ethnic backgrounds
• Features first-hand accounts, documents, and excerpts from fiction interspersed throughout the narrative to provide tangible examples of historical ideas
• Examines gender and its influence on political and economic change and the important role of popular culture, including music, art, sports, and movies, in the formation of Latin American cultural identity 
• Includes all-new study questions and topics for discussion at the end of each chapter, plus comprehensive updates to the suggested readings

Preface to the Second Edition xiii

Acknowledgments xvii

1 Introduction to the Land and Its People 1

Geography 2

People 2

Economies 7

Politics 8

Culture and Entertainment 13

Latin America: Past and Present 22

Topics and Questions for Discussion 23

2 Latin America in 1790 24

Colonial Background 25

Power and Privilege 29

Wealth 30

Colonial Administration 34

Enlightened Monarchy 36

The Agents of the Reform 37

Disorder and Rebellion 39

Discontent and Disorder in Brazil 41

Changing Gender Roles 42

On the Road to Independence 44

Nationalism and American Culture 44

Conclusion 49

Topics and Questions for Discussion 49

3 Competing Notions of Freedom 51

Five Roads to Independence 52

African Slavery in the Americas 53

Slavery and the Countryside 57

Slavery in the Cities 58

Treatment and Punishment 60

Slavery and the Church 60

African Medicine and Religious Practices 61

Resistance and Rebellion 63

The Sugar Colony of Saint-Domingue 65

The Slave Revolt 66

The Revolution Betrayed 68

Brazil’s Independent Empire 69

Independence in Mexico 71

South American Independence 73

Post-independence Changes in Racial and Gender Status 77

The Last Holdout of Slavery in Spanish America 78

Latin America in a ChangingWorld Order 80

Conclusion 81

Topics and Questions for Discussion 82

4 Fragmented Nationalisms 84

Searching for Political and Economic Unity 84

NewWorld “Feudalism” 86

Post-independence Politics 90

Argentina and the Tyrants 92

Populist Caudillismo: Paraguay and Bolivia 93

After Caudillismo 96

Race, Race Mixture, and Liberalism 97

Gender and Liberalism 100

Intersections of Gender, Race, and Class 103

Nationalism 105

Conclusion 108

Topics and Questions for Discussion 108

5 Latin America’s Place in the Commodity Chain 110

The Guano Boom 111

Nitrates in Chile 113

The Growth of S˜ao Paulo 116

Colombian Coffee 118

The Rubber Boom 119

Expanding Exports 121

Mexico and US Expansionism 122

The North American Invasion 124

General L´opez de Santa Anna 126

The New Age of Imperialism 127

Central America and the Panama Canal 128

Ecuador and the “Panama” Hat 130

Independence at Last? Cuba and Puerto Rico 131

Conclusion 138

Topics and Questions for Discussion 138

6 Immigration, and Urban and Rural Life 140

Asian Immigration 141

European Immigration 142

The Southern Cone 144

Life on the Pampas 146

British Investment 148

The Changing Cultural Landscape 149

Urban Renewal 152

Mexico and Benito Ju´arez 154

French Invasions 155

The Rise of Porfirio D´ýaz 156

Intellectual Theories: Positivism and Eugenics 157

Conclusion 159

Topics and Questions for Discussion 160

7 Revolution from Countryside to City: Mexico 161

The Porfiriato 162

Opposition to the Porfiriato 164

Constitutional Opposition 165

Madero Assassinated 167

US Intervention 168

Women in Combat 169

Carranza as President 170

The Constitution of 1917 171

Aftermath of Struggle 174

Agrarian Revolts in Latin America 175

Conclusion 177

Topics and Questions for Discussion 178

8 The Left and the Socialist Alternative 180

Socialism on theWorld Stage 180

Social Reform and the Middle Class 181

Anarchism, Socialism, and Anarcho-syndicalism 182

Women in theWorkforce 183

Colombia: Resistance to the United Fruit Company 185

The Labor Movement 186

Socialism and the Arts 188

Tenentes Revolt and Brazilian Communism 190

Modern ArtWeek in Brazil 191

Women in the Arts 192

Socialism versus Capitalism 194

Jos´e Carlos Mari´ategui 195

Conclusion 196

Topics and Questions for Discussion 196

9 Populism and the Struggle for Change 198

Get ´ ulio Vargas and “New State” Politics 200

Juan Per´on and Peronism 202

Per´on’s Fall from Grace 205

Politics Engendered 206

Revolutionizing Mexico: L´azaro C´ardenas 208

Populism in Colombia and Peru 209

Central America 211

The Long Twentieth Century 215

Conclusion 216

Topics and Questions for Discussion 216

10 Post-WorldWar II Struggles for Sovereignty 218

WorldWar II 218

TemporaryWorker Program 220

Post-war Latin America 223

Military versus Civilian Rule 224

The Absolute Dictator: Rafael Trujillo 227

Americas in Transition: Guatemala and Bolivia 230

Guatemala 231

Revolution in Bolivia 233

Mining and the Voice of Bolivian Activism 235

The Revolution in Decline 237

Conclusion 239

Topics and Questions for Discussion 240

11 Cuba: Guerrillas Take Power 241

“HistoryWill Absolve Me” 243

Causes for Discontent 243

The RevolutionaryWar 244

Ernesto “Che” Guevara 247

What Difference Did the Revolution Make? 250

The Special Period in Peacetime 252

Democratic Shortcomings 253

Cuba and theWorld 255

Conclusion 258

Topics and Questions for Discussion 258

12 Progress and Reaction 260

Modernization and Progress 260

Brazil’s Military Coup 262

The National Security State 263

Latin America’s Youth Movement 264

Mexico 265

The Massacre at Tlatelolco 265

The Chilean Road to Socialism 267

The Chilean Road to Socialism Dead Ends 269

Urban GuerrillaWarfare: Uruguay 270

Urban GuerrillaWarfare: Argentina 272

Dictatorship and State Terror 274

Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo 277

TheWar of the Malvinas/Falkland Islands 278

Movements for Revolutionary Change: Peru 280

Sendero Luminoso, Shining Path 281

Women and Shining Path 283

Repression and Fujimori 284

Conclusion 285

Topics and Questions for Discussion 286

13 Revolution and Its Alternatives 287

A Changing Catholic Church 288

Marxism and Catholic Humanism 289

The Opposition 291

The Somozas versus Sandino: the Next Generation 292

The Sandinista Opposition 293

Sandinistas in Power 296

United States and the Sandinistas 299

Effects of the ContraWar 300

Central America in Turmoil: El Salvador and Guatemala 301

Politics of Repression in El Salvador 302

The Opposition 304

The Fighting Ends 305

Guatemala: The BloodiestWar 306

The Evangelical Alternative 309

Colombia: The LongestWar 311

TheWar on Drugs in Latin America 314

Conclusion 316

Topics and Questions for Discussion 317

14 The Americas in the Twenty-first Century 318

TheWashington Consensus 319

Brazil and theWorkers’ Alternative 321

TheWorkers’ Party in Power 322

Bolivia: Twenty-first-century Indigenismo 324

Venezuela and the Legacy of Hugo Ch´avez 326

The Bolivarian Mission 329

The Pink Tide Stalls 330

Chile’s Transition to Democracy 331

New Social Movements 332

Movements for Racial and Gender Equality 334

Conclusion 338

Topics and Questions for Discussion 338

15 A Future of Sustainable Cooperation? 340

Opponents Confront Free Trade 341

The Latin Americanization of the United States 344

Immigration and Neoliberalism 346

Central American Refugees 347

Sharing the Environment and the Cost of Stewardship 349

Conclusion 353

Topics and Questions for Discussion 354

Further Reading 355

Index 369

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