The economy of Latin American countries such as Argentina have often focused on only one main product at a time and imported many of the other products needed. Argentina especially followed this economic strategy in the late 1800’s. Latin American countries focus on one product it does well and does not stray from that product. The countries were just following trends and taking advantage of what the market dictates is a worthwhile product. This strategy can fall short of having long-term success and lead to a land of poverty. This was the case in most every country in Latin America, and all the economy revolved around the growth of industry in each country. Technology, increased immigration, European influence, and political policy all influenced the economic state of Latin American countries and led to economic struggles. The main products that drive the economy of Latin American in the nineteenth century require products and resources that are easily available to the countries of the area. For Argentina, the country focuses on exporting temperate agricultural products (Furtado 131). The workers needed in the fields, and vast amount of land to grow crops is plentiful. The land is already available, but to become more equipped to excel in agriculture, the country needs an influx of able- bodied workers. Many factors contributed to Argentina’s inability to accomplish trading on par with the United States and European countries. Argentina focused only on agriculture and thus ignored other burgeoning industries advancing in the late 1800’s. The Argentinian elite were more content to reform old ways than to totally overhaul the way their country did business (Wood, Chasteen 140).Their contact with Europe and the United States ga... ... middle of paper ... ...ad a general feeling of apathy towards the country as a whole. European influence guided Latin America in many decisions throughout the nineteenth century. Not all instances of European culture were beneficial for Latin America to follow. The Latin American economic model prevented much change in the countries that it affected. While the model allowed countries such as Argentina to succeed for a time, the long-term results are unsatisfactory. With all of these factors considered, it is not surprising that Latin America is stricken with poverty and inequality. Works Cited Henderson, T. "Modern Latin American History Lecture." Auburn University Montgomery, Montgomery, AL. Sept. 2011. Lecture. Wood, James A., and John Charles Chasteen. Problems in Modern Latin American History: Sources and Interpretations. 3rd ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2009. Print.
Models for post-revolutionary Latin American government are born of the complex economic and social realities of 17th and 18th century Europe. From the momentum of the Enlightenment came major political rebellions of the elite class against entrenched national monarchies and systems of power. Within this time period of elitist revolt and intensive political restructuring, the fundamental basis for both liberal and conservative ideology was driven deep into Latin American soil. However, as neither ideology sought to fulfill or even recognize the needs or rights of mestizo people under government rule, the initial liberal doctrine pervading Latin American nations perpetuated racism and economic exploitation, and paved the way for all-consuming, cultural wars in the centuries to come.
8. Meyer, Michael C., et al. The Course of Mexican History, 7th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
Mignolo, W. D. (2005). The Idea of Latin America (pp. 1-94). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
Immediately after Argentina’s military regime was over the newly reinstated democratic government kept its neoliberal economic system and was praised for doing so. Many organizations claimed that Argentina would be the country that would lead other Latin American countries into the future through its use of neoliberal pol...
In the 1500s Pedro Alvares Cabral landed on Brazil, previously a inhabited by tribal nations, and claimed the land in the name of Portugal. Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until September 7, 1822 when it declared its independence becoming the Empire of Brazil making the nation a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. In early 1964, a Military junta took control of the nation until it fell in 1985 further changing the structure of the nation, and finally in 1988 a formal constitution was created enacting 26 states encompassing its boarders. Throughout the history of Brazil, the nation was never able to fully immerse itself in the international market and expand its economy, until today. Latin America has not had the best of luck when it comes to economic development and many nations in Latin America have similar issues when it comes to economic and societal development, and many of these issues are cause by the same things. For example, before the military coup in 1964 Brazil was in massive amounts of debt to international partners, however, during the military rule the payment of this debt was halted so the trust and economic backing of countries stopped with the payments. Many plans have been enacted after the fall of the military control to reverse the economic downfall that occurred in the country and continent in the 20th century and especially in the 1980s, the lost decade. In Brazil alone, there have been at least seven economic plans to reverse the economic hardships of the country, from the Cruzado Plan to the Real Plan, none seemed to work. However, in the past decade the Brazilian economy has seen an amazing increase and the condition of life of the people in the nation has increased with it. The quest...
I this paper I am going to compare impacts of liberalization between two countries: Poland and Argentina. Let me first start with Argentina will compare the background, policies and consequences of both the countries. In Poland we say “Don’t praise the day before sunset.” By the early twentieth century Argentina was seventh wealthiest country. According to Jurnal of Latin America Studies “At this time, when the nation boasted one of the highest rates of growth of per capita income, no-one would have dared to question its growth potential. Indeed Argentina’s economic evolution during that period could be compared with that of Australia and Canada.” Today, the country is bankrupt on a scale unprecedented in history. Liberal economy, worshiped there until recently as holiness , bothering recession . Argentina was once the richest countries in the world . Now it is spreading appalling poverty . The unemployment rate in 1991 of 6.5 % has more than tripled .
... a great contrast to the most apparent feature of the Western Society. The Westerners created new political ideologies never seen before, resulting in neither an absolute or dictatorial structure. The Catholic Church still remained an intricate part of the Latin American life and continued to provide a key cultural adhesive throughout the Latin civilization, as the Western Societies role of religion lost popularity. The loss of interest in the church was partly because of the rising popularity nationalism and socialism provided as competition for the church. Lastly, The Latin American economy depended mainly on their agriculture and consisted of each country developing a cash crop or mineral specialty, while industrialization left an immense imprint on the shape of society in Western nations, by creating new specialty professions which required extensive training.
Benjamin Keen, Keith Haynes. A History of Latin America Seventh Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston New York, 2004.
Galeano, Eduardo. Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent. Translated by Cedric Belfrage. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1997.
1995. The 'Secondary' of the 'Second Chile’s Free-Market Miracle: A Second Look. Oakland, Cal: Food First. Hojman, David. The. 1999.
Mignolo, W. D. (2005). The Idea of Latin America (pp. 1-94). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
Europeans arrived in Argentina in 1502. Spain established a permanent colony on Buenos Aires in 1580. Later on Argentina will become independent, but it will not come until July 9, 1816. From 1880 to 1930s Argentina was one of the top 10 wealthiest nations based on their agriculture. It wasn’t until 1986 that Argentina became a democracy, before that it was under military regime. During 1998 and 2002 Argentina had a major economic downfall. This is known as the Argentinean great depression. There were a couple of reasons: During the military regime the country went into debt for not finishing projects. Also, after democracy came back the new president try to stabilize the economy by creating a new currency, thus the country needed loans for this to happen. The debt eventually rose and the country had lost the confidence of the lenders.
“Capitalism is a world system. But some of its parts have more than their share of leadership.”(Cardoso xxi). Latin America, like much of the third and second world has received far lesser dividends from the fruits of capitalism. In fact due to its close geographic location to the united states and its strong early history of colonialism Latin America is a shining example of how economic dependency has evolved. From its moment liberation Latin America has been seen as a economic tool by the west, particularly by the USA, and continues to be economically dominated to this day. From the Eve of conquest the region has used its economic power mostly to the benefit of another nation.
New York, N.Y., 1991. Bethell, Leslie. A. The Cambridge History of Latin America Vol. III. Cambridge University Press, London, England.
Prebisch, formerly the head of the Central Bank of Argentina, saw the world as two distinct areas: a center of economic power in Europe and the United States and a periphery of weaker countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Prebisch concluded that Latin America’s underdevelopment was because of its importance on primary exports. The periphery was underdeveloped because it needed to create more sustenance and raw materials for export in order to import a specific amount of industrial imports. Andre Gunder Frank expressed that external monopoly resulted in the foreign expropriation, and thus local unavailability, of a significant part of the actual economic surplus produced in Latin America. Therefore, the region was actively underdeveloped by not generating at its potential and losing its surplus to Europe and North America. Peripheral countries were kept from accomplishing development because they sold their products at prices below their value, while rich countries sold products at prices above their value (Peet and Hartwick pp. 188 -199). Thus, in contrast to modernization theory, which emphasized the benefits of free trade, foreign investment, and foreign aid, these theorists argued that free trade and international market