Politics
I. The Great Depression of the 1930s and Latin America
II. Argentina and Peronism
III. Authoritarian Governments
IV. The Cuban Revolution
V. Bureaucratic Authoritarianism
VI. The Return to Democracy
VII. Conclusions
I. The Great Depression of the 1930s and Latin America
A. Export-Led and _________________________________ Development Until 1930
1. most nations in Latin America followed the pattern of Argentina: exporting agricultural and/or
mineral products to the core via __________________________________________ from Great
Britain and, to a lesser extent, France, Germany and the U.S.
2. landowning and merchant elites sought to control politics via ___________________________ and
military intervention in politics when necessary
A.4. this elite dominance was challenged periodically by __________________________________,
but elites successfully maintained control until the 1930s
5. Latin America’s __________________________________ the world economy as an exporter of
agricultural and mineral products made it very vulnerable to external economic changes
6. the Great Depression and dramatic decline in industrial production in the core meant there were no
_________________________________, creating economic and political crises across Latin America
B. Searching for a New Model of _________________________________________ in the 1930s
1. in the U.S. and Great Britain, the Depression led to the creation of the ______________________
and the labor-capital accord, a model that shared the benefits and costs of a capitalist economy
between capitalists, workers and the government
2. in Germany, Italy and Spain, the Depression led to _______________, a welfare state combined
with imperial expansion and extremely authoritarian governments that severely punished dissent
B.3. in the Soviet Union and for many _________________________________________________ in
Europe, the U.S., and Latin America, the third alternative was state socialism, the takeover of the
means of production by the state and the planning and distribution of production by the state
4. in Latin America, various groups struggled over ______________________________________: the
welfare state, fascism, or state socialism
5. armed rebellions and ________________________________ were common across Latin America
6. Argentina is an example of these conflicts
II. Argentina and Peronism
A. Political Debates Before the 1930s
1. in the 1910s and 1920s, Argentina witnessed growing political battles between the elites and the
growing ______________________________________, much of which was composed of European
immigrants who brought their political ideas with them
2. the _______________________________ was expanded to male members of the middle class, the
working class, and immigrants in the 1910s, increasing their political power and electing a party
representing the middle class in 1916, rather than a party of the elite
B. Instability and Authoritarianism in the 1930s
1. a coup in 1930s replaced the elected president with a ________________________________
2. this military leadership was soon replaced by a military government representing the
______________________________ that controlled politics and limited dissent
C. The New Development Model
1. __________________________________________ (ISI): replacing manufactured goods, especially
consumer goods, that had been imported from the core with goods produced in Argentina
C.2. The _____________________________ of 1933 with Great Britain that gave Argentine meat
exports privileged access to the British market in exchange for preferential treatment of British goods
and investments
3. ISI supported by the government and ___________________________ led to significant industrial
development from the 1930s through the 1950s
4. many _________________________________ unable to find jobs began moving to the cities in
search of opportunities, beginning a period of very rapid urbanization
D. The Rise of Juan Peron
1. Peron was a __________________________________ who had supported the coup that established
a fascist government, then was a military attache in fascist Italy
2. Peron sought to create a fascist government that was supported by both _____________________
3. Peron helped organize another coup in 1943 and asked to be appointed ______________________
E. Video: “Americas: the Garden of Forking Paths”
1. How did Peron rise to power?
2. How did Peron’s government affect the working class?
3. How did Peron’s government affect the wealthy landowners?
4. What were Peron’s strategies to promote development and independence?
5. What roles did Eva Peron play?
6. How did Peron’s government end in 1955?
II. Argentina and Peronism
F. Peron’s Legacy
1. overall, the effort to make Argentina economically independent from the __________________
2. ______________ manufactured products have reclaimed a large share of the Argentine market
3. many ________________________ became uncompetitive and closed
4. ________________ system bought from the British was too costly and inefficient
5. Peron was reelected president in 1973, but died in 1974 without __________________ economic
and social problems
6. _____________________________ in 1976 ended Peronist policies
III. Authoritarian Governments
A. Conflict Between Elites and __________________________________ Classes in Latin America
1. most Latin American nations faced the same types of conflicts between growing and increasingly
political powerful ______________________________ classes as in Argentina
2. elites sought to form political alliances with the ________________________, but the conflicts with
the working class were much more difficult to resolve
3. in British Commonwealth ______________________ nations (e.g. Jamaica, Guyana), pluralist
political party systems that included Labor as a political party created political stability
A.4. Brazil had a ________________________ government similar to Peron in the 1930s, with a
similar military takeover in the 1960s that controlled democracy for two decades
5. Mexico created an “______________________” with a one-party state and corporatism: the state
explicitly serving to balance the interests of capitalists, middle class, working class, and rural peasants
6. most common solution: ___________________________ supported by elites to control working and
middle classes (Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Nicaragua, Paraguay, others at various times)
B. Response to Authoritarian Governments: ____________________________
1. from the 1930s through the 1980s, _________________________________ by various groups were
common across the region
2. a ___________________ of groups participated in these rebellions in different countries, including
indigenous peoples, rural peasants, urban workers, urban middle classes, and university students
3. movements had a wide variety of ________________, ranging from nationalist and anti-imperialist
efforts to take control away from foreigners to socialist rebellions to overthrow the existing elites
B.4. 1952 ______________________________ by a broad coalition of classes nationalized tin mines
owned by elites and foreign mining companies, but elite-backed military coup regained power in 1964
5. elected leaders who sought to resolve social tensions and inequality by reforming the system often
overthrown by coups, frequently ___________________________
a. Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala in 1952 sought to expropriate unused agricultural land from U.S.-based
United Fruit Co., but ___________________ organized an invasion by Guatemalan exiles in 1954 that
overthrew the elected Arbenz government
IV. The Cuban Revolution
A. Cuba Before the 1959 Revolution
1. after the U.S. defeated Spain in the Spanish-American War of 1898, Cuba changed from a Spanish
colony to a ______________________________
2. Cuba ruled until 1959 either by elected governments closely controlled by ___________________
or by strongmen who seized control directly, the last of which was Fulgencio Batista
3. ___________________________ relied on support from the U.S. to maintain their control, despite
repeated efforts to restore democratic governments or to overthrow the military via armed rebellion
__________________ were the largest investors in Cuba, particularly sugar, tourism and gambling
B. The Cuban Revolution
1. corruption, violence against political opponents, extreme inequality, and resentment against U.S.
control generated widespread ________________________________ to Batista’s government
2. _____________________________ began a guerrilla campaign in 1956 with less than 100
supporters against Batista
3. Castro was a nationalist reformer, not a ____________________
4. a __________________________________ of support grew that included university students, urban
workers, the middle class, and the poor
5. Batista’s regime collapsed and ________________ with drew its support on January 1, 1959
B.6. Castro’s new government ______________________ most of the economy and began
establishing a one-party state
C. The U.S. Response and Cuba’s Alliance with the U.S.S.R.
1. U.S. government labeled Castro as a ______________________, since some of his most important
followers were Marxists and because of the nationalization of private property, including property
owned by U.S. companies
2. to help develop Cuba’s economy and gain protection from a potential U.S. invasion, Castro
gradually developed an extensive economic and political relationship with the ______________, which
was eager to gain an ally 90 miles from the U.S. as part of its Cold War strategy
C.3. U.S.-backed __________________ by Cuban exiles in April 1961 easily defeated by Castro
4. Castro formally declared himself and the Cuban revolution as ______________________
5. USSR began building _______________________________ in Cuba in 1962 to threaten the U.S.
6. in October 1962, U.S. and USSR almost began a ___________________ over the missiles
7. crisis resolved by removal of missiles and U.S. promise not to _____________________
8. U.S. instituted an __________________ against trade with Cuba that is still in effect
D. Cuba’s Efforts to Export Revolution
1. Che Guevara, one of Castro’s closest allies, helped ___________________________ rebellions in
other Latin American nations during 1960s
2. Cuba provided ____________________________ to a variety of groups, typically those fighting
against U.S.-supported governments in Latin America
3. Cuban troops also fought in wars in _____________ in 1960s and 1970s to help groups allied with
the USSR
E. Cuban Exiles in the U.S. and the Ongoing Conflict with Cuba
1. most of Cuba’s ________________ left Cuba after the Revolution and settled in Miami
E. 2. others escaped or allowed to leave over the ____________________________
3. Cuban elite exiles became an important political force in Miami and nationally via alliance with the
______________________________________________ to oppose Castro and other groups in the
region viewed as communists
4. ongoing conflict with Cuba and embargo maintained by this political alliance, despite Cuba’s
poverty and __________________________________________
V. Bureaucratic Authoritarianism
A. A New Type of Military Government, 1960-1990
1. _______________________________________: military takes over government leadership, but is
assisted by civilian technocrats (economists, managers, other professional personnel) who provide
expertise needed to run government agencies and promote development
2. led by _____________________________________ who felt the politicians were corrupt and
“making a mess of things” and that order, national security, and economic growth needed to be
restored, not by traditional military caudillos
A.3. military governments were usually closely allied with and supported by _______________
because of their anticommunism
4. Argentina, Brazil and ______________ were the three most important examples of this type of
government
B. Argentina’s Military Government
1. How did the Argentine military take power in 1976?
2. What were the consequences of the military’s efforts to defeat the political opposition?
3. Why did the Malvinas/Falklands war happen?
4. What were the consequences of Argentina’s defeat in the war?
5. What did President Menem do after the return to democracy?
VI. The Return to Democracy
A. The ______________________ of Bureaucratic Authoritarianism Due To:
1. ruthlessness of ____________________________________________ created substantial internal
resistance and international criticism
2. after initial economic success, military governments’ economic records were _____________
3. poor performance in running governments severely damaged the __________________________ of
these militaries
B. Argentina: the Election of Menem in 1989
1. Menem was a member of the _______________________ and was elected with a congressional
majority on a platform similar to Peron
2. after taking office, Menem ___________________________: privatizing state-owned companies,
ending subsidies for the poor and working class, and ending the protection of Argentine ISI industries,
allowing imports to increase rapidly
3. Menem argued that Argentina’s economic problems were so serious and the _______________ was
so different that he had no choice but to change policies
B.4. Menem ended ___________________________ (inflation rates of 100% and more a year) and
restored economic growth
5. Argentina was one of the _______________________________ in the world for most of the 1990s
6. an economic crisis that began in several peripheral countries in Asia and in Mexico in 1998-99 led
to an economic crisis in Argentina because of its ______________________ on manufactured imports,
imported capital, and export markets for Argentine products
7. the economy ________________ until 2003, and 37% of the population fell below the poverty line
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8. economic crisis created a _________________
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B.9. people in poverty formed a _____________________________ (piqueteros) that blocked
roads and occupied closed factories to force government to help them
10. Nestor Kirchner was _______________ 2003-07
11. he helped end crisis by building trade with Brazil, Venezuela and China, aiding piqueteros,
and increasing ________________________ over the economy, a partial return to Peron’s
model of state control over parts of the economy
12. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner elected _____________________ in 2007 and reelected in
2011
13. she has maintained these __________________________
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C. Almost All Latin American Nations Are Now _______________________________
1. most changes of government over the past decade have been peaceful and _________________
2. positive global _____________________________ for most of the 1990s helped the transition to
democracy by helping reduce poverty and unemployment
3. global economic problems since 1998-99 and the impacts of _________________________ policies
have created social unrest and conflict
4. a number of ________________________________________ have been made in several nations in
response to economic problems and social unrest: democracy is not guaranteed
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D. Ongoing Conflicts Over the Unequal Distribution of Land
1. Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez was a military officer who led a
_____________________________ in 1991, went to jail, and was later elected president
2. ___________________________________ favoring the poor over the traditional economic
and political elites face intense opposition in Venezuela and from the U.S., which views
Chavez as a closet communist
3. expropriation of __________________________________ and distribution to poor farmers
is Chavez’ latest populist strategy
4. Similar conflicts continue today in __________________, where the landless movement is a
major political force, and in many other Latin American nations
E. Political Shift to the Left Since 1998
1. election of Chavez in Venezuela in 1998 began a wave of _____________________
globalization, neoliberalism, and U.S. dominance over the region
2. Chavez seized land from big landowners, reopened closed factories as cooperatives, and
taken ____________________ away from foreign companies
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3. oil wealth from high prices allowed Chavez to use oil wealth to try to help the
_________________________________________
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4. Chavez was considered an enemy of the _____________
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5. U.S. backed opponents in elections, blocked arms sales to Venezuela by allies, and may have
engaged in _______________________ and efforts to assassinate Chavez
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E.6. Venezuela is one of the leading oil suppliers to the U.S., and Chavez tried to use
________________________________________ against the U.S.
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7. Chavez died in 2013, but his protégé Nicolas Maduro was
_____________________________ and plans to maintain his policies

8. similar conflicts over globalization, neoliberalism and U.S. control over natural resources in
__________________ led to revolt, presidential resignation, and election of a leftist president
who is an Aymara Indian, coca grower, and union leader who plans to raise taxes on Bolivia’s
huge natural gas exports, increase state control over the economy, and help the poor
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9. president of ______________ is negotiating similar changes in oil contracts
VII. Conclusions
A. Elites gradually lost their ____________________________________, despite political and
military strategies to maintain their control
B. Global economic conditions shape Latin American ____________________________: positive
global conditions aid development and, in some cases, democracy, while negative global conditions
create economic and social crises and often dramatic political changes
C. Elite and military efforts to control politics and economics generate significant ______________
and sometimes armed rebellion
D. ____________________ in the region has grown steadily, in large part due to Cold War
anticommunism
E. Democracy is _____________________________________
F. Political power has shifted to _________________________ opposed to globalization,
neoliberalism and U.S. dominance