Modern Latin America

During this week we begin to explore why the neocolonial system began to unravel in the 1910s and dissolved completely in the wake of the global economic depression of the 1930s. In the place of the neocolonial governments, which had dominated the Latin American political landscape for a half-century, we are going to see new forms of nationalism swept the region, bringing with it a blend of nativist spirit, economic reform, and racial identity reformation. During this week, we will explore how the neocolonial order collapse in Mexico, how the nationalist movements gave way to populist governments, and how the Latin American governments moved their nations into a deepening dependency on state management in order to solve their economic, political, and social ills.

I. Who were the nationalists and what did they believe in?

a. The nationalists were often urban, middle-class people, recent immigrants or people of racially mixed heritage.

b. What did they believe in? – Nationalists were committed to a larger, more ambitious, and ultimately more inclusive vision of change; declared psychological independence from Europe.

c. Who supported the nationalists? – Nationalists espoused simple truths – everybody belonged, the benefits of Progress should be shared, and industrial development should be the priority. These were important principles which offered a form of cohesion. Nationalist critiques of imperialism also provided a clear, external focus for resentment – foreign intervention, both military and monetary. Ultimately, nationalism attracted the ardent support of people across the social spectrum.

d. What forms did Latin American Nationalism take? – the dominate form of nationalism in LA was ethnic nationalism.

II. Nationalists take over

a. Mexico and the Mexican Revolution: The first nationalist government in Latin America

b. Vasconcelos and La Raza Cosmica

c. Frida Khalo and Diego de Rivera: The Real Frida; The people and the Nation

d. Jose Ordoñez Batlle and the rise of reformist populism in Uruguay

e. The Great depression and the collapse of the Neocolonial order.