Summary: '' Latin American Politics and Development'' by Kline, Wade and Wiarda
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Course
Politics Latin America
Institution
Universiteit Leiden (UL)
Book
Latin American Politics and Development
In this summary you can find all the chapters that were needed to read for the course Politics: Latin America. That is why the chapters are in this order as they follow the themes of the lectures. Each chapter is completely summarized with the subheadings like in the book.
chapter 18: Mexico: Democratization and violence (José Luis Velasco)
Mexico is going through one of the more dynamic and challenging epochs of it's long and
convulsive history. Despite having problems such as being involved in many drug and crime
related instances, major immigrant movements to the US, financial instability , huge
inequalities and corruption. However Mexico's economy was the 15th largest in the world in
2015 and is pretty modern as well. Most importantly, Mexico was able to move relatively
peaceful from an authoritarian regime to an competitive system with respect for human rights
from conquest to revolution
Before the arrival of the Spaniards there were already huge cities and cultures in
mesoamerica. Unfortunately this arrival had a very bad outcome for the indians, with
diseases being death cause number 1. In the field of politics, Mexico became the core of
New Spain. After being under the rule of spain for over more than three decades, the
bourbon reforms and the reorganization into intendancies contributed to the struggle for
independence. This battle became an extremely expensive one, and resulted in an
independant conservative Mexican kingdom.
The politics in the new kingdom became chaotic because none of the established kings
wanted to accept the Mexican crown, this resulted in several coups, wars, military regimes
and personal dictatorships. Besides that there were also ideological differences between the
federalists and the centralists. With all this chaos domestically, and without the ''protection''
from Spain, Mexico became vulnerable to other countries and lost a lot of territory
although progress was rapid, so was the accumulation of problems, among others the
distribution of land, workers repression etc. Resulting in people not feeling happy with the
regime anymore what caused the beginning of the Mexican revolution (1910). what would
mark the development of Mexico for the rest of the 20th century. This revolution caused
several outbreaks of revolutionaries who caused leaders to step down or to be assassinated.
In the end the constitutionalists had won, but peace was not in reach.
the post revolutionary regime
one can say that by 1920 the military phase of the revolution was mostly over. The country
however was wrecked. trying to reconstruct the country also meant redefining relations
between the state and the church, this resulted in yet another war.
A major pillar of this post revolution era was the loyalty of the masses. To achieve this, one
measure was necessary; land reform. Another development after the revolution was the
increasing urbanization and industrialization of Mexico.
post revolutionary nationalism in Mexico was largely defensive: a desire to fend off foreign
intervention, especially from the US and a refusal to get entangled in international
confrontations. This was especially seen in economic matters and in security and diplomatic
matters.
Another development in this period was corruption, that was massively used in the political
system to be able to control the people with what seemed not so much violence. and
,although it seems as if the regime was mostly authoritarian, on paper it was a democracy,
but in reality was all power with the president.
economic transition
the 1980's were a lost decade for Mexico. → huge inflation, debts, fall of domestic
production. etc. the measurements the government took, such as cutting public spending
and wages, were also taken to reform and dismantle the old state led protectionist model, to
replace it for a free market.
democratization, elections and the state:
paralleling the transition to competitive markets was a movement towards competitive
politics, this process was however quite slow. In the 2000's it seemed that after almost 30
years the transition to democracy was complete. There remained however some problems,
the winning party never had the full majority to rule, and the most opposition came from
social right movements. And besides corruption another problem was that the government
was incapable or unwilling to punish crimes. And then there is the violation of human rights,
the lack of political coordination and fraud in voting
society: groups, rights and values
the above transitions to democracy and a free market was accompanied by equally profound
transitions in the social sphere. civil society became more independent and plural. This could
also be seen in former traditional fields such as labor. Same for different types of media that
now started growing. The diversification of Mexican society has been accompanied by a
change in culture and values, there is greater tolerance for sexual diversity, less acceptance
of violence against women and children, a strong rejection of violence in teaching and even
a passionate defense of animal rights.
Mexico can be proud of its diverse and vibrant civil society. Yet this civility stands on a
persistently rigid and exclusionary social structure.
violence: criminal and political
the most fearful manifestation of this uncivil society is the high number of so called
executions, homicides attributed to organized criminals. Almost all of them are drugs related.
When this began, the Mexican government first tried to simply ignore it. After demandings
from powerful organizations and the US, the government started to launch projects that
would fight the drugs criminality with violence.
besides this there is also a rebel society, a constellation of insurgent groups and radical
social movements that by different means try to subvert the prevailing political order
foreign relations
since the early 20th century, Mexico's foreign relations have revolved around a single
country → the United States. (even stronger after the NAFTA establishment, now weaker
after the election of Trump) in the future, the foreign relations will keep pivoting around the
US. This however should not lead one to ignore the tensions that exist on such important
issues as migration, security and trade. Sooner or later these tensions will require serious
,adjustments in the bilateral relationship. Adjustments that will inevitably affect Mexico's
relations with all other countries.
chapter 19: Cuba: Revolution in the balance? (Juan M. del Aguila)
as the only nation in the Western Hemisphere that adopted revolutionary communism for its
model of political development, Cuba stands separate from other latin American nations. The
central role played by Fidel Castro from the beginning of the revolution is key to
understanding developments in Cubain the years since he and his followers came to power.
Under his rule, Cuba became an influential actor in regional politics engaged in an unusual
degree of revolutionary activism. The defining characteristic for the Cuban revolution in the
two decades since the end of the cold war has been chronic economic difficulty and
remarkable political durability.
history, political culture and early development
unlike many other developing countries, Cuba has not experienced a dramatic rise in
population, and it's demographic growth remains stable. During the colonial period Cuba
became quickly involved in world economy by slave trade and sugar plantations. This
resulted in a hierarchical system among the population.
struggles for independence 1868-1901
the emergence of new political currents in the 1860s stemmed from the need to challenge
spanish domination and to improve Cuba's economic position. This resulted in a devastating
war between the Spaniards and the Cubans, who both lost nearly 250.000 people. In 1878,
the Spaniards and the rebels signed an armistice that led to a tenuous peace and a period of
self criticism and questioning on the part of Cuba who still advocated independence. (Cuba
was not fully independent here)
Although Spain remained in political control, the US gained more economic power during the
1880-1890 in Cuba. The growing penetration of a weak economy dominated by sugar and
it's derivative production by a growing capitalist, industrial power meant that the colonial
regime was objected to both internal and external pressures. The separatists were
ideologically and organizationally in a stronger position than in the 1860s whereas Spain
vacillated between grantign meaningful reforms and reimposing an absolutist government.
This again resulted in a war, however this time the US intervened. The US passed a
resolution that would give them sovereignty and control over Cuba once Spain had been
driven out. This occupation lasted until 1902. The US also added an amendment in the
Cuban constitution which made Cuba a US protectorate rather than a sovereign nation.
Reliance on the US eventually engendered among Cubans in a loss of faith in their republic
and their own nationality.
the political development of pre revolutionary Cuba
political competition during this period existed predominantly between hte liberal and the
conservative parties. Parties that were essentially controlled by political caudillos: Jose
Miguel Gomez and Mario Garcia Menocal. The political system was based on client
arrangements and patronage networks, electoral fraud and administrative corruption were
, common. After the election of a president that turned out to be a dictator, politics became
violent: governmetn and opposition engaged in terrorism, shootings and political
assasinations. On top of this there was also the great depression which did a lot of damage
to the Cuban economy. The army proved to be a critical contender because it's support was
essential for either keeping the dictator in place or shifting the balance of its adversaries.
These critical times resulted in an internal revolt, which lead to the army sought to contain
revolutionary outbursts and directly influence the selection of presidents. This would play a
central role during the following decades. The US still played the role of ultimate power
broker.
social democracy and authoritarianism in the 1940s and 1950s
after 1933 Cuba went through a period of realignment and moderate authoritarianism,
characterized by the consrvative domination of weak and undemocratic regimes supported
by the army in a personalistic political system with corruption. A major threshold in the
process of political development was reached in 1940 following the enactment of a
democratic and progressive constitution, which established universal suffrage and freedom
of political organizations, recognized western style civil rights and abolished the death
penalty. Political violence and urban gangsterism threatened the integrity of democratic
regimes, together with a lot of corruption. A whole system of nepotism, favoritism and
gangsterism predominated, all of this resulted in a military coup in 1952.
Cubas political development was cut short and the system proved vulnerable to force.
Several revolutionary groups, including FIdel Castros participated in the struggle against the
dictatorship. Castro was neither a member of the communist party nor a doctrinal Marxist
prior to coming to power. Rather he was committed to a radical revolution whose final
outcome could not have been foreseen but which placed him in the center of power. When
the guerilla groups started to get more successes, the dictator flee with many of his closest
allies, paving the way for a total victory by the guerilla forces
the Cuban revolution
Neither the insurrection against the dictator nor the social revolution that the new regime
began to carry out stemmed from deep seated popular dissatisfaction with the development
pattern of Cuba.In general was Cuba on the same level as other more advanced LA
countries, however the differences between rural and urban where still quite big.
The radicals in Castro's regime believed that the basic capitalist system needed to be
abolished and the social system uprooted so that the power of vested economic interests,
some of them foreign based, could be reduced. Structural changes combined with populist,
redistributive measures signaled willingness to incur domestic costs and foreign anger so as
to accelerate the process of radicalizing the revolution. The regime realized that social
mobilization could serve as a form of explicit consent. Once it became evident that a radical
social revolution committed to socialism was in the making - led by individuals seeking for
power- an opposition emerged that attempted to restrain or defeat the revolutionary elite.
by the mid 1960s revolutionary changes restructuring class, property, political and foreign
policy relationships had eliminated a dependent capitalist order replete with US influence
and moved the country toward radical socialism. US influence over cubas destiny was made
the root of many ills.
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