Imagining and Creating Latin America as a Region

Chapter 1: Imagining and Creating Latin America as a Region______________________________ ● How we classify regions: ○ The region of Latin America includes all of it’s countries, but sub regions may exist (i.e.Andean South America), this is geographically classified ○ This same region could be culturally classified (i.e. Andean South America is all areas that have a legacy from the Inca Empire & other indegenous groups) ● Creating geographic regions is not easy, regional divisions and norms can make it difficult to place an area geographically ● Regions also exist at different scales: ○ Continents ○ Countries ○ State/Provinces ○ Districts ○ Municipalities ● There are multiple overlapping and different definitions of Latin America as a region ● Four different principles in making regions: ○ Contiguity ■ Attempts to find areas of the world that share some characteristics that do not overlap with other regions in the world ○ Continentality ■ Using the entire continents as a way to demonstrate world regions ■ Like the Americas as one large mass or a division between North and South America ○ Geopolitics ■ Reflects expressions of political or military power over a geographical space, and is often contested ■ Latin America overtime has been geopolitically divided in an attempt to control the power of countries ○ Human relatedness ■ The ideal connections and links that humans make over the same geographic space based off of different, but similar social relations ■ Mostly, the construction of Latin America that is based on human connectedness has made note of the shared experience of Iberian Colonialism and the legacy of colonization ● To deal with arguments against grouping together Latin America, some geographers have made a distinction between “core” and “fringe” nations ○ An extreme example of this is the Carribean, from time to time it is grouped as Latin America but some argue that it should be its own global region ■ African influences could make the argument that the Carribean should be its own region, the impacts of African colonization from culture to geographical features is obvious ● Most common classifications of sub regions in Latin America: ○ Mexico ■ Independent due to: its size and economic development ○ Central America ■ Located conveniently ○ Carribean Latin America ■ Grouped because of its African culture and location ○ Andean South America ■ Including Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and Columbian Highlands ■ Grouped because of Inca/indegenous relations ○ Southern Cone countries ■ Including Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay ○ Brazil ■ Independent due to: its size and west African/Portuguese culture ● Geographers are pushing for more critical thinking about what it means when we talk about Latin America or when we label something as such ○ Thinking of the area and its regions with more fluidity ● Theoretically: (& geographically) the border between Mexico and the US is not only that border, but serves as a border between North America and Latin America ● Latin American cultures are “hybrid cultures” that have resulted as a mix from indegenous populations and those who colonized ● Hints of Latin American Culture exist other places (besides L.A.): ○ Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Valle Alto (Bolivia), US-Mexico Border Chapter 2: Historical Geography _________________________________________________________________ ● Some of the most advanced civilizations resided in Latin America: ○ Incas → Andean South America ○ Mayans → lowland Central America ○ Aztecs → highland of Mexico ■ Arawak, Chibcha, Caribs, Araucanians ● It is estimated that as much as 95% of ingengenous populations were decimated through warfare, diseases, and slaverey ● The map of the “New World” was then drawn up by outsiders ○ Columbus with the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 ■ Divide trading rights and the lands between Spain and Portugal (excluding other countries) ● Portugal's main focus was on sugar plantations in Brazil ● Spain’s on mineral exploitation, argitural settlements, and ranch economies ● The Council of the Indies established in 1524 ○ Supreme executive, legislative, and judicial bodies of the regional government ■ Overlaying system of viceroyalties and audiencias ● Ruling body of Latin America ● Brazil’s colonial experience was vastly different from others because of limited resources obtained by the Portuguese ● The countries of Central America had “one of the lead dramatic and least violent episodes” of the revolutionary period ○ These countries were in the territory of New Spain ○ Known as the Kingdom of Guatemala and governed by a captaincy general in Guatemala City ● Encomienda ○ Introduced by Queen Isabella in 1503, granting land and labor to the conquistadors in exchange for the protection of indegenous people being taught Spanish and being indoctrinated into the Catholic faith ■ This led to the Feudal system with Native repression ● Haciendas ○ Large landholding where conquistadors were the beneficiaries ■ Dissolution occurred during the Mexican Revolution of 1917 ● Plantations ○ Local labor was used to produce a single crop for the global market ○ Created problems for the locals own food supply ● Estancias ○ Large cattle and sheep ranches primarily in South America ○ Spanish introduced cattle to the region ● As the Industrial Revolution expanded, some Latin American countries continued to be key exporters of raw materials that the Global North needed to manufacture ● The independence movement in the Americans began with Hati leaving France in 1804 ● In 1810, Agentina’s May Revolution ○ Credited with starting revolutions throughout the region ● Brazil’s independence was officially declared in 1822 but was not overthrown until 1889 ● Latin America has been plagued by “spatial asymmetry” that has led to many different actors using the region for their own gain ● The War of the Triple Alliance (1864 - 1870) pitted Paraguay against: Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay ● Border conflicts between Chile and Argentina over island along the Beagle Channel began in the 1970s but were ended by papal intervention in 1978 ● Monroe Doctrine in 1823 ○ Drawn up to prevent further attempts at colonization by European powers ○ Opened the doors for controversial US and UK development ■ Roosevelt Corollary of 1904 ● Amendment to the Monroe Doctrine which allows the US to intervene whenever Latin American countries “seemed unstable” ○ Panama Canal completed in 1914 ○ Between 1898 and 1932: the US intervened militarily in 9 Carribean nations on 34 different occasions and ran the governments of Panama, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Haiti for extended periods ● Foreign intervention is one of the enduring characteristics of this region, even though the players and stakes have changed over time ● Sovereignty remains elusive even now in the region Chapter 3: Global Challenges, Regional Change, and Persistent Inequalities_____________ ● Trace the evolution of LAC’s economic and political development ● Today’s dominating presence of foreign capital and ideas are not a new thing ● The Modern/Liberal Period in Latin American (1880s-1930s) ○ Emerged after independence and signified a break from colonial roots ○ Saw an expansion of global trade with goods like: ■ Coffee, bananas, sugar, beef ■ However, the ability to produce these goods and access to transport (seaports) was unequal between nations depending on geographic abilities ○ During this time Northern powers were pouring money in, especially the UK and US, mainly to: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Cuba, Chile ■ Controversially they were also buying large pieces of land in LAC ● ex.) United Fruit Company and the US owned sugar mills that occupied 22% of Cuban territory ○ A Northern vulnerability to LAC for resources was evident during WWI, Great Depression, WWII, pushing LAC to a new paradigm to provide for the North ■ LAC realizes that their products are only accepted in the US/UK on their own terms and that they as a region were dependent for it ● The Period of Import Substitution Industrialization (1940s-1970s) ○ After crisis in the North, the ability for LAC to buy from the US (& other Northern powers) was nearly reduced by half ○ Patterns of urbanization led to over-urbanization in LAC which created a lack of jobs for individuals, LAC is one of the most urbanized regions on the globe ○ Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI): ■ “the guiding principle that a developing country should stop relying on imported manufactured goods and should produce substitutes at home” (34) ● Reduce external dependencies and improve local economies ■ ISI was the most successful in the largest nations primarily because they had the greatest growth potential and the most resources, and they could sell to their large domestic markets ● i.g.) Brazil, Mexico, Argentina ■ Countries heavily involved with ISI took out large loans from the North, which would ultimately lead to debt crisis when they could not be repaid in a timely manner due to a lack of substantial revenues ■ ISI ultimately failed due to: ● Ill-conceived policies ○ With both the production and consumption of domestic goods ■ LAC did not have the resources or finances to establish the means necessary for ISI ● Poor quality of products produced in the region ○ Arguably this occured from a lack of competition in the state sectors where crops grew/were processed ■ Generated little demand for the goods ● A substantial middle class in nations where ISI took place was never established, and citizens were too impoverished to buy ■ ISI was especially detrimental to the smaller nations who attempted it ■ The economic problems created by ISI would become apparent during the 1960s and create even more social arrest in LAC ■ The final death of ISI was arguably in 1982, when Mexico declared that it was no longer able to service its debt and had to devalue the peso, Mexico’s debt crisis triggered economic unrest in LAC ● The Neoliberal Period (1980s-2000s) ○ With the failure of ISI, free trade was reintroduced to LAC ○ Neoliberalism was like a return to the economies/states before ISI ■ Nearly eliminated state intervention in economies and forced markets to be unregulated and open to world trade ○ Hyperinflation from the ISI scared off many investors in LAC and greatly reduced the purchasing power of residents ○ Policies like privatization and trade-liberation were apparent in the region ○ Neoliberalism support from the North came strongly from: ■ IMF, World Bank, WTO ○ Washington Consensus (1989) for LAC ■ Plan for stimulating economic growth included: ● Cutting public spending, lowering tariffs, decreasing regulation, promoting privatization, and opening up to foreign investment and trade ■ Some countries were more aggressive with implementation of these ideals than others ● “But it was not really a question of whether to adopt these policies or not but rather how deeply to embrace them” (37) ■ Privatization was one of the most beneficial reforms of the WC ● “But the pitfalls with privatization proved to be more than growing pains” (37) ○ Stung local communities most ■ Neoliberalism did not lead to substantial growth overall ■ Food shortages in LAC became increasingly common ● The 21st Century (2000s → ) ○ During the neoliberal period, much of the power for LAC states shifted from their own governments to TNCs (transnational corporations) ○ In 2012, the Chinese economy lagged, sending disastrous ripples through Brazil’s economy leading to one of the worst recessions in history ○ By the middle of the decade, three LAC powers would be lead by right-wing leaders (traditional) ■ Argentina, Brazil Chile ● Not only were these nations economically lagging under this leadership, but accusations of corruption plagued them ○ The election of Bolsonaro (2018 → )in Brazil was even a further push to the right for Brazil ○ Many elements of neoliberalism remain in LAC, such as: ■ Free trade, widespread foreign investment, etc. ○ “We suggest that LAC politics continue to sway back and forth, with perhaps the only difference being the pace at which the pendulum swings” (40) ○ Pink Tide → election of communist/anti-neoliberalism policies