HUMN 3981 Assignment 3
Political Issues in Latin America
Part A: Short Critical Reflections of Two Readings, one from each Section
1/. The first assigned reading, “The State and the Military” is selected from section one for critique in this essay. Highlighted in the reading is the quest for democracy in Latin America amidst democracy and authoritarian struggles between the people and the military. Decades of authoritarian rule provide time period, colonial or post-colonial, saw Latin America remain a largely rural society (Green and Sue 65). Why is that? The majority of populist leaders in the 1930s were ex-military and military men, mostly inspired by Hitler’s rise to power. Why did they prefer rural to industrial or urban? Argentina’s Juan Peron was the greatest populist who oversaw industrial growth, that’s the opposite of rural, be consistent. Is populist same as militarist? equitable income distribution, and the creation of a welfare state. that is very democratic. The military autonomy ensured that many Latin Americans lived under tyrannical rules. That’s exactly the opposite of what you just said about Peron. Latin America’s military has been an independent political body historically: the exploits of military heroes winning independence for many Latin American states. Confused arguments. An interesting observation is that many military coups before World War II occurred either when the state threatened the military institution or when there was a need to return power to civilian allies of the military. As such, I concur that the transition to democracy how is this relevant? was successful in the larger part of Latin America. It has been a long journey towards democracy, one in which the military, civilians, and populist leaders created history in one way or the other. Unclear of what your summary is or what your critique is. 10/15
Secondly, the reading, “Social Movements and the Struggle for Change” is selected from section 2 for critique. The military rule in the 1970s saw the suppression of official opposition politics, an act that created many social movements of the time. Was this before democracy was created in your conclusion above? An effect of the debt crisis is that it strengthened unions as civilians fought hard against falling wages and austerity measures. Why is the debt crisis same as suppression of opposition? An interesting observation is that the 1964’s Brazilian coup created a wave of military rule that banned political parties, How is this related to debt? yet proponents of improvements and those who opposed the government somehow founded a new generation of social movements (Green and Sue 200). With the dictatorial rule of the military generals, one only wonders where social movements found the space to channel their protests. Certainly, I concur that today’s Latin America is remarkably different from the divided world that defined it during the Cold War and subsequent decades. As such, the reading accurately depicts the feats of social movements to create a democratic society in which the past and the present reconcile. Confusing theme. First summarize article then critique it. 8/15
Part B: Essay: The Origins, Composition, Trajectory, and Issues brought to Life by One of the Grassroots Social Movements in a Latin American Country. Has the Social Movement Achieved any Degree of Success? Has it Faced Failure, and Why?
The Movement for Socialism (MAS) in Bolivia is a notable grassroots social movement with a history of past and present time period? success and struggles. The reading, “Social Movements and the Struggle for Change” asserts that MAS typifies the success of social movements in Latin America since it created the greatest impacts. That’s a general statement which says nothing objective. Provide facts. MAS traces its origin to the 1980s following the closure of various mines, more so, the Bolivian Mining Corporation (BMC), a move that pushed former miners into cocoa farming (Farthing and Kohl 12). Why would this change from mining to farming create a social movement? The movement started as the Unified Syndical Confederation of Rural Workers of Bolivia (CSUTCB), where the leaders recognized the need to avoid a political contest in the early days of the movement following previous divisions within the movement over electoral candidates (Stephen 65). Instead, the cocoa farmers opted to launch a political instrument that accommodated trade unions in collective membership. Sounds like a union rather than a social movement.
As such, CSUTCB combined both political and social struggles by creating two branches, one political and the other a social movement, not a union? both of which advocate for the rights of farmers. What of the farm workers? The Congress backed CSUTCB as a political instrument in 1994 and later founded the Assembly for the Sovereignty of the Peoples (ASP) led by Alejo Veliz and Evo Morales (Farthing and Kohl 20). As a rising star in the movement, Evo Morales defined the history of CSUTCB with relentless support for members’ interests such as? and inclusive leadership what does this mean? to which many Bolivians were not accustomed. Furthermore, MAS exhibited a strong connection with peasant cocoa farmers, an idea that consolidated its grassroots support while distinguishing it from other anti-system oppositions in Bolivia. How so?
On the other hand, a series of political and social struggles have defined the history of MAS in ways. A country with a long history of revolution, Bolivia’s political landscape ascertained that MAS would struggle to appeal to the majority in the country, often faced with resistances of different types (Bueno and Datta). Not just the farmers? The class and political struggle led to inadequate support for the movement’s course in its early days: peasant farmers saw the benefits, whereas proponents of the government considered it a threat. What of the majority of the country? Therefore, expanding the influence of MAS beyond the peasant farmers to whom? became a struggle for Eva Morales. Morales and MAS also struggled to please indigenous groups that pressed for more radical and faster reforms. Of what? Likewise, an ensuing political battle saw Eva Morales contest the 2002 general elections to champion the interests of MAS, a contest that he failed. Which implies that it did not have the majority support you claimed. Regardless, the declaration by the new U.S. ambassador that he would only support Gonzalo Sanchez’s re-election only strengthened MAS’s grip on grassroots support. How and Why is the US involved in the domestic affairs of Bolivia? As a political party, MAS was brought to life when Morales denounced the intervention of the United States in Bolivian affairs. However, MAS achieved its greatest height of success when Morales won the presidential elections in 2005. Was that due to opposition to US meddling?
Today, Bolivia is Latin America’s country in which social movements exercised their full strength and achieved unprecedented success. Give facts not meaningless statements. The success of MAS measured by what? Morales election? saw the end of frequent protests by farmers, workers, and indigenous people over government’s excessive involvement in civilian affairs, were they now happy? such as the sell-off of oil and water resources (Farthing and Kohl 32). The founders of MAS exercised perfect timing of events to trigger a social movement that farmers and indigenous people needed desperately at the time. While Bolivia remains one of Latin America’s poorest countries ahead of Nicaragua and Haiti, If its still por why do you claim success? the desire to modernize and change ineffective systems is evident (Escobar 101). Everyone has that desire, you say nothing of substance, In my opinion, the Movement for Socialism has succeeded in different ways: ensuring a democratic election process, was there no democracy before when Morales ran and lost? ending protests and threats of revolution, and increasing access to natural resources. By whom? The poor? Why are they still poor?
In addition, an online article by TeleSUR recognized Bolivia as Latin America’s leader in economic growth in 2017. Explain how this came about since Morales won in 2005. This has to do with the global shift to emerging economies such as China not Morales. Evo Morales is still the president as he continues to champion the ideas of MAS and improve the welfare of Bolivians. How does their per capita income compare to Canada? Morales created an economic model of production and sustainability that encouraged domestic demand for coca? and generated international support for local industries. How did he do that? The GDP is expected to rise by four percent, which further highlights Bolivia’s economic success. Why are you crediting Morales for this and not the global shift? Therefore, a struggle that began as a political movement to consolidate the support of indigenous people to fight for their rights led to one of them occupying the country’s most highly ranked office. With the presidency, one foresees a future of great prospects for farmers, workers, and indigenous people since the occupant of the office understands and identifies with their struggles. Hence, I perceive the Movement for Socialism (MAS) as Latin America’s most successful grassroots social movement that produced a president who is not only improving equality but also leading Bolivia towards unprecedented economic success. 55/70
Works Cited
“Bolivia Pegged As Leader in Economic Growth in Latin America for 2017.” TeleSUR, 2018, www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Bolivia-Pegged-As-Leader-In-Economic-Growth-in-Latin-America-for-2017-20180102-0019.html. Accessed March 12 2018.
Bueno, Rafael and Ajoy Datta. “The Politics of Evo Morales’ Rise to Power in Bolivia. ODI Shaping Policy for Development, 2011, www.odi.org/publications/5674-politics-evo-morales-rise-power-bolivia. Accessed March 12 2018.
Escobar, Arturo. The Making of Social Movements in Latin America: Identity, Strategy, and Democracy. Routledge, 2017.
Farthing, Linda C, and Benjamin H. Kohl. Evo’s Bolivia: Continuity and Change. University of Texas Press, 2014.
Green, Duncan and Branford Sue. Faces of Latin America (4th ed.). NYU Press, 2012.
Stephen, Lynn. Women and Social Movements in Latin America: Power from Below. University of Texas Press, 2000.
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