Military Dictatorship In Central And South America

Imagine living in a country where you know you could die at any moment but don’t know how much longer till it happens. That was how much of the population of El Salvador used to feel when the government could not control the big coffee corporations. These out of control corporations, highly feared that the people would want to revolt against them so they hired murderers to kill innocent people to spread fear in the minds of the people of El Salvador. Fear, hate, and sorrow were the common feelings felt by the poor and innocent major population of El Salvador caused by the evil wrongdoings of the government during October 1979 – 16 January 1992. This is how the main character, Jose Luis, of the novel “Mother Tongue” by Demetria Martinez, felt before escaping his beautiful yet over constantly dangerous country, which depended on its cash crop, coffee beans to sell on a foreign market as the country’s main income. However, following the stock-market crash of 1929, a drop in coffee prices became apparent and affected everyone in El Salvador, but the poor especially. Making things worse, the glorious United States was funding the men whom were doing all the innocent killings with more weapons and money to increase their military power. So for Jose Luis the safe haven that he had escaped to was also blatantly funding the war that was killing so many innocent people he knew and had forced him to escape for his own safety. With nowhere else to go in order to find safety the United

All they wanted was an answer to one question “Where were their children? Their sons and daughters were “missing” and all they were told was” We don’t have any answers! The citizens were afraid, even high authorities of religious groups turned a blind eye. In 1977, with Argentina under a violent military dictatorship, a group of mostly house wives living in a fear oppressed state made a stand and found their voice. They demanded to be heard and while the regime was enforcing their control and power over Argentinians political views through torture and disappearance; a mother’s devotion to her child and the political resistance transformed these mothers into a political force. They are the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, who effectively mounted a civil rights movement that forced the top military officials to be charged for their crimes and have sustained an

Power is different between women and men. Throughout history there has always been a lower expectation of women in society. The book touches every angle to what was happening in this country, where health conditions are very bad, women were being controlled by men, and women are losing their lives while giving birth. The mortality rate is very high because of the lack of equipment and health

A government’s duty is to run a country with fair laws and regulations, however, when the leaders themselves are abusing their power, something needs to be done. In order for the people to stop the government from abusing its power, they will sacrifice their lives to achieve social change. Almost all the dictators of Latin American countries abuse their power. In Nicaragua, the Somoza family preserves their power by relying on election fraud, murder, torture, and arrests of any political opposition. They rip off humanitarian aid from relief organizations. The blatant disregard and lack of shame led to the formation of several opposition groups against the Somoza regime. In the novel, Alvarez clearly demonstrates how Trujillo abuses his power. Even though he owns many extravagant mansions, he often deprives the people of Dominican Republic by making laws that are unjust and taking their land and selling them at a low price. Trujillo is notorious for his reputation with women, and how he immorally has relations with many women and girls and he even violates them. When the Maribal

In almost every culture, machismo (or patriarchy) exists. Women are considered to be inferior and are treated as if they were objects. It is fair to assume that all women have or will face abuse or oppression for the mere fact that they are women. In Honduras, machismo is the backbone of society. In the book Don 't Be Afraid Gringo, Elvia Alvarado tells the story of the life of the Honduran campesinos (peasants) in the context of the military government of Osvaldo López Arellano and the installation of counterrevolutionary military bases between 1972 and 1975. The campesina women are expected to be servants for the men and provide for all of their children. If women dare to break away from these norms, they are denounced as a whore and

Without these women speaking out in 1977, there would have been no initial protest to halt the military in Argentina. To prove this argument, there is a timeline of events that the “Mothers of Plaza De Mayo” triggered. These events were less likely to have happened without the first public protest (Reinbold. 2010). So far, research includes geography, such as where “Plaza De Mayo” is located and where exactly the military ruled and information on the “disappeared” and how it was very dangerous to speak to anyone who had anything negative to say about the military. I also have learned that the armed forces disliked anyone with liberal values and who seemed like they were a threat to their traditional Christian values (Tolerance. N.a. N.d). What I have little knowledge on is why the Government of Argentina was overthrown in the first place and why the military was so aggressive. It is imperative to know what the military was thinking at the time and why they took such a stance against certain people. What was so important to protect that the military had to

Through multifarious ways, female gender roles in Latin American countries have gradually begun to improve over time. These slight improvements have manifested through women’s increasing involvement in politics and presence in the labor force due to immigration, globalization, and global media. Women in Latin American countries have become

The role of gender, as it played in the creation of women as social actors, forms the basis for their ability to participate in any form of resistance as well. History of slave rebellion is occupied in a constant project of pacification of enslaved women- a pacification seen as necessary, in the face of danger, to counteract the threat of the black women. History has created a twofold of masculine/active versus feminine/passive, constructing a passivity for women in order to enhance men’s masculinity. Isolating revolt as a masculine

As Charles Bergquist observes, "Crises in Colombia tend to generate cycles of violence instead of mutations in the political regime." The reason is simple: regime changes in Colombia tend to produce very little change in anything other than nominal rule. Since Colombia's independence from Spain in the early 19th century, Colombia has seen a series of civil wars and secessions (Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama the last coming rather conveniently at a time when the U.S. was prepared to pay millions for a canal through its nation preparation that later resulted in a multi-million dollar redress to Columbia). Colombia's political history, therefore, has been colored by outside influences pulling on the two dominant liberal and conservative parties, with violent exchanges, and long periods of instability being the consequences. While regime changes have occurred, they have not produced significant improvements. Rather, Colombia in the 20th century has become a nesting ground for paramilitary forces and drug traffickers, with U.S. Central Intelligence operatives contributing heavily to the violent conflict that has risen between regimes. This paper will examine the regime types that preceded the Rojas Pinilla regime in mid-20th century Colombia, analyze their similarities and differences, and discuss the extent to which Rojas Pinilla reached his goals and objectives.

El Salvador has been a part of countless wars, whether it be with other surrounding countries that continue to invade, or their most recent civil war that took over 12 years to resolve and their present war with gangs. My family was unfortunate to be personally affected by the 12-year civil war that took place during the late 1970’s. My mother explained to me how socially accepted it was to feed the countries soldiers who passed by, this became part of their culture to do so now as explained by Every Culture (2017). Some women stayed home to look after their children, sow, and cook. Other women chose to arm themselves and become militants as well. It became accepted to see both women and children join the troops during those chaotic times. In 1979 to 1981, an estimated 30,000 people were killed by death squads formed by the anti-government organization known as Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) as explained by Info Please (2017). The United States Army sent their Green Berets to help intervene and

In every country in Latin America and the Caribbean, women suffer acute discrimination. Often, the discrimination women face is related to social prejudices regarding appropriate patterns of conduct for men and women. This entrenched sex inequality provides the backdrop for the pervasive and widespread human rights violations women face in the region, with little chance of justice. The most pernicious types of women's human rights abuses in the Americas occur in the areas of women's reproductive and sexual health and rights, discrimination and violence against women in the workplace, and violence against women in the home. After decades of dictatorships in some countries, democracy has not meant an end to impunity for violations of women

In To Light a Candle: Amnesty International and the Prisoners of Conscience, by William Kory, he highlights the history of NGOs and the significance it holds, the strives it made on a national level in the development of human rights with the campaign for the abolition of torture. Whereas in chapter 1 of Rita Arditti’s Searching for Life: The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo and the Disappeared Children of Argentina she describes the horrific events that took place in Argentina when a corrupt government seized control and sought to eliminate anyone within Argentina who was considered a threat to them. These essays work hand in hand to further examine the time period of extreme torture but problematize our understanding of human rights because on one side of the country NGOs was getting established to prevent the torture that was happening on the other side of

Colombia is a Latin American country located in South America that has been ravaged by violence, starvation, and large-scale inequality between higher and lower classes. The chaos in Colombia has been between rebel forces and the government and has lasted for over fifty years. These rebel forces have fought to achieve their Liberalist lead goals of overthrowing the current democratic government of Colombia and replacing it with a communist government. La Violencia was the main contributor to the conflict between the resistance fighters of Colombia and the Colombian government that has brought on violence and terror from the violent actions between the Liberal and Conservative parties in the 1950’s. , which has directly brought on the violence and terror from the guerrilla groups.

It is impossible to separate the history of military dictatorships in Latin America from the history of economic exploitation and of US intervention in the region. The history of slavery and other forced labor in the pursuit of large-scale agriculture and resource extraction in the time of the colonies has created a legacy of economic exploitation. This poverty and inequality has in many cases led to popular uprisings and calls for reform, which provided the reason (or the excuse, depending on your point of view) to use military force to restore discipline. The United States' willingness to support strong regimes capable of securing its interests in the region also has played a decisive role. These

The author’s understanding of violence is extended beyond the text and into the political history of Latin America, full of neo-colonial repression, racial discrimination and struggles.