Using one case in Latin America, illustrate what the biggest obstacle to democracy is.

From this time to around 1813, the Chileans who supported this idea of independence from Spain began to peacefully change their government. However, there was a controversy amongst some Chileans on how far the

All of the aforementioned factors contributed to the independence movement of Mexico. However, the main steps towards independence came because of Napoleon’s invasion of Spain in 1808. The monarchy was greatly weakened when Napoleon gave the crown to his brother causing the people of Madrid to revolt. With Spain’s back turned, the leaders of New Spain began to argue amongst themselves. The viceroy was forced to allow the Criollos to participate in administration. Then, a group of Peninsulares, those who had been placed in many of the administrative positions, did not like that the Criollos were gaining any influence in the government. They staged a coup d’etat and overthrew the viceregal government.

The Latin American revolutions occurred during the 18th- and 19th- centuries. These revolutions had multiple issues that shaped their independence and wars, such as the social structures of their colonies. At the top of Spanish society were the Peninsulares, which were the most powerful people who were born in Spain, and the only class that could have jobs within the government. They also had power over economy and government. Whereas the Creoles were

In the early 20th century, Argentina had a very successful economy that specialized in exporting agricultural goods. Even while the rest of Latin America struggled during the economic hardships of the 1930s, Argentina’s strong export economy allowed the country to flourish due to high international demand for their goods. Despite this early 20th century strength, Argentina’s economy fell behind as the century went on, with roots in the fact that Argentine stayed neutral for most of the war and alienated the United States. Though Argentina’s president at the beginning of the war, Roberto

What once was a relatively free and peaceful place started to feel the wrath of the cruel invaders. After decades of the Spanish rule, the Latin American colonies decided to finally take back what once was theirs. Latin America, under the rule of Spanish forces, faced problems. The revolutions that took place during this time were influenced by the ideas from the Age of Enlightenment.

Even after the Spaniards left Mexico, while the casta was said to be abolished, fundamental ideas stuck, making it difficult for Mexico to form a democracy. At the top of the Caste, prior to Mexico gaining its independence, were “Peninsulares,” which consisted of people born in the Iberian Peninsula. Since Hernán Cortés colonized Mexico, he established himself as a “Caudillo,” making himself on top of the casta as well. As a Caudillo, Cortés saw himself as a strong man, fit to rule alone. The theory of one-man rule can be traced back to the Colonial period. Other legislative bodies simply went along with the Caudillo’s decisions, (Reading Mexico City 1). The second class citizens were known as “Criollos,” which were people born in the Americas. Criollos had a limit to the amount of power they could attain, preventing them from overthrowing the Peninsulares. Lastly, the Mestizos were at the bottom of the caste, where there were many varieties of them, (Reading Mexico City 2). “To Iberians (peninsulares), mixture was generally viewed as contamination” (20, Reading Mexico City 2). Eventually, the Criollos fought against the Peninsulares because they wanted more power, while the Mestizos fought against independence. The Mestizos felt as though the

The documents that provide a deep and valuable insight into this topic includes “Colonial Spanish America” by Historian Leslie Bethell (1987) and “The Americas: A Hemisphere History” by Felipe Fernandez-Arnesto (2003). Document 1 portrays the ethnic makeup of the population in 1789, depicting that the majority of the population consisted of Indians and Creoles/Peninsulares. The author portrays this information in order to illustrate the divisions within society, and how the ethnic diversity correlated with a desire for self-governance. This document verifies that is the local and elite population that sparks the idea for revolution, thereby confirming the desire of natives to revolt. During this time period, the idea of revolution/independence was still in its foundational form, and hadn’t reached prominence. However, the dominance of natives and incorporation of elites allowed these ideals to evolve and motivate the population to strive for independence. Document 3 also provides a vital and critical source of information obtained by a historian. The document informs the reader about the results of the wars and the causes of them. He states that the Revolutions occurred as a result of “resentful elites trying to resist the increasing intrusion and interference of their mother countries.” It portrays how the local

“More than by force do they dominate us, by deception” were the words of Latin American revolution leader, Simon Bolivar. The Latin American revolution was a fight for independence from Spain, their mother country. In the colonies people were divided into different social groups. Beginning with the higher-classes the different classes were Peninsulares, Creoles, Mestizos, Mulattos, Indians and lastly slaves. The Creoles, American-born Spaniards, led this revolution for three reasons: desire of political control, to provide protection for their economic interests, and their fear towards social unrest.

As a mix of diverse people gave rise to a new social structure and introduced a cultural blending in the Spanish empire, located in Latin America, eventually a growing population of lower-classed non-white people became angered at the privileges of the whites. Being denied the status, wealth and power that were given to whites, the mestizos and the mulattoes resented the Spanish. Masses of enslaved Africans and the many populations that were looked down upon suffered economic misery and longed for freedom, eventually leading revolutions across Latin America. Those revolted were motivated by love for one’s race and freedom, like what Father Miguel Hidalgo says in Document A of the Latin American DBQ, “we are not Europeans; we are not Indians;

Revolution started to take over the world. The French Revolution started to happen, and ideas of enlightens started to spread. Latin America’s Spanish King was just removed, and the Creole generals started to lead wars of independence. Now was the time to begin a Revolution. The uneven distribution of resources lead to conflict and Revolution in Latin America by geographic luck, advanced weapons, and unfair social class.

The Mexican Revolution of 1910 set many influences in motion shaping the course of Mexican history between 1920 up into the 2000s. There are several patterns that take its cue from the Revolution include the creation and long standing existence of a one political party rule. The Mexican Revolution is an extremely long and complicated subject to perceive without much background information, but in summation the Revolution was an attempt to end a dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz and to establish a constitutional republic. Many problems arose during the Revolution, including several divided groups lead by strong willed individual lovely referred to as revolutionaries these included Francisco Madero, Pascual Orozco, Pancho Villa, and Emiliano Zapata. With threatening political crisis among competing Mexican elites and the opportunity for agrarian insurgence lead to the outbreak of the Revolution. The Revolution would leave lasting influences such as those on Mexico far beyond the imagination thought possible.

First, I will give a brief history of the Dirty War, as I feel it is necessary to understand the landscape at this time and what influenced this collective conscious, followed by a discussion and outline of Dussel’s direct experience and observations surrounding Latin America during this incredibly tumultuous period of time. The essay concludes with a summary of how these principles were utilized in Argentina during and after the Dirty War and how education and open dialogue has influenced the character and the direction of those communities effected, today.

The Democratic War Thesis argues a direct connection between democracy and inter-state conflict. This argument, is however, split between a strong and weak variant, with the former claiming that by nature, democracies are prone to war, while the latter notes democratic norms and structures that offer avenues for conflict, as to facilitate war (653). Bell points out that as the U.S. public called for war against Spain, “The people, it turned

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

Now days democracy has been establish in every Latin America country except Cuba, which is still a socialist state. It seemed that every other alternative form of government such as Marxism or Leninism has failed and been replaced by democracy. Furthermore it looks like people in Latin American really enjoy democracy and its’ benefits, as they also consider it to be the best form of government. After the failure of authoritarian leaders and the military intervene their lives, Latin American citizens wanted to change their system into a more fair and honest system, democracy. Democracy is usually defined as a system of honesty, equality, freedom of rights, though for Latin America countries it means gains, welfare and patronage. Latin