The article I chose is titled Exploring how and why so many migrants are crossing the southern border which I found PBS Thirteen News Hour. It talks about why the migrant crisis in the southern border of the United States began and what are the effects of this on the United States, Mexico, and the Latin American nations that the migrants come from. The article argues that even though most of the time when we hear about this migrant crisis we hear that this crisis is only taking place in the southern border but this article does not agree with this perception, they believe that the actual crisis is taking place in the nations where these migrants are coming from and that if we want to fix this crisis we need to pay attention to these foreign countries. This can be seen in the article where it states, “Americans must finally acknowledge that the real crisis is not at the border, but outside it, and that, until we address that crisis, this flow of vulnerable people seeking help at our doorstep will not end anytime soon”. Oftentimes when people talk about this migrant crisis they ask why are these countries suffering? And why does the United States have to intervene in order to solve these crises? The ironic thing is that these crises began in no small part as a result of the United States intervening in these countries. For example in Guatemala which is one of the main places that these migrants are coming from, The United Fruit Company went into this nation and began buying up all the most profitable land in this country and making the vast majority of the people in this nation dependent on them. They essentially invaded the nation without ever firing a shot and ruled for years. This can be seen in the textbook titled Problems in Modern Latin American History: Sources and Interpretations in which it states, “Was the Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP) that Rigoberta joined, and whose version of events she gave us in 1982, an inevitable response by the poor to oppression? Should the conflict be understood primarily in social terms, as the inevitable outcome of centuries of oppression suffered by Guatemala’s indigenous population? Or is it better explained on the political level, as the result of particular decisions made by particular groups including the U.S. government, the Guatemalan oligarchy, the Guatemalan army, and the opposition groups that decided to fight back with guerrilla warfare” (303-304). As we can see from this quote due to the United States intervention via the The United Fruit Company that destabilized Guatemala many of these people were left with no choice but to either join a rebel group or to flee their nations and head to the United States in order to find better opportunities and a better life. So after analyzing this article we can see that in order to solve the migrant crisis south of the border we need to actually focus somewhere else which is the nations themselves in order fix this crisis.

The piece I chose to analyze is called, The Summit of the Americas is an Instrument of U.S. Hegemony in Latin America. This article centers on the Biden administration excluding certain countries from attending this years summit of the Americas and it analyzes this exclusion as a U.S. soft power tactic. This display of soft power is a relic of the American government’s cold war strategy in Latin America. The evidence of the U.S.’s cold war strategy is prevalent all throughout the region.    

Following the end of the minimal intervention good neighbor policy the U.S. began putting its finger on the scale to a greater effect. As can be seen in chapter 10 of Problems in Modern Latin America the US cold war strategy led to heavy interventionism. A perfect example of this is in section 4 of that chapter that recounts the church committee, Which exposes the U.S. government’s plots to assassinate Latin American leaders (Dawson 2019, 251). Doing so to prop up their own leader in those countries in order to disseminate American hegemonic views onto their societies.This is where the summit of America’s ties into the remnants of American cold war strategy towards Latin America. Not only is the summit of America’s facilitated by the OAS, an instrument of American hegemony, who the U.S. government gave political cover to in supporting a coup in Bolivian in 2019; It also paradoxically props up America as the arbiter of democracy, which given their track record with Latin-American countries is seemingly controversial. When the U.S. secretary of state for Western hemisphere affairs, Brian Nichols, describes the meeting as a key moment to confront the current challenges to democracy in the the hemisphere as a justification for excluding countries from the meeting, again while ignoring the U.S.’s historical role in supporting anti-democratic governments in Latin America it comes off as dishonest. The sentiment was expressed by many of the countries that were invited. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) made this clear when they said that their fourteen nations would withhold their attendance if countries were excluded given that it is ” the summit of the Americas is not a meeting of the United States.” Mexican president AMLO also agreed to boycott the meeting which caused the White House to do more political posturing in order to try to convince Obrador to attend. Shortly thereafter Luis Arce, Bolivian president who came to power after the coup that the OAS supported with the political cover of the U.S., agreed not to go; As well as Honduran president Xiomara Castro who has vivid memories of a U.S. supported coup, in which her husband Manuel Zelaya was run out of the country. The U.S. government’s view of itself as a unipolar hegemon, at least in this hemisphere, can be observed through the rhetoric of the government officials. When deputy assistant Secretary of State for Western hemisphere affairs Karri Hannan Describes countries not attending as “[losing] an opportunity to engage with the United States” it shows how US government clearly views itself as the hemespheric decision maker and the country others must come to, to then decide their agendas.

The rest of the article does a great job by presenting the historical facts about U.S. interventionism in Latin America to further prove their point. Whether it be a general anti-Castro Latin American agenda or plan Columbia written by Joe Biden the US has a interesting record in working with Latin America and for these countries to have a say about the U.S.’s role in their development is a great step in the true autonomy of Latin-American countries.

Work Cited: https://jacobin.com/2022/05/the-summit-of-the-americas-is-an-instrument-of-us-hegemony-in-latin-america.

Problems in Modern Latin American History : Sources and Interpretations, edited by James A. Wood, and Anna Rose Alexander, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2019. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/baruch/detail.action?docID=5743856

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/16/lula-vows-to-undo-brazils-environmental-degradation-and-halt-deforestation

Liberalism of the late 19^th century and its reformation in neoliberalism in the late 20^th century in Latin America have led to climate disasters around the world. Industrialization and utilizing vast areas of land for commodity production once uplifted Latin American nations in the global market. Measuring their progress in terms of “steam engines, railroad mileage, or gas lights” (Burns 135), Latin American countries, exploited their natural resources to align themselves with the Western world.

Latin American nations today now are held responsible to preserve the environment and prevent any futher damage on the ecosystems within their countries. Beginning in the late 19^th century, Latin American leaders once believed their duty was to use land to validate their role in the globe but now they must make attempts to reverse the destruction made by their predecessors. Brazil has been one of the most highlighted nations to take on this role. Due to their holding of the Amazon, a region that produces “20% of the world’s oxygen,” but has shrunk by 17% in the last 50 years (Dawson 203), Brazil is held responsible in preserving one of the world’s most valuable forests. Under former President Bolsonaro, deforestation increased at alarming levels, which then factored into his loss in Brazil’s 2022 election against President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula. Covered by Patrick Greenfield and Fiona Harvey for The Guardian, as one of his many goals for Brazil during his term, ‘“Lula told the climate summit [Cop27] that his administration would go further than ever before on the environment by cracking down on illegal gold mining, logging and agricultural expansion, and restoring climate-critical ecosystems.” As all of Latin America has a history of exploiting their land or allowing foreign businesses to do the same, Lula “vowed to work with other Amazonian countries – including Peru, Colombia, Guyana and Venezuela – to work towards sustainable development in the region while also protecting key ecosystems.” He details some of the many climate disasters that arise out of the climate crisis such as tropical storms in the U.S., droughts and floods in his own nation, to emphasize how everyone has a key role in preserving the climate as they are all equally held accountable for the Amazon’s deforestation and affected by its consequences.

Although Brazil, like its Latin American neighbors, is taking on their role to preserve their respective ecosystem, Lula ensures to hold the Global North responsible as well. If not for Western Europe and the U.S.’ own pressures on Latin America to rapidly industrialize and give up their land in the 19^th and 20^th century, the climate crisis potentially would not have been nearly as bad as it is today. Lula reminds the Global North of their promises to finance and support the Global South’s efforts to fight climate change as they are all responsible for the planet’s safety and humanity’s survival.

Dawson, Alexander. Latin America since Independence: A History with Primary Sources. 3^rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2022.

Greenfield, Patrick, Harvey Fiona, “Lula Vows to Undo Environmental Degradation and Halt Deforestation,” (November 16, 2022) [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/16/lula-vows-to-undo-brazils-environmental-degradation-and-halt-deforestation] (Accessed on 12/10/2022). 

Hebe de Bonafini, 93, Who Rallied Mothers of ‘the Disappeared,’ Dies – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Argentina, like many other nations in Latin America, experienced a period of “apolitical” military rule. This type of rule often included strong government action against any perceived political dissidents. Argentina proved an exceedingly bad case of this form of government, human rights were disregarded as people were jailed, tortured, killed and disappeared. 

The article talks of the Death of an extraordinary activist during the time of the military regime, Hebe de Bonafini. She was a 49 year old housewife when one of her sons was disappeared by the military government. After tireless searching, she began to assemble other mothers who had suffered the same fate, and organized weekly protests with her new group. Although there was backlash, and members were disappeared, they did not back down.

The military dictatorship in Argentina finally came to an end in 1983, after seven grueling years of deaths and forced labor. This was mostly caused by an ongoing economic crisis and a shameful display in the Falkland War against the British. 

Argentina went on to institute one of the world’s first commissions for truth and reconciliation, attempting to punish the ones responsible for much of the suffering women like Hebe had endured. Although some long jail sentences were given, Hebe became increasingly polarizing during this time period, condemning every democratic leader until the election of the Kirchners. Nestor Kirchner finally restarted the trials which had been stalled by previous leaders.

The United States’ backing of the previous military government had left a sour taste in the mouths of many, Hebe was especially displeased. When the 9/11 attacks happened, she celebrated that the monster did bleed. She was very vocal about many foreign nations, freely voicing her opinions to the public. A corruption scandal further sullied her reputation, an alleged embezzlement of funds meant for housing of the poor. Unfortunately, even her former close allies, specifically former president Cristina Kirchner had recently been found guilty of fraud. (Argentina’s Vice President, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Found Guilty of Fraud – The New York Times (nytimes.com))

Despite, and for some, because of all this, she had been nominated for multiple Nobel Peace Prizes, as recently as 2018. To this day she is admired for her actions during the terrible times of the military dictatorship, and Argentina has called for three days of national mourning.

Peru has recently had a bad history with presidents. In 2020, Manuel Merino was impeached and removed by congress claiming that Merino suffered a permanent moral incapacity and then three candidates were chosen in less than a week until finally Present Sagasti was elected by congress to lead the country as interim president until the election year arrived and then in 2021, Pedro Castillo was elected president to the surprise of many as this was seen as a sign of resurgence for left leaning politicians as Castillo prided himself as being a man that believes in labor rights. There was much turmoil in the election of Castillo as the vote between himself and his competitor was very close. Throughout his reign as president ist was filled with the media accusing him of corruption and congress fighting against him, similar to how Merino’s presidency was until he was impeached. Castillo on December 5th used his powers as president to propose the removal of congress to the surprise of many and to raise his own powers permanently changing the government and was using his power in an attempt to brute force his new policies into fruition. Congress immediately disavowed him and attempted to impeach him and succeeded. Castillo was then arrested by Lima police forces for corruption and his attempt to damage the Peruvian government.”In a stunning turn of events, Castillo was detained by police in the capital city Lima after lawmakers impeached him in Congress.“(CNN 2022) Now Castillo’s vice president, Dina Boluarte, is immediately voted in as president by congress. As you can infer Peru’s government is filled with corruption. What the article doesn’t explain is that the people know that congress, politicians and the presidents are corrupted and that there is a massive loss of faith from the Peruvian people and that this is becoming the standard in Peru. When I asked my father what he thought of this as he lived in Peru for all of his young life, he said that he wasn’t surprised and that when he went back to Peru in November that nothing had changed at all from since he was a kid there and that its been the same and will most likely remain the same until corruption in the upper echelons of the Peruvian government is gone. My father lives in New York City and the comparison between NYC and Peru is night and day as the big apple is suspect to tons of changes every year. He believes that since he was a kid in the 1970s to now, Peru hasn’t changed. To someone like me who’s lived in New York all his life the thought is crazy to me. Latin America is rife with corruption with either the government itself not upholding its ideals or the military attempting to make a grab for power. An example of a military regime making a grab for power was in Brazil in the 1960s when the military overthrew President Goulart. For example, “limiting freedom, removing elected officials, purging the civil service and judiciary. Martial law in turn became an opportunity to target unions, dissident intellectuals, anyone on the left.”(Dawson 235). I could overhear this news on the television tomorrow about any Latin American country and I would sadly not be surprised. The people of Peru or countries similar to Peru are hardy people who have grown used to news like this and find comfort in our rich culture, work, and the best food in the world, this is fact.

Work’s Cited

• Rebaza, Claudia, Tara John, Stefano Pozzebon, and Hande Atay Alam. “Peru’s President Impeached and Arrested after He Attempts to Dissolve Congress.” CNN. Cable News Network, December 8, 2022. https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/07/americas/peru-president-castillo-congress-dissolves-intl/index.html. 
• “List of Presidents of Peru.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, December 8, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_Peru.
• Turkewitz, Julie, and Anatoly Kurmanaev. “Peru Chooses 3rd President in a Week amid Street Protests.” The New York Times. The New York Times, November 16, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/16/world/americas/Peru-president-Francisco-Sagasti.html. 
• Dawson, Alexander. Latin America since Independence: A History with Primary Sources. 3^rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2022. p. 235
• “Francisco Sagasti.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, December 8, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Sagasti. 

Cuba Approves Same-Sex Marriage in Historic Vote

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As the Cuban revolutionaries quickly gained ground in their 1958 offensive and were able to oust dictator Fulgencio Batista on the eve of the new year, it signaled to all around the world the momentous changes awaiting the restless nation. Spearheaded by Che Guevera, the revolutionaries wanted to recultivate their spark of revolution by essentially remaking Cuba and, by extension, the world. By adopting a new utopian way of thinking, they tried to diversify and industrialize the country, launch literacy campaigns and proclaim the formation of a new consciousness, a “new man.” (Dawson 214). The “new man” was literal; women and sexuality were to be relegated to a conservative framework as before.    For all of their posture of progressive revolution, the creation of the “new man” was a relic of Latin America’s machismo attitude. Like caudillos of the past, Fidel Castro’s bombastic attitude and heterosexual masculinity were lionized all the meanwhile homosexuals were being prosecuted as their sexuality was perceived as debauchery (Dawson 214). Those who failed to fit the classification of cis-hetero males were either subjugated or reduced to subservience. 

Efforts were made to rectify the issues of patriarchal domination as by the 1960s, women found it easier to pursue a career, get a divorce, make their own reproductive decisions and in 1975 passed, the Family Code requiring men to divide the labor in the household to mixed results (Dawson 215). In an interview with Carmen Lira for the Mexican newspaper, La Jornada, Fidel Castro apologizes and takes full blame for the persecution of homosexuals during the 60s and 70s, who were subjected to imprisonment or firing squads. There is no justification for the leader’s action; however, Castro attempts to paint the picture of what he and the country were dealing with during that period. According to Castro, the threat of the CIA had made him oblivious to the plight of homosexuals (BBC Staff 2010). In 2008, it would be Fidel Castro’s niece, Mariela Castro (and director of the National Center for Sex Education), who would be the one to call for radical changes toward gay and transexual rights. Attempting to sway the Cuban National Assembly to pass legislation recognizing same-sex unions and allowing transexuals free transition operations, the proposed legislation excluded adoption and marriage out of fear of stiff resistance, further delaying the law (Voss 2008).  

It was not until September 2022 that Cuba successfully passed a referendum allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt (Medina 2022). Whenever these western articles mention the passing of these “family laws,” there is an emphasis on the legalization of same-sex marriage; while the law has made same-sex marriage legal, it goes beyond that and further deconstructs the nuclear family unit that is seen as typical within a heteronormative society like Latin America. The 100-page law allows surrogate pregnancies, further protection for grandparents and children, and measures against gender violence (Medina 2022).

 Gay marriage has never been seen as the end goal for the LGBTQ community; it is for the total acceptance of who they are and who they choose to be that fills them with aspiration. Unfortunately, the articles and the titles that proliferate them make it seem as if Cuba is just now “catching up” to the western world. Although the law is a sign of progress, nearly 33% of the population opposed the law, as a large number of these individuals were members of the growing evangelical movement. But as more Latin American countries adopt same-sex marriage, like Costa Rica in 2020, the region can start to strip away the notion of machismo as “love is law in the island of freedom”(Medina 2022).    

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Work Cited:

BBC Staff. “Fidel Castro Takes Blame for Persecution of Cuban Gays.” BBC News, 31 Aug. 2010.

Dawson, Alexander. Latin America since Independence a History with Primary Sources. Vol. 3, ROUTLEDGE, 2022.

Medina, Eduardo. “Cuba Approves Same-Sex Marriage in Historic Vote.” The New York Times, 26 Sept. 2022. 

Voss, Michael. “Castro Champions Gay Rights in Cuba.” BBC News, 17 Mar. 2008.