Author: DUONG NGO
The United States Should Welcome a Strong, United Latin America
The relationship between the United States and Latin America has been a hot topic for a long period of time. They are closely linked in political, economic, and social issues, leading to the influence on one side can affect the others. The article describes the relationship between the US and Latin America and the benefits that both regions will receive when twenty countries in Latin America are moving toward an agreement on forming a supranational Union. Aside from that, it also comes up with the question: “Should we either support the proposed Latinamérica Unida or get out of the way?”
Based on the New York Times article, the trade activities can be benefited from the preferential policies of the Union and it has a positive effect on the US and Latin American countries. For example, the trade boom in the late 19th and beginning of the 20th century is a turning point in the economy and politics of both regions. The US received many products from agriculture to mineral products from Latin America at a low cost. In return, the US supported Latin America by technology transferring. The trade boom also had a great contribution to the Latin American government budget by collecting tax then later funded for governing, police, and infrastructure. Nowadays, the trade action will be far more prosperous than before by forming a union and applying international trade agreements like NAFTA or USMCA.
Furthermore, the forming of a union will have a profound influence on internal as well as international immigration. The US has been known for the title “A place that dreams come true” which attracting immigration waves around the world, especially Latin American countries. We can easily see the relationship between immigration from the Southside and the US food and beverage industry since 1930. At first, Mexican food was hardly founded on the street in the US, taking New York City as an example. The boom of Mexican food or immigration started in 1970 and meet its peak in the 1990s. Nowadays, you can easily find Mexican food in a food truck, pushcart in every corner of the city with a low-price and delicious taste. With the new union, the economy of Latin America will improve which then make the journey to the United States look less and less worthwhile.
So, what should the United States react to the proposed Latinamérica Unida? In the past, Latin America’s politics were strongly affected by the US government and their alliance. For example, at the beginning of the 20th century, the United Fruit Company was a typical example of neo-colonialism which using economics to influence a country instead of direct military control. The central American countries gave them access to the port, railroad, and received money and arms in return. Then, the election in 1964, the assassination against generals René Schneider, and even the 1973 Chilean coup are involved directly to indirectly from the US government. The United States has already meddled far too many times in the politics of the region, toppling or propping up regimes in nearly every country. Now, it is time for the US to take a step back and allow Latin Americans to decide what kind of government they want.
Overall, the forming of a Union will have more benefit than harm for the Latin American countries itself and their neighbor country. As a close friend to Latin America, the US government should conclude with an answer: “Do nothing”
Cite:
-https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/17/opinion/future-united-latin-america.html?searchResultPosition=2
– Wood, James A., and Anna Rose Alexander. Problems in Modern Latin American History: Sources and Interpretations. 5th ed. Rowman & Littlefield, 2019. ProQuest Ebook Central.
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Chile in the Cold World Era
During the Cold War from 1947 to 1991, the US and the USSR have not participated in any large-scale fighting directly but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars. Chile in Latin America is considered as a key place in which the US should hold the upper hand. By the American intervention, Chile’s economy and especially politics have been deeply affected. The election in 1964, the assassination against generals René Schneider, and even the 1973 Chilean coup are involved directly to indirectly from the US government.
Firstly, the Scare Campaign was introduced as anti-communist by using media during the 1964 election in Chile. The US government was heavily involved and provided many of the propaganda skills, resources, and monies needed to develop it. During the campaign, they used a series of posters, leaflets, letters, and radio with the same idea which defamed socialist Salvador Allende and Marxism-Leninism. The reasons which made the ads powerful was because they reflected, appealed to, and constructed ideas about gender then prevalent in Chilean society. Marxism -Leninism was described as a monster that takes children away from the Chilean family and sends them to Cuba to be indoctrinated in communist propaganda and denationalized. In other ads, Cuban women were forced to join the military and their only accessory was a machine gun. In a very short amount of time, with the onslaught on large scale, the US Senate announced that they produced 24 daily new casts in Santiago and the provinces and distributed 3000 posters daily. As a result, Chilean were likely affected by the ads and the victory was given to Eduardo Frei Montalva.
Secondly, generals René Schneider was caught in Central Intelligent Agency sight because he expressed firm opposition to the idea of preventing Allende’s inauguration through a coup. Rene Schneider was the commander-in-chief of the Chilean Army from 1969. The CIA created a campaign to eradicate Allende supporters, including Rene Schneider, by supplied weapons to a group of Chilean officers led by Generals Camilo Valenzuela. In the attempt, Schneider was shot several times in the ambush in the capital city of Santiago. After this incident, the outrage exploded across the country and his death was a factor that then leads to Allende’s victory in the election in the same year.
Then, right after the victory of Allende, Henry Kissinger presents President Nixon with a briefing memorandum outlining which focuses on the new Chilean president. In the memorandum, Kissinger showed the problem that the US needs to face and several solutions with a different perspective. According to the article, from an economic perspective, the US will lose about 1.5 billion investment in Chile which equal to 10 billion dollars today. Besides, it is more likely that the introduction of Marxism-Leninism in Chile will then have an impact on other regions of the world, leading to a decline in the power of the United States. After showing the pro and cons of the modus vivendi strategy or some of the hostile approach, Kissinger finally asked for Allende’s strong opposition even though it helped Allende get more support from domestic and international as well. He said: “The dangers of doing nothing are greater than the risks we run in trying to do something.” Consequently, the 1973 Chilean coup was a US-backed Chilean military coup that deposed the government of President Salvador Allende.
Overall, the US government has shown its impact on the economy, culture, and politics in Chile associated with unethical campaigns. Also, the National Security Archive is considered as “smoking guns” evidence of US actions in Latin America.
586 words
Cite:
– https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/dc.html?doc=7281124-National-Security-Archive-Doc-1-The-White-House
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_Chilean_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat#U.S._involvement
Transporting Bananas
Banana or tropical agricultural products were one of the main symbols that leads to the heyday of Latin America’s export-oriented economy. It also represented the rising of neo-colonialism through the practice of using economics, globalization, cultural imperialism, and conditional aid to influence a country instead of direct military control or indirect political control.
Firstly, after the period of colonialism, the new governments of the Latin America region found it difficult to break the traditional export model of development which had been established under colonialism. For that reason, an export-oriented economy was a goal of the government. The export economy of tropical agricultural products in Latin America accounts for 14.2% of world exports, of which bananas account for a large proportion. Following the tendency, the United Fruit company became one of the largest corporations and landowners in Latin America. It is an American corporation that traded tropical fruit grown in Latin America and sold in the United States and Europe. The picture described the worker moving bananas out of the United Fruit Company banana groves in Limon (Costa Rica) – one of its main farms in Latin America. As we can see in the image, bananas were produced on a large scale, and the pulley system representing the application of machines in industrial production. United Fruit company was using the method of exchanging land for infrastructure or the railroad in specific. Besides Limón in Costa Rica, Guatemala was a real gold mine for the company like United Fruit. Under the Guatemalan dictator Jorge Ubico, the United Fruit Company gained control of 42% of Guatemala’s land and was exempted from paying taxes and import duties. At peak, United Fruit became a monopoly of the industry by selling ninety percent of banana in the United States.
Secondly, besides the contribution to the economy, the United Fruit multination company is also known for its influence on the internal politics of the “banana republic”. The corporation is described as “el pulpo” or octopus in Spanish because of the long reach of its tentacles all over central America. The Guatemala government gave the company the right to transport postal mail between Guatemala and the United States. Besides controlling land transportation, the United Fruit Company was also given control of the port in return for money and arms. Moreover, the company invested in the tropical radio and telegraph company then used it for propaganda their ideas. United Fruit Company was a typical example of neo-colonialism in the 20th century which using economics to influence a country instead of direct military control. Despite the destitute condition that people in colonized countries were suffering, we cannot deny the contribution of colonialism to the colonized economy. For example, between 1880 and 1910, the total length of the railroad in Brazil increased from 3.4 to 21.3 thousand kilometers or 12.7 to 31.1 thousand kilometers in Argentina. Furthermore, people in colonial countries benefited from cultivation and mining techniques taught by the colonist.
In conclusion, the image of the banana farm has a profound description of a society in the late 19th and beginning of the 20th century. It not only represents the economy that focused on export but also the rising of neo-colonialism.
Cite:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCXW26UUWeU
- https://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/islandora/object/tulane%3A11673
- Dawson, Alexander. Latin America since Independence: A History with Primary Sources. 2nd ed. Taylor & Francis, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Our Lady of Guadalupe
The image of Lady of Guadalupe has been a big part of Mexican tradition. It represented as a religious, cultural symbol of Mexican and also contributed to the turning point of Western civilization. The day of Our Lady of Guadalupe is chosen to be the same as the Constitution establishing day which can be seen in Article Nineteen of “The Sentiments of the Nation”.
Firstly, Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego, a peasant, on a winter’s day in 1531 and asked him to builder her a “casita” on the hill but when Diego got back home, his local bishop did not believe in his story. A day after, Juan Diego showed the tilma to the bishop then the flowers tumbled out and the life-size image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was inside of the cloak. There are many symbols hidden within her image. She has a unique dark skin that representing a mix of Spanish and dark native. This detail indicated that she is a saint for everyone instead of just one race. She stands on the crescent moon and in front of the sunray representing her power of God. Besides that, she also has another symbol of both Indian and Spanish like maternity band around her waist was a sign of a pregnant Indian woman or a symbol of a cross at her neck which is the same symbol as Spaniards had on their ships and the church that they build. The evolution of the Guadalupe symbol was succeeded as an attachment between colonial and invader.
Moreover, the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe has an impact not only on religious but also on politics. The abundant grace is Our Lady of Guadalupe brought help the Indian to embrace Christianity which has equality and liberty as core values. That is a reason why Father Morelos choose the Constitution establishing day the same as the day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. His vision was focusing on the equality between white and indigenous people. He said: “Let there be no more ethnic distinction made among our people, but rather, we shall all be called simply americanos”. Besides, the liberty is mentioned in the first Article of the Sentiments of the Nation by Morelos: “America shall be free and independent of Spain or any other European nation, government, or monarchy. Let its independence be sanctioned and justified before the entire world.” Through the idea of Father Morelos, we can see that his ultimate goal was turning “New Spain” to become the kingdom of Christianity equality or communist and socialist ideas as nowadays knowledge. Furthermore, the image of the lady of Guadalupe also helped the Spaniards to treat native people with respect as they should have as the children of God. For that reason, it contributed to the independence movement of the colonial later.
In conclusion, the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe has shown its importance in religious, cultural, and shaping a New Spain. Also, Father Morelos is a person who has been instilled thought of Catholicism, the origin of the image of Lady of Guadalupe, and later having a great effect on the document named “The Sentiment of Nation”.