Author: BENSON DONG
Module 4 Assignment
The article that I chose was about how China has been reported to be the main contender when it comes to distributing a vaccine for the coronavirus in Latin America. The article talks about how China has been expanding its influence in Latin America for some time now and that this latest act that it is doing is a way that harms the reputation of the United States, the neighbor of Latin America, that refuses to help in the pandemic and has stated that America would come first and not the world as a whole. This pandemic has already proven to be fatal to countries all around the world and it would take the unification of everyone’s effort to stop the spread. With China leading the way of negotiations in Latin America to lend help to them, it is a big slap in the face of the United States as it clearly states in the article that China is basically doing deals in the “backyard” of the U.S. This just shows how the world powers that once used to compete for influence in Latin America has not completely faded yet and that there is continuous attempts by opposing rival world powers to claim control of others. For example, back when Latin America used to be dominated by the Spanish and the Portuguese, there were always fights determining which section of the land was theirs and if there were disagreements, it often lead to fights, war and battles. With this article, it would be not surprise should China get a potential ally in Latin America and establish itself there, the United States might see it as a threat to them. China may take this opportunity to make Latin America indebted to them and have a hold in the Western Hemisphere and in turn lead to potential threats to the United States. The U.S. may take this as a both a insult and a threat which can lead to arguments and potentially down the line to war. Both sides will suffer should this happen but the battle will most likely take place in the lands of Latin America and it would be a repeat of the Cold War of the past all over again if China manages to establish themselves and the United States cannot get over their ego.
Module 3 Assignment
https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/dc.html?doc=4329957-Document-10-Memorandum-of-Conversation-Rough
The document above was a conversation that was made between Fidel Castro, who was visiting the United States in April of 1959, and the then vice president and future president, Richard Nixon. The document was essentially Nixon asking Castro why he lead the revolution and overthrew the government that the United States had set up in Cuba. When Castro had overthrown the U.S. set government in Cuba, many in the United States saw him as a villain. Nixon asked why couldn’t Castro have waited for the people to vote for a new leader and Castro replied with the essentially that the people could no longer wait for elections to happen. The people were angry and the that anger was close to boiling over. Castro decided that he would take the anger of the Cubans and direct them into a revolution that would benefit the people. This is where a major theme of the Cold War era came to play. The people. The people are not the wealthy but the ones that are suffering and are in desperate need of change so that they can continue their lives and live without having to suffer the idea of whether or not they would be able to get their next meal or have to starve again. Nixon tried to cast the idea of a capitalist society that the United States had onto Castro. He believed that he would be able to convince Castro to fall in line and allow the United States to reclaim Cuba as a subsidiary territory. But much to Nixon’s surprise, Castro did not falter. Castro in turn responded with how America may be the greatest country in the world, but it could still be afraid/live in fear. As Castro says in the document “But every place I go you seem to be afraid–afraid of Communism, afraid that if Cuba has land reform it will grow a little rice and the market for your rice will be reduced–afraid that if Latin America becomes more industrialized American factories will not be able to sell as much abroad as they have previously.” This stunned Nixon. Never had he had to think that capitalist America was imperfect and that with just the success of another country, they would have to compete with them to remain at the top. Castro, on the other hand, believes that to satisfy the people is not to just have a booming economy, but rather to satisfy the needs of the people so that everyone could be happy. This is the reason why he chose to resort to a more communist approach to help him in his quest to make Cuba a haven for his people.
https://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/islandora/object/tulane%3A11108
This is a photo of Benito Juarez, a Mexican president that had served for several terms. After the collapse of the regime of Santa Anna, many young liberals, like Juarez, were leading the charge in the fight for the future of Latin America.
Juarez as a person was humble and modest in his demeanor and his attitude. It was naturally befitting that he would go on to become a lawyer. He saw many problems with the church and the aristocracy that controlled much of the economy in Mexico. He wanted many changes so that would change the current system of Mexico. However, his plans would be put on hold momentarily when the conservatives of Mexico obtained back their power in 1853 and exiled many liberals which included Juarez. Juarez would live in New Orleans from 1853-1855, about 2 years, before returning to Mexico when liberals took back control in 1855. When Juarez returned, he joined the new government under Juan Alvarez as the minister of justice. Juarez made reforms for the poor so that the poor would be able to climb the social ladder and eventually create a middle class. When a new president was elected, Juarez was promoted to preside over the Supreme Court of Mexico. Juarez would be elected president in 1861 but was faced with many issues. Juarez intended to solve them but was interrupted through forces in Europe. Juarez was once again forced to leave Mexico and bide his time to return. When he did return, the people did not question his role as president but react with violence to his suggestion to change the constitution.
Juarez was a interesting figure to say the least. He had good intentions but one mistake turned his career south. Juarez would spend the rest of his days and his presidency trying to restore the peace in Mexico. But his end would come in the form of a heart attack in 1872.
Works Cited
Scholes, W. (2020, July 14). Benito Juárez. Retrieved October 13, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Benito-Juarez
Module 1 Assignment: Simon Bolivar
Simon Bolivar was one of the leading figures of independence during the liberation of Latin America from the rule of the Spanish. He was born rather well off but it did not mean he could escape from the rule of the Spanish and be deemed lower than a true Spanish born. As a child born in Latin America, he did not see the reason as to why the people that lived in Latin America originally were submitting themselves to the rule of the Spaniards. This discontent allowed him to pursue the interest, and eventually the goal, of freeing Latin Americans from the rule of the Spaniards.
Before Bolivar would set out on the path to liberation, he made numerous goals that he wished could be fulfilled along the path. As time progressed, he consolidated the goals that he had in mind and shortened them to what was the top issue that had to be resolved immediately. One of the top issues was the concept of slavery. Spain had conquered most of the lands of Latin America and ruled with an iron fist. The cultures of Spain were brought over and turned the world of the Latin Americans upside down. One such culture that was the norm in Spain was the allowance of slavery to exist and use of labor from slaves. Simon Bolivar disagreed with the concept of slavery and wanted slavery to be discontinued. The humiliation of slavery upon Latin Americans made Bolivar disagreement with the rule of the Spaniards worse. He knew that the Spaniards saw them as a disposable tool and voiced his concerns to the Spanish.
Another of Bolivars goals was the unification of Latin America so that Latin Americans would be able to gather and grow in power so that they would not have to suffer humiliation again from a foreign adversary. Spain ruled with only one voice and all its colonies and the motherland would have to follow that voice else they wished for punishment. Bolivar was upset with this and wished for the freedom that his people deserved. He wrote letters to Spain about his dissatisfaction with the way they were governing Latin America but it was to no avail. Spain only saw Latin America as a land of free or cheap labor and resources that they could exploit. But Bolivar was not dumb enough to oppose an entire empire by himself. He would have to bide his time and wait for the opportunity to arise before he would center himself as one of the pillars that would lead Latin Americans to reclaim the lands that were rightfully theirs.
Even though Bolivar was just one man in the face of an entire empire, he did not give up on his goal of releasing the shackles that Spain had on Latin America. Bolivar had to wait for the anger and the humiliation of his people to boil over before he could take action to defy the Spanish empire. As time went on, he was able to free his people from the rule of the Spaniards and many praised him as “the Liberator” that freed Latin America. His name would be known throughout history and he had rightfully deserved the praise. But his goals of unification were not finished due to some circumstances. But nevertheless, he had already gained the respect of many and passed down his tale of bravery to future generations.