October 2020 – History 3072, History of Modern Latin America

Uspallata Train Station in Argentina

There was room for growth in Latin America after independence was established. The many nations resulting after the Spanish crown left Latin America, all saw a better and brighter future. They wanted to expand and had big aims of achieving modernization. Aspiring to establish themselves and make their mark as newly formed countries. Many important things started to come to question with expansion and modernization. Such as communication, transportation, and unification. All important and necessary factors in better establishing a modern and efficient society. Remote and isolated areas of Latin America were important in making them more accessible. Much of Latin America started to take advantage of it’s natural resources. In order to do so, these isolated areas abundant in cacao, coffee, etc., needed to be reached. Therefore to improve civilization and the economy, railroad systems were vital for success in economic expansion. Latin America is a very diverse and large land. Each country can have varying climates and terrains. Reaching from coastal beaches, to Andean plains, to dense and tropical jungles. These unique circumstances created very real challenges in trade and transportation. With the unification that came with railroads, this was a problem of the past. Industrialization, Governments, and trade better reached communities. The prospect of new job opportunities arose as well. Hence, setting forth modernization in Latin America.

The period between 1830’s-1900’s was a great economic boom for Latin America. Changes and new technologies were emerging rapidly. The technology of the railroad pushed forth the anticipated renewal. Brought unity in countries and economic stability for a period. This picture taken in Argentina, circa 1850-1900. Shows exactly the great changes brought forth by the railroad. Argentina reaped many of the benefits that followed through with modernization. It is a great example of what positive changes were made in South America. “In the early twentieth century, Argentines could proudly claim that theirs was one of the ten richest countries in the world. Buenos Aires, like a number of Latin American cities, was a modern showpiece with a population of 1.5 million people, complete with new mansions, electric lights, department stores, and trolleys”, Dawson, pg. 122. Argentina saw new waves of immigration as well, further developing the nation. The image shows, the Andes, we can see the train carts. A woman waiting and about to board her cart. She’s dressed in a hat and nice clothes. In faint small letters in Spanish, “Primera Classe”, meaning first class. To be more accurate, this photo was taken in Mendoza, a small city in Argentina. A city compromised of high plains and foot hills east to the andes. The addition of the railroad here certainly met the expectations of what come with the idea of expansion and modernity.

Dawson, Alexander. Latin America since Independence: A History with Primary Sources. 2nd ed. Taylor & Francis, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central.Ch 4, pg.122-123

President Porfirio Diaz

This is a portrait of Porfirio Diaz created around 1874-1879. He was Mexico’s President and dictator for more than 30 years, from 1876 to 1911, serving seven terms. Born on September 15, 1830, his parents named him Jose de la Cruz Porfirio Diaz Mori. Diaz’s father was a criollo and worked as an innkeeper. He died when Diaz was only three years old, leaving his wife to raise their seven children. Diaz’s mother–a mestiza–could hardly make ends meet but managed to provide Diaz with an education. She wanted him to become a priest, but Diaz wanted something different. At the age of 16, he joined a militia and thus began his climb to power.

Mexico enjoyed great political order and prosperity under Diaz’s rule. During his regime–a period known as Porfiriato–Diaz encouraged economic development, established new industry, and revised laws to attract foreign capital. Historian Celso Furtado examined the advances Latin American countries achieved over the three decades leading up to World War I. He found, for example, in Mexico, the “Díaz administration created the conditions for a large inflow of foreign capital directed mainly into mineral production” (Furtado, 269). Thus, oil production rose from 10,000 barrels a year to 13 million. Additionally, Diaz transformed Mexico’s system for mining various precious metals, such as copper, gold, and silver. He also built an efficient transportation system to ensure Mexico’s economy would continue to boom.

Not all Mexicans benefitted under Porfiriato and the new economic policies. Although Diaz and his elite friends enjoyed the boom, Native Indian people suffered. Diaz appeared to care little for the native majority. He and his followers believed the Native Indian population was incapable of rational thought. In a 1908 interview with James Creelman for Pearson’s Magazine, Porfirio Diaz states, “The Indians, who are more than half of our population, care little for politics. They are accustomed to look to those in authority for leadership instead of thinking for themselves. That is a tendency they inherited from the Spaniards, who taught them to refrain from meddling in public affairs and rely on the Government for guidance.” Ironically, people from Native communities filed several lawsuits fighting to keep their lands. Diaz struck down every lawsuit and instead allowed foreigners to purchase almost everything.

In sum, Mexico became a democracy ruled by a self-interested dictator who would stop at nothing to maintain power, which ultimately led to his demise. Eventually, some elites grew tired of his rule and efforts to prevent others from gaining any political power. As we have learned in class, Mexican elites did not like their ambitions to be held back (which is what caused people to push for independence from Spain). Consequently, one such elite challenged Diaz. In 1908, Francisco I. Madero, the son of one of Mexico’s wealthiest families, ran against Diaz for the presidency. Diaz arrested Maduro in an effort to control the outcome of the election. Diaz won. Maduro fled to the United States and declared himself the legitimate President. On November 20, 1910, Maduro called for a revolution. Back in Mexico, unrest exploded. At 80 years old, Diaz Faced the inevitable and resigned from office on May 25, 1911. On July 2, 1915, he died an exile in France.

Work Cited

Dawson, Alexander. Latin America since Independence. Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition.

Problems in Modern Latin American History (Latin American Silhouettes) (p. 269). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Richard Cavendish | Published in History Today Volume 61 Issue 5 May 2011. (n.d.). The ousting of Porfirio Díaz. Retrieved October 11, 2020, from https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/ousting-porfirio-d%C3%ADaz

Tony. (2020, June 24). Porfirio Diaz, an enigma. Retrieved October 15, 2020, from https://www.mexconnect.com/articles/661-porfirio-diaz-an-enigma/

Street in downtown Buenos Aires.

This photo is taken between 1850 and 1900 in Downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina. In the picture, we see a lot of the European-style suits, European-style buildings, and cars. Even it is difficult to recognize the color of the people in the picture, but we still can see the black man in the lower-left corner dressed in a fancy suit. In the center of the photograph, a child in a sailor’s suit, but we can tell the color of this child is more like light skin; the child looks very much like a white person.

Argentina emerged as one of the most dynamic economies of the 20th century. Stability has brought a boom in export-oriented agriculture, as well as migration. It attracted large numbers of European immigrants. Immigrants have brought diversity to Argentina. Thus, Intermarriage has gradually become a trend and also a political way to merge with the elite. “Troubled by the prospects for their nations to become civilized because of the racial makeup of their societies, Latin American elites undertook any number of projects to improve the race. Where possible, they gradually erased the stain of blackness or Indianness through Intermarriage or reclassification. Many were reclassified as trigueño or “wheat-colored.” Others hoped for redemption through education, modernization, hygiene, nutrition, healthy motherhood, and any number of other improvements, believing that if they could elevate the poor, racially compromised masses out of their civilizational slumber, their societies might prosper.” (Dawson 76)

On the economic side, the development of agriculture also drives the Argentine industry. Argentina’s export trade brought great wealth to the country and its people in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Therefore, “the very extensiveness of the agriculture practiced, and the sheer volume of freight involved necessitated the creation of a widespread transportation network which indirectly led to the rapid unification of the domestic market, focusing on the major ports of shipment. These countries display the characteristics of regions referred to earlier as constituting an expanding frontier of the industrializing European economy.” (Furtado 268) Although the immigrants were mainly free, they cultivated the relations between Argentina’s elite and Europe, which played a positive role in economic development. The economic activities of immigrants also form actual control over Argentina’s economic development direction. This is also the reason why we can see many European-style buildings in the pictures. “Latin Americans wanted to prove that their countries were as capable as any other of participating in the endless cycles of innovation, artistic and scientific that characterized modernity. (Furtado 268)

In conclusion, Argentina’s export trade brought great wealth to the country and its people in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; stability has brought a boom in export-oriented agriculture, as well as migration. The collapse of the colonial political order gave Latin America the concept of defining the world’s nations. Argentina became one of the most prosperous countries in the world during its golden years.”

Citation:

Dawson, Alexander. Latin America since Independence: A History with Primary Sources. 2nd ed. Taylor & Francis, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central.Ch 4

Celso Furtado, Economic Development of Latin America: Historical Background and Contemporary Problems, trans. Suzette Macedo (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1976), 47–51. © 1976 Cambridge University Press. Reproduced with permission.

Problems in Modern Latin American History (Latin American Silhouettes) (p. 286). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Kindle Edition.

In this image is a harbor in Panama City, listed as taken some time between 1850 to 1900. This image speaks to the rapid and sudden boom in production and exports during the neocolonial period of Latin America. Shipping and rail systems, crucial to the economic development of the region, are pictured here both prominently in the fore and background, with various goods in between. On the center left is a building with a balcony banner labeled Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. On the train is either an unidentified agricultural product, or given the presence of wooden planks, likely a construction commodity.

The presence of a British shipping venture present in the image indicates that this harbor either was or was about to become incredibly important in the perspective of global trade and shipping. It is important to note that during this period, Latin America was making immense strides in logistical infrastructure. The railroads being built during this era facilitated rapid transport of trade goods both domestically and to ports headed internationally. As the transport network quickly expanded, goods could reach harbors such as this one with increasing ease, perpetuating the means of furthering the global economic foothold of Latin America.

Keep in mind that the Panama Canal was being financed and built during this time in history. From this, we can infer that the contents these specific trains and ships carried likely went towards the construction of the project. Ultimately, if Latin America’s mineral and agricultural markets had not developed the ability to move immense quantities of resources during their export booms, the infrastructure necessary for such a project would not exist, making the trade and transport crescendo that is the Panama Canal an impossibility.

One very interesting detail in this picture is that there appear to be electrical poles and lines running throughout the harbor, signaling the onset of modernity in Latin America. I wonder exactly how far ahead Latin America was in regards to modernization, in relation to the rest of the world during the prosperous times pictured above.

Mexico and the Juárez Presidency

The photo entitled “Newspaper Kiosk” is a black and white photograph capturing a busy sidewalk and its surroundings in the heart of Mexico City. Tulane University places this image somewhere between the years of 1850-1900, a significant period in Mexican history that marks the transition of Mexico City from a conservative hub to a liberal mainstay of the Benito Juárez presidency. The image includes a few residential and commercial buildings, clearly modeled after European architecture, and depicts various townspeople dressed in fashions that reflect their wealth. Despite the bustling nature of the picture, the clear focal point of the image is a small newspaper kiosk and the line of patrons outside of it.

The existence of the newspaper kiosk itself leads me to believe that this photograph is more accurately pinned to the Juárez presidency rather than the Porfiriato period. The Juárez presidency and the constitution born from La Reforma period stressed the importance of free speech and widespread education. In a healthy democracy, the promotion of literacy and freedom of the press are cornerstones to the system and its well-oiled function. Best stated by Safford, “[Liberals] called not merely for individual freedoms but for an absolute freedom of conscience, of the press, of education, and of commerce” (Problems 108). The Porfiriato regime was known for a distrust of the press and participated in the consolidation of newspapers into El Imparcial, a state funded newspaper that silenced competing papers. Other publishers could not keep up with the low cost of the government regulated paper as well as the active silencing of journalists during the Porfiriato period (Excelsior).

Another signifier of this photograph belonging to the Juárez presidency is the existence of a storefront operating under the name “Philipp,” a name that is traditionally of German origin. The operation of a business by presumably foreign occupants could reflect the liberal free trade reforms and openness to neoliberalism that was proposed through La Reforma. Liberalization often included an adherence to capitalist structure, making the existence of foreign companies in Mexico likely. Of the people in the photograph, there are men and women of various social status based upon their appearance. A woman in the forefront wears long shawls while another sports a tailored, tiered dress. One man wears a formal three piece suit while most others opt for presentable yet casual button ups and slacks. The coexistence of varying social classes in the urban city center are not out of place as the Juárez presidency made social mobility a possible achievement. La Reforma period birthed a new generation in terms of social origin as it was mostly composed of people whose social mobility relied on liberal reforms made possible during the Independence era. (Problems 106).

Modernization under el Porfiriato

Children walking on a railroad track Ajusco, Mexico 1850

The picture depicts a tale of two worlds colliding, the modern and the old. Two poor children walking along a railroad track, one of the engineering marvels that would help Mexico modernize its economy and lift people out of poverty. The modernization of Mexico and its cost happened all over Latin America as governments instituted policies that would benefit some at the expense of a few. Order, then progress was the ideology Latin American elites subscribed to in the 19^th century. There was a feeling that Latin America once a land with riches was starting to lag the industrialized nations of the world. According to Dawson “Latin American elites believed that their societies would never prosper, would never become modern if order was not first established. Democracy a messy process everywhere, brought only chaos to regions like Latin America, because the people there were not civilized enough to exercise their democratic rights responsibly.” (115). This belief gave rise to strong governments that would dictate how countries would modernize. Central to modernization were education programs and economic expansion. Economic expansion in the region exploded when nations started exporting the raw materials more industrialized nations depended upon. Slowly but surely a sizable middle class started emerging and society itself started changing too. People flocked into cities that were experiencing growth, new jobs, and whole industries were created to absorb the influx. This economic boom started luring foreign investment which was followed by massive construction projects to further develop the economy. The economic expansion created a middle class which was vital for democracy, but the wealth was disproportionally held by the elites, not everyone benefited from this new system.

Mexico under the control of General Porfirio Diaz is likely the embodiment of the ideology of the elites. His stay in power from 1884 to 1911 was known as el Porfiriato. During el Porfiriato, Mexico underwent rapid modernization and economic growth while at the same curving civil liberties and a free press. General Diaz believed that the people of Mexico were not ready to exercise democracy and that his government needed to have a paternalistic policy. Diaz greatly expanded access to education by building more schools and making it free to attend. Diaz also launched massive civil engineering works to build railroad tracks, dams, and buildings around the country. His regime cracked down on crime by instituting cruel punishments as deterrence. Mexico gained a small but sizable middle class which according to Diaz would be the pillar of democracy. Mexico under Diaz saw great progress but also great misery. People who worked in the commodity crop industry were exploited while the owners kept all the riches of the labor. Also, Diaz instituted a policy of land distribution where the result would be that 1% of the population owned over half the available land in Mexico. While general Diaz instituted several policies that did help the country modernize it also proved to be his undoing. The repression of civil liberties and land distribution proved too unpopular it ignited a violent armed struggle to topple his government.

Works Cited

Dawson, Alexander. Latin America since Independence : A History with Primary Sources, Taylor & Francis Group, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/baruch/detail.action?docID=1779185.

Gilbert Islanders Photograph

In the photograph, there are African Americans and white Americans in the same view. Since the two races of people were not often seen together, this is an antagonistic image. At this time, racial discrimination and violence were widespread. People of color have been discriminated against and were often than not used as slaves. Slavery is deep-rooted in the history of America. Slavery left a lasting impression on Latin American communities’ cultural, economic development, and social relations as it is in the picture. The African Americans were either being sold or transported to work in the farms of these White American’s. These enslaved children, men, and women of African descent were transported from tropical Caribbean islands and Brazil to the large farms in the United States. The picture gives a sample of around ten million Africans who were forced to cross to Atlantic to reside and work in the completely aliens’ lands in the United States. It is estimated that more Africans crossed the Atlantic Ocean compared to Europeans. Many of these were forced to travel, with large numbers being used as slaves in European farms.

In the photograph, it is the Europeans who are well dressed in white gowns. On the other hand, the African Americans are half-dressed with no shirts on they have tattered clothes, and are barefooted. This is a clear indication of how less important they were during these times. African Americans fought hard for their rights. They fought for a better life and the abolishment of slavery. This is because of the mistreatment and torture they were getting from their masters. They were doing a hard job and were hardly paid for their effort. They were deprived of many of their rights, human beings.

Slavery in Latin America declined slowly and gradually compared to slavery in the United States, ended by the civil war (Wood & Alexander, 2019). The commercial trade of slaves was outlawed in the United Kingdom after dominating for about a century. Slave importers faced a lot of f challenges in their business when this law was passed. They had to risk securing slave cargoes by using smuggling operations. Many of them left this business, reducing the number of laves in Latin America. Many Spanish America countries passed laws to abolish the slave trade. This led to the abolition era. What followed was an independence war where many slaves gained their freedom. However, in other parts of America, slavery was still being practiced. This includes Brazil, where slavery survived until 1888when the Golden law was passed. This law freed all slaves in this country unconditionally.

The picture is a clear reflection of what happened in those days. The social status of African Americans and whites can be seen in the picture. African Americans are shown to be poor and less fortunate while their counterparts are wealthy and endorsed with resources. This was as a result of slavery. Although African Americans worked all day, they were not allowed to own property (Selbin, 2018). They lived in their master land. They were denied basic needs and rights. They were not allowed to own any piece of land. This made them poor and dependent on their masters. Some of the people in the image look tense and uneasy, while the White Americans, who were considered their “masters” are comfortable and easy. This shows the power and command of the white master on their slaves. Their masters mistreated African Americans. Some were even killed with their body parts cut off when they did not follow the set rules. This clearly depicts the mood in the photograph.

Analysis of Cholita

The picture I chose was “Cholita de La Paz, Bolivia,” and the description reads “Portrait of a finely-dressed woman entitled “Cholita de La Paz” [westernized Indian/mestiza from La Paz, Bolivia].” I choose this image for its importance as a symbolism of how Latin America’s progress through industrialization was impacting both the Indian and female populations of those nations. First what is important in the picture is a mestiza woman wearing European clothing. This tells the viewer a lot about society at the time. It tells the viewer that European style clothing was available in Latin America. This allows the viewer to understand how interconnected Latin America and the rest of the world were at this time, not only knowing about European styles of dress but also choosing to wear it shows the connectedness of European ideas too. To add onto this idea of interconnectedness the usage of the camera itself, a European invention as a means of capturing a moment is also connected to the idea of Europe and Latin America being connected and the mixing of ideas and products with each other. Secondly, the women wearing the dress shows another important aspect of Latin American society at this time, which is its industrialization, the fact that a common person is able to wear this dress or even if it is simply a prop for the image the fact that the studio would have one shows that the nation has become industrialized to a degree in which clothing is not becoming cheaper to produce. Foreign nations have invested so much money into Latin American factories that the products being produced are changing the way that the common people choose to dress or portray themselves.

However, along with these ideas, the image also shows a darker side of Latin American history in relation to its Indian population. During this time neocolonialism was a part of Latin American society, “Neocolonial ideologies caused many Latin American intellectuals to take a dim view of their countries’ prospects. Scientific racism told them that the nonwhite populations in their home countries were an obstacle to progress (Dawson, p 144). Thus at this time countries such as Mexico believed that it was impossible for Indians to become modern, while central American countries believed Indians were capable of becoming modern, other countries such as Argentina went beyond simply debating the ” Indian problem,” and instead committed genocide against Indians, in their conquest of the desert campaigns. Thus the importance of this picture is that a mestiza is using photography as a way to define themselves as modern, and themselves Furthermore while the photo also breaks some stereotypes, “typically, the males a more modern style and the females a more traditional—indicating who in the photo was focused on the future and who was focused on the past (Dawson, p 124).” Instead in this instance, a female is wearing the modern style of clothing to show that she is focused on the future and is able to progress forwards with the nation.

EUROPEAN INFLUENCE IN BUENOS AIRES

Tulane University Howard-Tilton Memorial Library. “Colon Theatre”. The Latin American Library. https://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/islandora/object/tulane%3A11605

During the rise of liberalism throughout Latin America in the late 19th century, some nations adopted European ideologies that later will greatly influence in politics and society. Leaders and social representatives believed the idea that the best way to create a more organized and centralized government was by following the ideals of European thinkers. One of the strategies used to achieve this was to encourage Europeans to migrate to Latin American cities and making the society homogeneous implementing at the same time a new identity. The proposal was to create a modern and unified government which will extend major changes in politics, infrastructure, and culture in these nations under the principle of social evolution.

One of the places that is the representation of this new era of progress is the Colon Theatre. The Colon Theatre is an opera house located in Buenos Aires, built in the year 1857. It operated from its opening until 1888, closing its doors temporarily to be renovated and later reopened in 1908. As seen in this image dated from the end of the 19th century, the Colon Theatre or Teatro Colon has a sophisticated style never seen in an architecture built in Latin America. Its façade and gardens reflect the Parisian style and resemble any of the big opera houses of Europe. I had the great privilege when I was younger to visit this imposing place so important for the Argentine culture and to learn what a great symbol it has been to the history of the country. Every decoration and structure inside the opera house imitates the European aristocratic style creating a perfect atmosphere for Buenos Aires elites. At the end of the 19th century, one of the manifestations of superiority and progress for a country was when its cities were architecturally like Paris. In the case of Buenos Aires, new constructions were changing the geography of the city causing it to lose its native roots to give way to a new cosmopolitan city. From the social standpoint, the new doctrines of progress acquired by the government denoted racism towards indigenous people and mestizos. Under these new doctrines, the indigenous and mestizos were marginalized considering them second-class citizens and forbidding them to live in the city and depriving them of their lands. Instead, the government offered European immigrants to populate the city and its surroundings. This period of development and economic prosperity for Argentina was reached by austere measures that mainly affected the most vulnerable social groups. In turn, the country opened its doors to capitalism by trading with countries like the United States and England and industrializing its resources. The construction of railroads throughout the country and telegraph lines made the country to climb to a level of modernization unique for its time. In a few years, Argentina had been transformed through radical policies into one of the most prosperous countries in the world, although at great cost to its citizens.

Two faces can be seen in this period of Argentine history. On the one hand you can see the development and opulence achieved through progressive political ideas that led the country to prosperity as we see represented in the most important building in Buenos Aires, the Colon Theater. However, what little is said is that the cost to society was very high, racism, segregation, genocide, and slavery.

Work Cited

James A. Wood and Anna Rose Alexander, “Problems in Modern Latin American History”, 5^th edition, pages 131-135.
https://teatrocolon.org.ar/en/theater/theater

The Church vs. Liberalism in Latin America

Church in Latin America, 1908 — Sacromonte Church in Amecameca, 1908. Tulane University Digital Library, Early images of Latin America

Naturally, when one ideology begins to grow more predominant in society, other competing views and ideology tend to slowly lose its influence and influence. Latin America proved to be no exception to this common pattern when liberalism first started to take hold in the 19th century and grew into the 20th century. As liberalism became more and more popular among the people, the exact opposite party, the conservatives, began to push back to regain more power. While we can discuss and analyze the complex struggle between the liberals and the conservatives, I will focus primarily on the role of the Catholic Church and the tension with the liberals during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The image above is of an early 20th-century church in Latin America. Judging by the dirty walls and the immense amount of weeds on the floors and stairs, we fairly assert that this church seems run-down and poorly maintained. Ironically, the image of this church starkly contrasts the typical image of immaculate and well-kept catholic cathedrals and churches of the time. While the poor state of this church can likely be attributed to the financial state of the area in question, it can also very well be indicative of the waning power and influence of the Church due to the rise of liberalism.

Prior to the explosion of liberalism in Latin America, the Church controlled or had an immense influence on even daily and mundane parts of people’s lives. However, with the rise and emphasis on the individual and their freedom and control on their own lives, the Church began to lose influence and even resources. On the more extreme level, there were some radical liberals who held intense hostility toward the Church, going as far as demanding the complete abolition of the Church and its influence in Latin America. However, the majority of liberals in Latin America were more moderate in their beliefs and adhered to a few key ideas. While these essential values and goals of liberalism such as a more modernized economy, equality, citizenship, etc. did not seem like direct threats to the Catholic Church, liberal progress inevitably involved the departure from past institutions such as the Church. In order to combat liberalism in Latin America, the Catholic Church aligned itself with the conservatives who believed that the church was an integral part of society that acts as an established order, preventing the potential anarchy that may result from liberal ideas. However, the Church’s strategy proved to be ineffective as liberalism continued to rise to become the predominant ideology of Latin America, pushing the Church and its influence to a more minimal role in the life of someone living in Latin America.