35.1 Notes CASE STUDY: LATIN AMERICAN DEMOCRACIES

 It takes years to establish a democracy, it is a work in progress!  In order to have a successful democracy a nation needs:  participation of its citizens  education and literacy  stable economy  rule by law  national identity  belief in rights of the individual  2002 UN study warned democracy needs to be followed by economic growth, this is a particular issue in Latin America DEMOCRACY AS A GOAL

 Since gaining independence, Brazil has alternated between democracies and dictatorships  New capital city of Brasilia was built: increased debt and inflation in Brazil  The plan for land reform: breaking up large estates and distributing land to peasants  1964: wealthy Brazilians supported army seizing power in a military coup  Military dictators ruled for 2 decades. They emphasized:  economic growth  developed the Amazon jungle  fostered foreign investment BRAZIL: DICTATORS AND DEMOCRACY

 Economy boomed but downside: the standard of living, or level of material comfort, declined  Early 1980s a recession, or slowdown in the economy, occurred in Brazil  Military generals decided to open political system, allowed direct election of officials  Several Presidents have been elected since then, all have dealt with these current issues:  debt and inflation crises  Government corruption  Large income gap

 Mexico enjoyed relative political stability for 20 th century  Mexico elected several Generals as president. They created a ruling party: The National Revolutionary Party, which dominated 20 th century  President Lazaro Cardenas carried out:  land reform  promoted labor rights  nationalized the Mexican oil industry MEXICO: ONE-PARTY RULE

 1946 the main political party changed its name to the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI; for the rest of the 20 th century it was the main force for political stability  Gov’t was stable but imperfect democracy. The PRI controlled the congress, won every election  Economy developed rapidly but severe issues:  millions of ppl lacked jobs and land  huge foreign debt  1994: Mexico joined NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement): removed trade barriers between the US, Canada, and Mexico

 In 2000 end of PRI rule by electing center-right candidate Vicente Fox  Fox advocated for:  reforming police  ending political corruption  utilizing free market forces  tried to negotiate with US for amnesty for illegal Mexican immigrants THE PRI LOSES CONTROL

 Argentina struggled to establish a democracy  1946 workers supported army officer Juan Peron who won Presidency then est a dictatorship  Peron and his wife, Eva (aka Evita), set up a welfare state, offered social programs with limited freedoms  Eva died 1952, Peron’s popularity declined and his enemies ousted him in 1955 ARGENTINA: POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC DISORDER

 Military controlled politics for many years; mid-1970s Argentina in chaos  1982 military gov’t went to war, and lost, against Britain over the Falkland Islands  Generals were disgraced, stepped down  1983 first free election in 37 years, elected Raul Alfonsin as President  Since then debt has been a major issue in Argentina