Latin America History Essay Example

much at shorter durations affected these countries in many ways. They saw the emergence of liberal principles of private property. In Mexico, the struggle for liberation was no difference. It won its independence in 1821 from Spain, and shortly before that, its economy had begun to fall. The country relied mostly on mining controlled by the Spanish and when they closed, the economy was significantly affected. The closure of mining activities also affected the large estates, or the haciendas, which depended on the mines as the markets for their products. This saw the economy of Mexico fall drastically to the lowest levels even as it was previously an economic giant in the region. To solve this, there had to constitutional reforms, in the mid-19th century. Earlier, most wealth including large vast of land was controlled by the Roman Catholic Church. The church would receive tax and the ten percent tithe, which the people were obliged to pay to support the church from these propertiesfootnoteRef:4. Only the church and the army enjoyed many privileges in the newly independent México. However, with the emergence of the new constitution and the new system of government, the church had to be replaced by a regime that would ensure legal equity. The structure created new positions and new rulers, and the clerics no longer ruled the cities. This saw a shift in loyalty as an individual’s primary loyalty shifted from the church, which previously controlled property and had power, to the state. The church also lost its power of spiritual held over the Mexican people. However, this divided the masses as unlike the liberals; the conservatives advocated for the church

to retain a more dominant role. They were of the opinion that the government had too much power creating conflicts between them and the liberals. Even so, liberation brought about freedom to the citizens. Aside from the individual right to life, they also had right to own property individually.

The release of land in Mexico played a great role in the emergence of secularism. Franciscan mission was secularized. Liberation saw them lose their property, which was appropriated by the federal government. Religious free will emerged as the once dominant and most respected institution, which was the church had its power taken by the new system of governance. Additionally, individuals were left to pursue their economic self-interests freely in a bid to achieve an automatic identification of common interests and fostering harmony in the society. Unlike the church, however, the state government failed to repossess total power from the armyfootnoteRef:5. The new constitution proved to be inefficient in several ways. First, it resulted to a weak executive branch, as it led to the problems in division of power. Even with the separation of powers brought by it, congressmen felt that the legislature should be dominant. It also created problems and tensions of sovereignty among different States of Mexico that almost ripped the country. Vesting more powers to the presidency led to misuse of power.

The case was very different in another Latin American country of Venezuela. Unlike Mexico, Venezuela was on the defensive front in a fight for liberation against the Spanish rule. Agriculture was widely popular in the country in the 19th century as opposed to the mining in Mexico. Following an early destructive war in the

fight for independence, the country was way behind economically as compared to states like Argentina and Chile. During the struggle for independence, the country also lost its traditional trade relations with Mexico. Most of the country’s 19th century was characterized by civil wars, poverty, as well as high mortality rates. As at the time of independence, the economy of the country was devastating. The once united country started to disintegrate.

Liberal aspects of private property were not familiar and advocated for as it was in the case in Mexico. The newly independent government saw no need of giving the country back to its citizens and instead, leaders in power took advantage to amass enormous wealth for themselves at the expense of the poor people of Venezuela. The desire of the country’s leaders to achieve too much too fast with no proper mechanisms and strategies to move forward brought additional problems to the people. This was evident when Bolivar declared himself a ruler and a dictator. For instance, In early 1900, with the discovery of oil, a further separation in class emerged as the poor, uneducated workers worked in the fields while the educated middle class thrived, creating an environment of dictatorship in governmentfootnoteRef:6. The federal government took over all the power and had absolute control and an upper hand over many sectors of the economy, denying these private institutions the right to own property and devolving it to the people themselves would bring acceptance to the government. The oil discovery also made the country attractive to foreign investors, enhancing corruption and bribery in rights to mine. Numerous attempt by the opposition to redeem the country from

dictatorship failed as the opposition itself was divided. Apart from the internal problems facing the country, it also faced external challenges arising from disputes with countries such as Britain over refusal of payment of its debts.

The country, however, began a slow and continuous effort to boost economic growth in the middle of the century, when the opposition finally united to oust the dictatorship from power. The country enjoyed elections that are more democratic. The thriving national economies at the time also saw the small-scale farmers make a reasonable living by selling their products to the local market. The 19th century also saw a lot of development in art and music in the country

In conclusion, an analysis on the affairs of the two Latin America States reveals a great sense of disparity. The two nations have had their fair share of problems associated with their haste in trying to achieve too much over a shorter time. However, both countries have had problems with bad leadership and political instabilities as well as civil wars. In most cases, these were brought about by the selfishness of the new leaders, and lack of proper controls to check their powers, as it was in the event of Venezuela, there arose political dictators who oppressed the peasants as a result of much ignorance stemming from illiteracy at the timefootnoteRef:7. 7: Nichols, Elizabeth Gackstetter, and Kimberly J. Morse. 2010. Venezuela. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO. Pg 110

References

1. Hale, Charles A. 1989. The transformation of liberalism in late nineteenth-century Mexico. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. http://muse.jhu.edu/books/9781400863228/.
   https://books.google.ca/books hl=en&lr=&id=ajwABAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Mexico%27s+failed+reforms+in+the+19th+century&ots=GUhov8QOAC&sig=owHYKAtsDG2EhBM-PvBWaEim_Y0#v=onepage&q&f=false
2. Wasserman, Mark. 2000. Everyday life and politics in nineteenth century Mexico: men, women, and war. Albuquerque, NM: Univ. of New
   

Mexico Pr.
https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=DuAqebv9u4oC&oi=fnd&pg=PR10&dq=Mexico%27s+failed+reforms+in+the+19th+century&ots=SLkvLaRe4C&sig=bAxH8osfMjtVXAPkvqnLfajnmHo - v=onepage&q&f=false