20th Century Latin America Map

AP World History

Third World

The developing nations and regions, including Latin America.

1st world = capitalist industrialized nations

2nd world = communist industrialized nations

PRI

Party of the Institutionalized Revolution. The political party that dominated Mexico in the 20th century. Their control of politics provided stability to Mexico. The PAN party (with Vicente Fox) ended the PRI monopoly in 2000.

Zapatistas Armed guerilla movement in

the Chiapas region of Mexico in the 1990s. The movement showed how key social issues in Mexico remain unresolved. Were opposed to NAFTA

NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)

Non-tariff policy between the U.S., Canada and Mexico that began in the 1990s. Mexico became the second largest trade partner of the U.S. NAFTA drew Mexico into closer ties political and economic ties with the U.S.

Juan José Arevalo

Elected president of Guatemala in the 1940s. His attempts at land reform and conditions of rural and industrial workers brought him into conflict with the United Fruit Company; intense nationalist.

United Fruit Company

U.S. corporation that controlled the banana trade in much of Latin America. It was the largest foreign-based corporation in that region and it influenced political and social concerns. The U.S. government, under intense pressure from the UFC, imposed economic and diplomatic restrictions on Guatemala. A pro-American regime was established with the help of the U.S. that negotiated a settlement favorable to the UFC.

Fulgencio Batista

Authoritarian ruler of Cuba until overthrown by Castro. His programs of reform were marred by corruption. Opposition developed in Cuba in various sectors of society. Had proposed a democratic constitution, nationalization of natural resources, full employment and land reform.

Fidel Castro

Communist dictator of Cuba since 1959. Backed up by the Soviet regime. The Cuban Revolution he led inspired others to attempt similar models in Latin America. Became a Marxist-Leninist and relations with the U.S. deteriorated rapidly after foreign farms were expropriated, farms were collectivized, and a centralized socialist economy was put in place.

Che Guevera

Militant Argentine revolutionary who assisted Castro in Cuba and was killed attempting a similar revolt in Bolivia.

Liberation Theology

A combination of Catholic theology and socialism, promoted (but not employed) in Latin America by some clergy and fewer politicians. Indication of an increased concern for social justice by the Catholic Church.

Salvador Allende

Socialist leader of Chile; overthrown by military junta in 1973. Pushed for land redistribution and allowing workers to take control of their factories. The U.S. did its best to destabilize and undercut the Allende regime. A “dirty war” resulted that was example of the internalization of the ideological and political struggles of the Cold War.

Sandinista Party

Leftist political group in Nicaragua backed by the U.S.S.R. Ousted in elections in 1990. The threat of a U.S. embargo helped remove them from power.

Augusto Sandino

Led resistance against U.S. influence in Nicaragua in the 1930s. His struggle against U.S. intervention made him a hero and later the figurehead of the Sandanista party, which carried out a socialist revolution in Nicaragua in the 1980s

Banana Republics

Term used to describe Latin American nations with corrupt governments. Their creation usually followed direct intervention by the U.S. and were conservative, often dictatorships, that would be friendly to the U.S.

Good Neighbor Policy

U.S. policy toward Latin America, begun in the 1930s, that promised less intervention. Introduced by Franklin Roosevelt who promised to deal more fairly with Latin America and to stop direct interventions. The containment of communism caused the U.S. to reevaluate this policy.

Alliance for Progress

U.S. policy toward Latin America, begun in the 1960s, that promised economic aid. It had limited success despite good intentions and more than $10 billion in aid. Latin Americans perceived that it benefited the elites rather than the poor.

Favelas

Brazilian term for shantytowns. The rate of urban growth in Latin America meant that urban economies have not been able to create enough jobs. Migrant workers lived in these marginal neighborhoods as a result.

Jorge Luis Borges & Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Writers rejecting traditional form as unsuitable for representing reality in Latin America; turned to “magical realism.” Marquez used the history of a family trace the evils that befell them (isolation, oppression, exploitation, war, revolution, and natural disaster) as well as their spirit