Latin America During the Second

Latin America

During the second half of the twentieth century, the Latin American countries were shaken by numerous violent acts in their political life. There were revolutions, coups d'etat, civil war, terrorism and other forms of violence that affected the life of Latin Americans since the Second World War. Social inequity, economic power concentrated in the hands of a few oligarchs, thirst for power and corruption were all causing deep distress in the societies of the Latin American countries.

The rising of the masses against their suppressors was one of the results of the above mentions factors. Nationalism and ethnic differences were two other causes for political violence in the region. The Latin American countries knew all the forms of political violence known in the human history: domestic conflicts, conflicts among the countries.

While the first decade after the Second World War brought an improvement in the industries of the Latin American countries, the following decade, especially after the Korean War ended, produced imbalance in the import-export relationship. This proved that relying on the export of raw goods was no longer viable in the context of world economy. The countries in this part f the American continent started to fight with inflation and high levels of national debt. Social instability was doubled by political instability, thus leading to all sorts of conflict sources.

Dictators were overthrown by opportunist leaders that rapidly grew in influence over the whole nation. The revolution in Cuba and Fidel Castro's the take over in power was followed by a series of movements in other countries in Latina America. Fidel Castro saw his chance to mark the world history by entering the cold war on the side of the Soviet Union.

Brazil and Argentina closely followed. Authoritarian regimes formed by the military forces were gradually replacing civilian ones. The shaky economies in countries like Peru and Ecuador opened the way to the authoritarian military forces to intervene and take over on the grounds that free economic trade had to be replaced by a tightly controlled economy that was more suitable for the national interests.

In some extreme cases, like Nicaragua, a single family controlled the whole state by the means of armed forces. Popular uprisings were inevitable in such cases. The Sandinista guerilla forces succeeded to overthrow the regime formed exclusively of those who were loyal to the Somoza family.

Some parts of Mexico, Columbia and Peru were confronted with rural unrest. Terrorism was rising and developing in Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. Civil wars, dictatorships and interstate conflicts were adding their share of political violence to the conflict scene in the region.

Argentina was the first country that experienced after the Second World War the rising of a regime that was claiming to be on the side of the working classes. It was led by Juan Peron. He gradually distanced himself from any democratic means of governing and was eventually overthrown by a coup d'etat, in 1955. From exile, Peron continued to influence the political scene in his country of origin. The regimes that followed were still unable to provide political stability, although the country was in economic progress. Peron was able to influence and lead the masses and his supporters once more so that he was reelected for the last time in 1793, in order to survive only until 1974 when he died, leaving his wife as his successor.

Brazil is an example of military coup after a successful democratic regime that followed closely the end of the Second World War. The country was governed by a military authoritative regime from 1964 until 1985. During these years, Brazil was confronted with major socio-economic problems, political scandals, conflicts between the landowners and those living in the countryside that did not own any land etc.

Columbia was another country that was often devastated by political conflicts. Fights between the two opposing parties did not end once World War Two ended. The struggles for power went through, being fueled by assassination on one side or another. Various guerilla groups appeared during the 1960s. The violence increased at a different level when powerful drug cartels literally took over control in different areas off the country. They were also financial sources for the different political players, fueling the political war. A few joined forces with some guerilla groups, becoming armed and dangerous factions fighting for power and control.