Download Latin American Revolutions - A20C-F-2010

Latin American Revolutions
Amos Bartelsmeyer
John Moore
Similarities
The revolutions in Cuba and Nicaragua both stemmed from the
corruption rife in the dependent capitalists systems .
Pre Revolution
 Cuba and Nicaragua both had dependent capitalist economies that
rely heavily on the export of raw materials. Cuba almost solely
relied on the export of sugar and oil to the United States.
Nicaragua exported coffee and later cotton.
 Profit from the export of these resources benefited a small elite
group of landowners that had extensive political influence.
 The rest of the population, while a huge group in number, was
largely made up of unskilled workers and had little to no
opportunity to advance beyond their current position.
 The governments in power in both countries were riddled with
corruption and nepotism.
Revolution
 The result of the policies of both dictators, Somoza and Castro,
was a continuation of the corruption, poverty, and dependency
on the export of raw materials that had been present in the
previous governments
 In Cuba, Castro traded one dependence for the other when he
eliminated the US as a main exporter and turned to the Soviet
Union for help.
 The Somozas in Nicaragua continued to remain a export
economy that operated behind a veneer of democracy.
Differences
The multiple revolutions in each country all result from the
corruption and discontent associated with dependent capitalism, but
what separates the histories of the two countries?
Motivation of the Dictators
Cuba
 Castro in reality did want to
better the people of Cuba
and free them from a
dependent economy as can be
seen when he attempts to
create reforms through the
Orthodox political party
before fueling the revolution.
 But in his attempt to rid
Cuba of US exploitation he
also destabilized the
economy.
Nicaragua
 Somoza on the other hand was quite
the opposite. His motivation was greed
and personal benefit. Once in power
he was easily able to exploit the “banana
republic” to aid themselves.
 His motives were completely selfish in
nature and saw the government as a
source of income instead of something
to aid the people.
 Somoza took any chance they could to
get more money for himself even
seizing earthquake relief funds in 1972.
Origin of the Dependent Economies
Cuba
Nicaragua
 Cuba’s dependent economy was
 Nicaragua's troubles stem from the
a result of heavy US-Cuban
relations during World War II
and afterwards.
 As a result Cuba became
dependent on the sugar crop
and US goods became
dominant in Cuban
marketplaces
 The prices on these goods were
simply too high for the Cuban
middle class resulting in early
discontent.
colonial era where Nicaraguan
resources were exported to Spain.
 Since the economy was started to
be a exporter of goods, it was all
Nicaraguans were used to and
relied on its heavy natural resources
(such as coffee) to create funds for
the government.
 Because Somoza was interested in
personal gain, most of these funds
were never used in improving the
lives of Nicaraguans.
The Fall of the Cuban Economy
 Castro’s anger at US exploitation and desire to eliminate US
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influence in Cuba, while justified, would eventually bring the fall
of the Cuban economy.
Castro attempted to take an import/export based economy and
make it self sustainable by suddenly eliminating the US, the
source of almost all Cuban trade and commerce.
Cuba was not prepared for self sufficiency and as a result had to
revert to its old trade based economy.
With the US gone, Castro turned towards the Soviet Union who
only saw Cuba as a socialist ally within the US’s sphere of
influence, not an economic partner as the US did.
Without a significant trading partner and not being fully self
sufficient, Cuba’s economy collapsed.
The Nicaraguan Economy
 In contrast to Castro, Somoza embraced the US trade
agreement with Nicaragua as it allowed him to continue to
exploit the system for his benefit.
 Since no money was being put into the betterment of the
Nicaraguan people they became angry and upset with
Somoza.
 To keep the people from revolting, Somoza obliterated any
possible opposition with the National Guard.
US Policy in Cuba
 Prior to the Cuban revolution the United States was quite
content with its exploitation of Cuba.
 The US received Cuban sugar and resources and in return most
products in Cuban Markets were American made resulting in a
meaningful economic alliance.
 But while all of America prospered, only the Cuban elite
benefitted from this partnership resulting in a growing divide
between the elite and the middle class. Thus the revolution was
born.
 As result the United States lost a valuable economic ally to
Communism and gave the Soviet Union a foothold in the
Western Hemisphere.
US Policy in Nicaragua
 The United States wanted to maintain its economic
dominance but without causing a revolution as it did in Cuba.
 The United States’ answer to this problem was the Alliance
for Progress which attempted to bring democratic idealism
to the government in order to improve the lives of the
people.
 Contrary to the United States intentions, the result of the
Alliance was a dictatorship hidden behind the façade of
democracy that used its economic benefits to gain power and
money for themselves.