The Latin American Economy
During the 1920s
and 1930s, foreign
investments and the
Great Depression
led some Latin
American nations to
emphasize domestic
industry to balance
their economies.
The Latin American Economy (cont.)
• Many Latin American nations focused on the
export of one or two products.
– Argentina: beef and
wheat
– Chile: nitrates and
copper
– Brazil and Caribbean
nations: sugar
– Central America:
bananas
The Latin American Economy (cont.)
• By the 1920s, the United States became the
largest investor in Latin America, replacing
Great Britain.
• American firms gained
control of copper-mining
industries in Chile and Peru
and the oil industry in
Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia.
• U.S. businesses sometimes
supported harsh dictators,
such as Juan Vicente
Gómez, to protect their
investments.
The Latin American Economy (cont.)
• President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created
the Good Neighbor Policy, rejecting the
use of U.S. military force in Latin America on
principle.
• As a result of the Great
Depression, U.S. and
European countries
imported fewer goods
from Latin American
nations, devastating their
economies.
The Latin American Economy (cont.)
• Latin Americans could not afford to import
manufactured goods from abroad, so
governments began to encourage new
manufacturing businesses.
• Individuals did
not have the
money to start
new businesses,
leading many
countries to set
up governmentrun companies.
Authoritarian Rule
In most Latin American countries, a
small group of church leaders, military
leaders, and large landowners
controlled politics.
Authoritarian Rule (cont.)
• In the 1930s the Depression and domestic
instability led many governments in Latin
America to become militaristic or
authoritarian.
• Argentina
– Argentina was
controlled by an
oligarchy of
landowners who
made large profits
from cattle and
wheat exports.
Authoritarian Rule (cont.)
– The middle-class Radical Party, under
Hipólito Irigoyen, became concerned with
the increasing power of the industrial workers.
– Irigoyen eventually
became corrupt and was
overthrown by military
officers who wanted to
stop industrialization
and return to the old
export economy.
Authoritarian Rule (cont.)
– During World War II, military officers formed
a new government called the Group of
United Officers and elected Juan Perón as
president.
Authoritarian Rule (cont.)
• Brazil
– Large landowners who became rich
from coffee plantation revenues
controlled the republican government
in Brazil.
– In 1930 a military coup made Getúlio
Vargas president of Brazil.
– In 1937 Vargas made himself a
dictator and ruled as an authoritarian
with some fascist like features.
Authoritarian Rule (cont.)
– Vargas focused on new industries which
made Brazil Latin America’s chief
industrial power.
– The military forced
Vargas to resign in
1945.
Authoritarian Rule (cont.)
• Mexico
– The Mexican Revolution
reduced the power of
landowners and created a
relatively stable political order.
– The Institutional
Revolutionary Party, or PRI,
controlled the major groups
within Mexican society and
chose the party’s presidential
candidate.
Authoritarian Rule (cont.)
– In 1934 President Lázaro Cárdenas gained
enormous support when he redistributed 44
million acres of land to landless Mexican
peasants and took a strong stand with the
United States over oil.
– Cardenas seized
foreign-owned oil
companies, infuriating
the United States,
which did not intervene
because of the Good
Neighbor Policy.
Authoritarian Rule (cont.)
– The Mexican government paid the oil
companies for their property and set up
PEMEX, a national oil company, to run the
oil industry.
Culture in Latin America
Latin American artists adapted the
styles of European modern art to
express themes relevant to their own
culture.
Culture in Latin America (cont.)
• New European art styles began to influence
Latin American art when artists studying
abroad brought back modern techniques.
• In major cities,
wealthy elites
became
interested in
the new styles,
such as
abstract art.
Culture in Latin America (cont.)
• Many writers and artists, such as Diego Rivera,
used their work to promote nationalism.
• Rivera wanted
people to
remember
Mexico’s past,
especially the
Mexican
Revolution.
The End Next Test