Blogs

Last week, we analyzed the political and social state of Latin America and its struggles leading up to independence from European rule. This week, we’re taking a look at what followed the independence process in the continent – how the vacuum in power left by the European authorities was filled, and which sectors of the […] read full post >>

Last week, we analyzed the political and social state of Latin America and its struggles leading up to independence from European rule. This week, we’re taking a look at what followed the independence process in the continent – how the vacuum in power left by the European authorities was filled, and which sectors of the […] read full post >>

I have always romanticized the idea of independence. I never thought of the many ramifications of independence and so it was interesting to hear about how independence in Latin America did not bring stability or order. When learning about liberalism, and how many saw it as merely an “ornament” in society, I immediately though of […] read full post >>

I have always romanticized the idea of independence. I never thought of the many ramifications of independence and so it was interesting to hear about how independence in Latin America did not bring stability or order. When learning about liberalism, and how many saw it as merely an “ornament” in society, I immediately though of […] read full post >>

Answering the question of the podcast… Latin America was a «fertile ground for caudillos» because the Independece brought nothing but chaos. It was carried away with such high expectations by people that when they finally obtained it, they did not know what to do with it. They immediatly realised the real problems that they were … Sigue leyendo Week 5 – Caudillos vs state → read full post >>

I found this week’s discussion of the caudillos really interesting because I saw so many parallels between caudillos and clientelism with today’s political figures and government. Like many political fanatics, I have been trying to understand how Donald Trump won the presidency in the US last year, and after watching how he appeals to his […] read full post >>

What I found to be particularly interesting after reading the writings of Dawson, Bolívar, Martí and Chávez, was the recurring themes that each of the writers were expressing in their works. Even though Chávez was from a much more modern perspective than the others, he nonetheless references the thoughts of Bolívar on Latin America’s destiny […] read full post >>

In my last blog post, I said that politics were boring and unappealing to me. However, although this week mainly focused on politics, I was super interested and captivated by the readings and videos. I was actually intrigued by the content. This week, we learned about the effects that independence had on Latin American countries, […] read full post >>

In my last blog post, I said that politics were boring and unappealing to me. However, although this week mainly focused on politics, I was super interested and captivated by the readings and videos. I was actually intrigued by the content. This week, we learned about the effects that independence had on Latin American countries, […] read full post >>

The story of independence in Latin America is quite interesting since it is quite unique compared to other social movements in the history. The independence in Latin America started in 1821 by Bolivar who belonged to the “second tier” group during that era. Although he was “white” he did not have the advantages that a […] read full post >>