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Have you ever stopped to analyze the national anthem of your country? That’s what this week’s readings made me do. “De la paz en la dicha suprema,Siempre noble soñó El Salvador;Fue obtenerla su eterno problema,Conservarla es su gloria mayor.” This excerpt of the national anthem says that El Salvador always dreamed of being in the “supreme bliss” of peace and how achieving this was an eternalContinue reading "Week 6 | Mutation of Emancipation" read full post >>

Hello everyone and welcome back! In case you are asking, yes, the Day of the Long Boat was super fun and my team almost won (we should have won…)! But unfortunately, this week is less fun because of… Midterms! Anyway, while listening to the lecture and reading the document, I tried to think about theContinue reading "WEEK 6: Rights? For who?" read full post >>

I was very struck by the idea that the Latin American system of classification rivals that of the United States,... read full post >>

I was very struck by the idea that the Latin American system of classification rivals that of the United States,... read full post >>

This week’s reading focused on the politics of Latin America in the nineteenth century. I will focus mostly on the short story by Esteban Echeverría, The Slaughterhouse. This story was a revolutionary piece of literature in Latin America, as it was one of the first pieces of socio-cultural reflection. It used allegory in order to […] read full post >>

All of this week’s readings have an “action” type feeling to them, that they contribute to a higher calling and whoever wrote them felt as if they specifically were in a position to help or educate others in some way. The textbook mentioned that the literature of post-emancipation represents both liberalism and scientific racism of […] read full post >>

El Huasipugno es ena obra que refleja al sistema de encomiendo, pero con la diferncia de que establece  una pseudo libertad economica en la propiedad correspondiente a la otorgada al indigena, cual en realidad era administrada por el “huasipugnero”/patron. Pseudo libertad economica. porque dicha libertad era inexistente. Al punto, de que el trato al indigena […] read full post >>

El Huasipugno es ena obra que refleja al sistema de encomiendo, pero con la diferncia de que establece  una pseudo libertad economica en la propiedad correspondiente a la otorgada al indigena, cual en realidad era administrada por el “huasipugnero”/patron. Pseudo libertad economica. porque dicha libertad era inexistente. Al punto, de que el trato al indigena […] read full post >>

This week I was particularly interested in the Story of Santa Anna. As I am learning about him in the context of Mexican history, I have noticed how he is presented greatly differs from each source. In the context of Mexican history, Santa Anna is sort of a joke. His eleven sporadic presidencies, often weak and corrupt, portray Mexico as incredibly unstable. He was a president that was only present to achieve military victories; when it came to ruling he was absent, even giving leadership to his vice president while he still held the title of presidency. It seems that he is both so contrary to caudillo culture as he is representative. The idea of a caudillo is that he is a "strongman" who uses force yet exerts the most meticulous and paternal care to the people under his protection. Santa Anna as a leader was far from this, often being removed from office or having little control over Mexico. Yet during battles, he emulates the caudillo, fighting with utmost loyalty to protect his people. It seems that the caudillo is a character of the moment rather than a longterm political figure. This is reaffirmed by the high turnover rate; power imbalances led people to living in a constant state of instability.

The story of the slaughterhouse is a critique of the rampant paternalism within the caudillo system. Yet the language seems paternalistic in itself; Echeverría consistently talks of the mob as uneducated people while using derogatory terms. It seems almost impossible that this would have been an effective tool at garnering support for budding liberalism. I also found it interesting to learn in my other class about how Mexico actually banned slavery early in an attempt to stifle American migration to texas as tensions rose surrounding the border.  It seems that the liberalism in this sense was not actually about the rights of citizens but in this case, it was more about political power and action.

I did have quite a few questions about the caudillo system that felt slightly unanswered. I was really wondering how this political system managed to expand over such a large area. It seemed surprising to me that Argentina would be just as invested in the caudillo system as Mexico. I was also wondering how the caudillo cycle was actually broken as it seems like it would be challenging to shift to one singular power system. I wondered if pieces like the slaughterhouse affected the challenges to caudillo power. read full post >>

This week I was particularly interested in the Story of Santa Anna. As I am learning about him in the context of Mexican history, I have noticed how he is presented greatly differs from each source. In the context of Mexican history, Santa Anna is sort of a joke. His eleven sporadic presidencies, often weak and corrupt, portray Mexico as incredibly unstable. He was a president that was only present to achieve military victories; when it came to ruling he was absent, even giving leadership to his vice president while he still held the title of presidency. It seems that he is both so contrary to caudillo culture as he is representative. The idea of a caudillo is that he is a "strongman" who uses force yet exerts the most meticulous and paternal care to the people under his protection. Santa Anna as a leader was far from this, often being removed from office or having little control over Mexico. Yet during battles, he emulates the caudillo, fighting with utmost loyalty to protect his people. It seems that the caudillo is a character of the moment rather than a longterm political figure. This is reaffirmed by the high turnover rate; power imbalances led people to living in a constant state of instability.

The story of the slaughterhouse is a critique of the rampant paternalism within the caudillo system. Yet the language seems paternalistic in itself; Echeverría consistently talks of the mob as uneducated people while using derogatory terms. It seems almost impossible that this would have been an effective tool at garnering support for budding liberalism. I also found it interesting to learn in my other class about how Mexico actually banned slavery early in an attempt to stifle American migration to texas as tensions rose surrounding the border.  It seems that the liberalism in this sense was not actually about the rights of citizens but in this case, it was more about political power and action.

I did have quite a few questions about the caudillo system that felt slightly unanswered. I was really wondering how this political system managed to expand over such a large area. It seemed surprising to me that Argentina would be just as invested in the caudillo system as Mexico. I was also wondering how the caudillo cycle was actually broken as it seems like it would be challenging to shift to one singular power system. I wondered if pieces like the slaughterhouse affected the challenges to caudillo power. read full post >>