This week, we focused on the complex relationship between Latin America and the United States, dating back to the late 1800s with American military interventions. Although the US has had its fair share of extensive interventions down to Uruguay, I wanted to take a look at its effect in the entertainment industry. The passage takenContinue reading “Week 9: Commerce, Coercion, and America’s Empire”
For this post I want to focus on Augusto Sandino’s Manifesto. From what I understand, Sandino’s primary objective was to rid Nicaragua of the U.S. occupation, and he was less concerned about the parochial battles between Liberals and Conservatives. The one word that immediately came to mind when I reflected on this text was: pride. […]
I really enjoyed this week’s readings and films. The title alone Journey to Banana Land is a commodification Latin America, labeling it as a land of resources for the US. It begins with comparing Banana Land (the film’s name for the land extending from Mexico to Colombia and the Caribbean) to the US. They giveContinue reading “Week 9: Commerce, Coercion, and America’s Empire”
This week’s topic on the relationship between the United States and Latin America, at times benevolent and at times clearly…
week 9 lecture (video)
This week we had to read about Augusto Sandino, a figure I did not know much about. Thus, I went ahead and investigated a bit about his life and craft a biography of sorts. Here is what I found:Sandino was a Nicaraguan guerrilla leader who tenaciously …
This week we had to read about Augusto Sandino, a figure I did not know much about. Thus, I went ahead and investigated a bit about his life and craft a biography of sorts. Here is what I found:
Sandino was a Nicaraguan guerrilla leader who tenaciously fought against the US occupation and intervention until he forced the United States to withdraw his troops from Nicaragua. After his murder at the hands of the then head of the National Guard, Anastasio Somoza, Sandino became the ideological reference of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) and the revolution promoted by this movement that, years later, would end the dictatorship somocista. Thus, we’re talking about one of the most central figures of the country of Nicaragua.
Of very humble origin, Augusto Sandino worked as a miner in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Mexico. In 1926 he returned to his country, occupied since 1916 by US troops defending the interests of fruit companies in the United States. He opted to defend national autonomy, affected by the Bryan-Chamorro agreement and the signing of the Stimpson-Moncada treaty, so he assembled a group of guerrillas and raised arms.
For six years Sandino fought against the troops of different governments supported by the United States, at the end of which he had managed to gather around three thousand men around him and had won popular admiration. Organized under his command, the rebel guerrilla took refuge in the jungles of Nueva Segovia, where he became practically invincible.
However, his political prestige continued to be a threat to the country’s leaders, so, after accepting an invitation to go to the presidential palace, he was ambushed and killed by Anastasio Somoza, head of the National Guard and nephew of former President José María Moncada.
However, as per usual, ideas don’t die when the one that starts them dies. The death of the leader did not mean the disappearance of his movement, and his name went on to embody the liberation struggle of Nicaragua. The Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), a political alignment created in 1962, established itself as a continuation of Sandino’s ideology and focused its sights on the overthrow of the Somoza through armed struggle, an objective that he would achieve many years later (in 1979) force the fall of President Anastasio Somoza Debayle, son of Anastasio Somoza.
In this week’s readings and videos, there is a large emphasis placed on the role of technology in Latin American political campaigns between the 1920s and 1950s. Tools such as the radio were extremely important at this time in history because they were one of the first tools available to almost all individuals poor or …
For this week’s post, I decided to focus on the importance of communication between the masses and the leaders. A couple of classes ago, Jon mentioned that virtually every populist leader has a balcony. I believe this is important because the balcony facilitates and represents direct communication between the ruler and the ruled. An exampleContinue reading “Week 9: Power to the People”
I learned a lot about the United States presence in Guatemala growing up. I think there is something especially consumable about a war waged based on fruit. While I appreciate Dawson’s use of this example, I think that it obscures and takes place of ot…
