I.
Liberal Ascendance and the Second Conquest
A.
Liberals gain control of government in most places by 1870s (1870-1929)
B.
Civilization vs. Barbarism
1.
Strong sense of cultural superiority over masses
2.Saw
most of Latin America as medieval, backwards, unprepared for modern world
3.Domingo
Sarmiento (1811-88) coins the term – while sympathetic to rural masses, sees
them as source of backwardness and tyranny
4.Benito
Juarez (1806-1872)
a.
First seizes power in Mexico in 1855
b.
Passes Ley Lerdo
i.
Meant to strip Amerindians and Catholic Church of lands
ii.
Corporate lands and communal lands seen as economically backwards, and as
bulwarks of backwards cultures
iii.
Sparks civil war
C.
Modernization
1.
Introduction of new technologies – railroads, telegraphs, early
industrialization
2.Expansion
of “European” culture into the interior
D.
Export-oriented growth
1.Strips
rural people of lands in order to exploit the land for large scale export
production
a.
Liberal land laws increased concentrations of land
b.
Rural masses given individual deeds, but lack resources to develop land and lose
it to wealthy speculators
2.Integrates
masses into a national culture by forcing them into low wage labor in export
sectors
II.
Liberalism and Positivism
A.
Liberalism in late 1800s transformed by influence of Positivism and Social
Darwinism
B.
Auguste Comte (1798-1857) and Positivism
1.French
engineer and philosopher, saw the turmoil of revolutionary France
2.Saw
a coming age of technocratic authoritarianism
a.
Main theme was Order and Progress (and Love, though not emphasized in practice)
b.
A non-political technocratic elite would regulate society for the benefit of all
c.
Progress requires order, so a benevolent dictator would guide society
d.
Liberals would replace “Love” with Liberty, emphasizing individual talent and
economic success
C.
Herman Spencer (1820-1904) and Social Darwinism
1.Presented
a “scientific” understanding of social hierarchy
2.Argues
that hierarchies emerged as a result of natural abilities and talents
3.Meshed
well with positivist notion of a technocratic elite, seen by many Latin American
elites as a natural extension of Positivism
D.
Libertarian ideals of Liberals tended to dampen the strongest
authoritarian tendencies of Positivism,
but only modestly
E.
Mexican Pofiriato government an example of a successful Positivist-Liberal
alliance
1.Juarez
becomes increasingly more authoritarian after civil war and French Occupation
(1862-67)
2.Porfirio
Diaz (1830-1915) builds on this during his long rule (1876-1911)
a.
Pan e palo
(bread and the club)
i.
Government money used to buy off various factions
ii.
Accompanied by heavy state repression and alliances with local bosses
b.
State-managed capitalism
i.
Foreign investment channeled into industrialization (and to Diaz’s friends)
ii.
Liberal focus on free trade, multiple exports, unregulated industry
iii.
Breakneck development leads to high growth and impoverishment of masses
iv.
15,500 miles of railroads built, but drove up land prices and mostly foreign
controlled
v.
Most of best jobs in industry reserved for foreigners
vi.
Three-fourths of rural peasantry landless by 1910
vii.
Rural banditry becomes common
c.
Alliance with Church
i.
Church supported as a means to control peasantry
ii.
But Liberal anti-clerical laws kept on books as constant threat
d.
Alliance with the technocrats (cientificos)
i.
Brought into government, though not generally at highest levels
ii.
Appeases middle class, though generally only the products of elite technical
schools
III.
Liberal-Positivist economics
A.
Export-oriented growth
1.Monoculture
in most places
2.Growth
fueled by demand for raw materials in Europe and United States
3.United
States emerged slowly as major market
4.Enclave
economies develop
a.
Liberal governments gave tax incentives and other incentives to get foreign
investment
b.
Foreign mining, agricultural firms and railroads paid little or no tax
c.
Also paid very low wages, or paid in scrip that could only be used in company
stores
d.
Thus frequently contributed little to local economies, even though national
economy grew
B.
Structural economic problems
1.While
the Porfiriato was successful on a macro level, Liberal-Positivist economies
faced severe problems in Latin America
2.Concentration of land into hands of a few major owners, often including foreigners
3.
Problems of access due to transportation issues
4.Small
labor pools lead to coerced labor
a.
Peasantry focuses on subsistence
b.
Wage labor develops slowly
c.
Capital in short supply
5.
Late entry into capitalist markets
6.
Small internal markets
IV.
Culture clash (Civilization vs. Barbarism)
A.
Liberal-Positivist elites saw European immigration as road to success
1.Social
Darwinism encouraged elites to view local masses as impossible to improve
2.Europe
also associated with technological achievement
3.Greatest
levels in Argentina, enabling Argentina to populate the pampas and turn them
into a breadbasket region
B.
Immigration changes Latin American politics
1.Immigration
brings Socialists and Anarchists into the new industrialized working class
2.In
part inspired by immigrant ideas, middles classes began demanding power
3.A
few countries begin to deal with these pressures through limited
democratization, but landed elites remain entrenched