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Modern Latin America

Modern Latin America

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  • Chapters
    • Chapter 1. Why Latin America?
      • Timeline of Key Events
      • Further Reading
      • Guide to Internet Resources
      • Sample Syllabi
      • Discussion Questions
    • Chapter 2. The Colonial Foundations
      • Timeline for Colonial Latin America, 1492-1824
      • Colonial Latin American Profiles and Personalities
      • Moments and Events in Late Colonial Latin America
        • Analysis of Arthur Syzk’s “Bolívar and Sucre at Junin,” oil on canvas (1950)
        • Simón Bolívar and Restrained Republicanism
      • Primary Documents
        • Document #1: “Letter from Jamaica,” Simón Bolívar (1815)
        • Document #2: “Address at the Congress of Angostura,” Simón Bolívar (1819)
      • Travels in Colonial Latin America
      • Discussion Questions
      • Further Reading
    • Chapter 3. Mexico: The Taming of a Revolution
      • Timeline for Mexico: 1519-Present
      • Mexican Heads of State
      • Mexican Profiles and Personalities
      • Moments and Events in Mexico
        • The Lower Classes and Revolution
        • Eugenics in Nation Building
        • Mexican Muralism
        • Targeting the Media
        • Inside Mexico’s Drug Wars
      • Travels in Mexico
        • “Travels and Adventures,” William Carpenter (1851)
        • “A Mexican Journey,” E.H. Blichfeldt (1912)
      • Primary Documents
        • Document #3: “President Diaz: Hero of the Americas,” James Creelman (1908)
        • Document #4: “Plan de San Luis de Potosí,” Francisco Madero (1910)
        • Document #5: “Program of the Liberal Party,” Ricardo Flores Magón (1911)
        • Document #6: “Plan de Ayala,” Emiliano Zapata (1911)
        • Document #7: “Speech to the Nation,” Lázaro Cárdenas (1938)
        • Document #8: “First Declaration from the Lacandon Jungle, Today We Say ‘Enough is Enough!’ (Ya Basta!),” EZLN Command (1993)
      • Discussion Questions
      • Further Reading
    • Chapter 4. Central America: Within the U.S. Orbit
      • Timeline for Central America, 1502-Present
      • Central American Heads of State
      • Central American Profiles and Personalities
      • Moments and Events in Central America
        • Forced Disappearance and Impunity in El Jute, Guatemala
      • Travels in Central America
      • Primary Documents
        • Document #9: “Introduction to the Shark and the Sardines,” Juan José Arévalo (1956)
        • Document #10: “Acceptance and Nobel Lecture,” Rigoberta Menchú (1992)
        • Document #11: “Special Report No. 80: Communist Interference in El Salvador,” and “Response to Stories Published in the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post,” U.S. Department of State and Alexander Haig (1981)
        • Document #12: “Testimonies of Guatemalan Women,” Luz Alicia Herrera (1980)
      • Discussion Questions
      • Further Reading
    • Chapter 5. Cuba: Key Colony, Socialist State
      • Timeline for Cuba, 1492-Present
      • Cuban Heads of State
      • Cuban Profiles and Personalities
      • Moments and Events in Cuba
        • From Haciendas to the Peal of the Antilles
        • The Castro Touch
      • Travels in Cuba
        • “The Island of Cuba,” Alexander von Humboldt (1856)
        • “Through Afro-America,” William Archer (1910)
      • Primary Documents
        • Document #13: “Montecristi Manifesto,” by José Martí and Máximo Gómez (1895)
        • Document #14: “My Race,” Jose Martí (1893)
        • Document #15: “History Will Absolve Me,” by Fidel Castro (1953)
        • Document #17: “What is Cuba’s Sin?,” Fidel Castro (2003)
        • Document #16: “Statement from Mexico City,” Juana Castro (1964)
      • Discussion Questions
      • Further Reading
      • Elements of Caribbean History
    • Chapter 6. The Andes: Soldiers, Oligarchs, and Indians
      • Timeline for the Andes
      • Andean Heads of State
      • Andean Profiles and Personalities
      • Moments and Events in the Andes
        • Indigenous Women
        • Independent Ecuador
        • Coca Culture
        • Chinese in Peru in the 19th century
        • Indigenous Mobilization in Ecuador
        • Oil in the Amazon
        • Memories of Violence, Peace, and Justice in Peru
        • The Rise of Evo Morales
      • Travels in the Andes
        • Across Patagonia, Lady Florence Dixie (1881)
      • Primary Documents
        • Document #18: “Pulacyo Theses,” The Union Federation of Bolivian Mineworkers (1946)
        • Document #19: “Law of the Rights of Mother Earth,” Plurinational Legislative Assembly of Bolivia (2010)
      • Discussion Questions
      • Further Reading
    • Chapter 7. Colombia: Civility and Violence
      • Timeline for Colombia, 1499-Present
      • Colombian Heads of State
      • Colombian Profiles and Personalities
      • Moments and Events in Colombia
        • Educating Change in Colombia
      • Travels in Colombia
      • Primary Documents
        • Document #20: “Press Release from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia,” Secretariat of the Central General Command of the FARC-EP (2002)
        • Document #21: “Statement by Humberto de la Calle, Head of the Government Delegation to the Conversations Table,” Humberto de la Calle (2013)
      • Discussion Questions
      • Further Reading
    • Chapter 8. Venezuela: The Perils of Prosperity
      • Timeline for Venezuela, 1749-Present
      • Venezuelan Heads of State
      • Venezuelan Profiles and Personalities
      • Moments and Events in Venezuela
        • Venezuela and El Libertador
        • The Pink Tide in Latin America
      • Travels in Venezuela
      • Primary Documents
        • Document #23: “Address to the United Nations,” Hugo Chávez (2006)
        • Document #22: “Pact of Punto Fijo,” Acción Democrática, COPEI and Unión Republicana Democrática (1958)
      • Discussion Questions
      • Further Reading
    • Chapter 9. Argentina: Progress, Stalemate, Discord
      • Timeline for Argentina, 1776-Present
      • Argentine Heads of State
      • Argentine Profiles and Personalities
      • Moments and Events in Argentina
        • Jewish Immigration to Argentina
        • Disappeared Writers
        • The Role of the Church in Argentina
        • Understanding Argentina’s Dirty War Through Memoir
        • The Challenge of Burying the Ley de Caducidad in Uruguay
      • Travels in Argentina
        • “The Spanish-American Republics,” Theodore Child (1891)
      • Primary Documents
        • Document #24: “What is Peronism?” by Juan Domingo Perón (1948) || “The Twenty Truths of the Perónist Justicialism,” Juan Domingo Perón (1950)
        • Document #25: Statement by the military upon taking power (1976)
        • Document #26: “Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech,” Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (1980)
        • Document #27: “Speech at a Dinner with the Council of Americas in New York,” Néstor Kirchner (2006)
      • Discussion Questions
      • Further Reading
    • Chapter 10. Chile: Repression and Democracy
      • Chilean Heads of State
      • Chilean Profiles and Personalities
      • Timeline for Chile, 1535-Present
      • Moments and Events in Chile
        • Muralism and Nueva Cancíon
        • Nunca Más
      • Travels in Chile
        • “A Voyage from the United States to South America,” Thomas Bennett (1821)
      • Primary Documents
        • Document #28: “Final Speech,” Salvador Allende (1973)
        • Document #29: “Military Decrees on Seizing Power,” Augusto Pinochet (1973)
        • Document #30: “Inaugural Address,” Michelle Bachelet (2006)
      • Discussion Questions
      • Further Reading
    • Chapter 11. Brazil: The Awakening Giant
      • Timeline for Brazil, 1500-Present
      • Brazilian Heads of State
      • Brazilian Profiles and Personalities
      • Moments and Events in Brazil
        • A Romanticism of Slavery and the Plantation Economy
        • Brasilia: Constructing a Modern Identity
        • “Casa Grande e Senzala” and the Formation of a New Brazilian Identity
        • Dom Pedro II’s Acceptance of Exile
        • Amnesty, Amnesia, and Moral Reparations in Brazil
      • Travels in Brazil
        • “Exploración oficial por la primera vez desde el norte de la America del Sur…Viaje a Rio de Janeiro,” Francisco Michelena y Rojas (1867)
        • “I Like Brazil,” Jack Harding (1941)
      • Primary Documents
        • Document #31: “On Slavery in Brazil,” Thomas Ewbank (1856)
        • Document #32: State Department Telegram to Ambassador Lincoln Gordon (1964)
        • Document #33: “Letter to Pope Paul VI,” Marcos Sattamini Pena de Arruda (1971)
        • Document #34: “Speech of the President of the Republic in the ceremony installing the Truth Commission,” Dilma Rousseff (2012)
      • Discussion Questions
      • Further Reading
    • Chapter 12. Strategies for Economic Development
      • Fair Trade for Development
      • Moments and Events in Latin American Economic Development
      • Puerto Rico’s Operation Bootstrap
      • Primary Documents
        • Document #35: “Testimony before Congress on the Goals of NAFTA and Preliminary Evaluation,” C. Fred Bergsten (1997)
        • Document #36: “NAFTA Equals Death, Say Peasant Farmers,” Diego Cevalos (2002)
      • NAFTA and the Environment in Mexico
      • Discussion Questions
      • Further Reading
    • Chapter 13. Dynamics of Political Transformation
      • Supplement: Comparative Historical Analysis
      • Moments and Events of Political Transformation
      • Discussion Questions
      • Further Reading
    • Chapter 14. Culture and Society
      • Essays on Culture and Society
        • The Historical and Contemporary Role of Women in Ecuadorian Society
        • Liberation Theology in Latin America
        • Third Cinema in Argentina
        • Brazilian Samba’s Translation and Dialogue with International Dancesport
        • History of the Literary Movement in Peru
      • Latin America at the Movies
        • Argentina – Latin America at the Movies
        • Bolivia – Latin America at the Movies
        • Brazil – Latin America at the Movies
        • Chile – Latin America at the Movies
        • Cuba – Latin America at the Movies
        • Dominican Republic – Latin America at the Movies
        • Ecuador – Latin America at the Movies
        • El Salvador – Latin America at the Movies
        • Guatemala – Latin America at the Movies
        • Haiti – Latin America at the Movies
        • Mexico – Latin America at the Movies
        • Nicaragua – Latin America at the Movies
        • Peru – Latin America at the Movies
        • Uruguay – Latin America at the Movies
        • Venezuela – Latin America at the Movies
      • Discussion Questions
      • Further Reading
    • Chapter 15. Latin America in the World Arena, 1800s-1980s
      • Moments and Events in U.S.-Latin American Relations (1800s-1980s)
        • A History of United States Policy Towards Haiti
        • Occupational Hazards
        • Document #46: Human Rights in Latin America: An Interview with Paulo Sérgio Pinherio
        • Luis Muñoz Martin: Founding Father of Modern Puerto Rico
      • Primary Documents
        • Document #37: “Monroe Doctrine,” James Monroe (1823)
        • Document #38 Abraham Lincoln on the Mexican-American War (1846-48)
        • Document #39: “Roosevelt Corollary,” Theodore Roosevelt (1904)
        • Document #40: “Brazil, the United States and Pan Americanism”
        • Document #35: “United Fruit Co.,” Pablo Neruda (1950)
        • Document #41: “Address at a White House Reception for Members of Congress and for the Diplomatic Corps of the Latin American Republics,” John F. Kennedy (1961)
      • Discussion Questions
      • Further Reading
    • Chapter 16. Latin America in the World Arena, 1990s – Present
      • Discussion Questions
      • Further Readings
      • Honduras: A Country and a Coup
      • Moments and Events in Contemporary US-Latin American Relations
        • Document #43: Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) statement on Honduras
      • Primary Documents
        • Document #42 President Obama’s speech at the 2009 Summit of the Americas
        • Document #44: The Path Forward for Honduras
        • Document #45 Honduras: The Obama Administration’s First Latin American Waterloo (2009)
        • Document #47 Hillary Clinton’s speech on Opportunity in the Americas (2010)
    • A List of All Primary Documents

Moments and Events in Argentina

1) Essay #20: Jewish Immigration to Argentina, by Sophie Elsner

2) Essay #21: Disappeared Writers: The Dictatorship’s Effect on Literature, by Ivan Tomic

3) Essay #22: The Role of the Church in Argentina, by Pierre-Louis Le Goff

4) Essay #23: Understanding Argentina’s Dirty War Through Memoir, by Ivan Tomic

5) Essay #24: The Challenge of Burying the Ley de Caducidad in Uruguay, by Pierre-Louis Le Goff


  • Modern Latin America, 8th Edition Companion Website
  • Chapter 1. Why Latin America?
  • Chapter 2. The Colonial Foundations
  • Chapter 3. Mexico: The Taming of a Revolution
  • Chapter 4. Central America: Within the U.S. Orbit
  • Chapter 5. Cuba: Key Colony, Socialist State
  • Chapter 6. The Andes: Soldiers, Oligarchs, and Indians
  • Chapter 7. Colombia: Civility and Violence
  • Chapter 8. Venezuela: The Perils of Prosperity
  • Chapter 9. Argentina: Progress, Stalemate, Discord
  • Chapter 10. Chile: Repression and Democracy
  • Chapter 11. Brazil: The Awakening Giant
  • Chapter 12. Strategies for Economic Development
  • Chapter 13. Dynamics of Political Transformation
  • Chapter 14. Culture and Society
  • Chapter 15. Latin America in the World Arena, 1800s-1980s
  • Chapter 16. Latin America in the World Arena, 1990s – Present
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