Caudillos are a very interesting, and seemingly incredibly important part of the story of Latin America.
The rule of law and respect for impartial government institutions is possibly the most important part of the development of a state, and for such a long time in the history of Latin America this was not the case for a large number of states. Caudillos, the personality cults that surrounded Latin America at a time of European and American economic and social development, in my opinion, were rather regressive in their nature and didn't do much for the Latin American people. Caudillos are likely a very important cause of the fact that Latin American countries aren't as developed as the U.S. or Canada, who were put in very similar situations in regards to their colonial history, something which always baffled me.
I think that these politicians show us in the modern era the importance of governments that respect the rule of law, Caudillos in the Latin American past are very similar to modern day states such as North Korea, Zimbabwe, and actually Cuba as well as Venuzuela centered around Castro and Chavez respectably.
Hi Thomas,
ReplyDeleteI am curious what you mean by the Caudillos being an important cause for the fact that Latin American countries aren't as developed as the U.S. or Canada... I think that by saying this you are disregarding a much more complex, racial, and power-dynamic-filled colonial past of Latin American countries, which in fact Canada and the U.S. do NOT share with Latin America. Also, what similarities do you see between Caudillos and, say, Kim Jong Un? I think that perhaps by sharing this idea of Latin America, we may be perpetuating negative stereotypes about the countries' capacity to develop and revolutionize, as so many Latin American countries have done successfully. That being said, I understand your stance on why Caudillos may have had an incredibly negative affect on Latin American independence, and of course you are judging the merit of political ideas not people, which I also appreciate and understand. --Ari Getzlaf