Chapter 22, Sections 1,2.

Political and Economic Development And

Changing Patterns of Life

LA nations were marked by social inequality and economic hardship.

• Social and economic divisions- landowning families and wealthy industrialists opposed all reform, and a few families in rural areas owned most of the farmland.

During the 50’s a lawyer named Fidel Castro led a guerilla struggle against a corrupt

dictatorship. He seized control in 1959 and led until 2008.

LA nations sought to replace foreign imports with locally-made goods. High tariffs

ensued.

• Foreign companies were nationalized. Still private enterprise grew alongside state-owned industry.

In developing nations, improved healthcare swells the population, and there are not enough jobs on

farms, so the size of cities increases.

Mexico City has a pop of 20 million people. Sao Paulo Brazil had 18 million.

Make-shift slums sprout on the outskirts of every major city. At first they live without water or

electricity.

• But slowly they work together to develop these slums into stable communities.

In Bolivia and Guatemala the majority still live in rural areas.

They live in one-room shacks and farm one-half-acre plots. Hunger and disease are constant threats. Many never learn to read and write.

Multinational corporations buy huge tracts of land (Mexico and Central America) and set up coffee or cotton plantations and huge ranches. They produce food for export, and locally grown food

increases in price.

Liberation theology- some called for a more active role in changing conditions that contribute

to poverty. Thousands of priests, nuns and workers moved to shantytowns and villages to

help organize for change.

The 48 hours before Ash Wednesday is Carnival in the Caribbean and Brazil. It blends European, African and American roots to form a series of

parades, music and outdoor dances.