Lessons 25 · 1 lessons · Sh. Ergashev, B. Xodjayev, J. Abdullayev. World History (1991–2017): textbook for Grade 11 of secondary schools and for students of secondary specialised and vocational institutions. 1st edition. “Turon-Iqbol”, Tashkent, 2018
25
The countries of Latin America, 1991–2017
Textbook: pp. 113–117
GoalExplain the political and economic development of Latin American countries after 1991.
New words
NAFTA (1994) and its successor USMCA (2020), the trade agreement of the US, Mexico and Canada · NAFTA / USMCAthe “pink tide”, the wave of left-leaning governments in the 2000s · «pushti to‘lqin»default, a state’s inability to pay its debts · defaultBRICS, a group of large developing economies including Brazil · BRIKS
Explanation
By the 1990s elected governments had replaced military dictatorships in most Latin American countries, and market reforms dominated the economy. In Mexico NAFTA came into force in 1994, the Zapatista uprising began in Chiapas that year, and a peso crisis followed at the end of the year. Argentina could not pay its debts in 2001 and suffered a severe crisis. In the 2000s left-leaning governments were elected in Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela and elsewhere; this “pink tide” was a reaction to inequality. Brazil, a BRICS member, became the largest economy in Latin America. In Colombia a peace agreement between the government and the FARC was signed in 2016, after which many fighters disarmed. In Venezuela an economic and political crisis led millions of people to leave the country; the government and the opposition explain its causes differently. In 2014–2015 US–Cuba relations improved, and policy changed several times in later years. In 2020 USMCA replaced NAFTA.
Worked examples
Colombia: an internal conflict of over half a century moved towards its end with the 2016 agreement; because several armed groups stayed outside it, violence did not stop completely.
Argentina’s crisis: in 2001 debt payments stopped, bank accounts were restricted and unemployment rose; the economy recovered in later years, but inflation remained a recurring problem.
Class activity
Choose four Latin American countries and write one political and one economic event in 1991–2020 for each in a table.
Practice
1
When did NAFTA come into force and which states did it join?
In 1994; the US, Mexico and Canada.
2
What is the “pink tide” and why did it appear?
The wave of left-leaning governments in the 2000s, due to discontent with inequality.
3
When was the Colombia–FARC agreement signed?
In 2016.
4
Why is there no single view on the causes of the crisis in Venezuela?
The government points to outside pressure and sanctions; the opposition and critics point to domestic policy and economic management.