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Summary & Takeaway of thefakelatino Blog
11-10-17
Summary & Takeaway of thefakelatino Blog
Although at first sight my blog project @thefakelatino on tumblr may not look like much, but I have learned a great deal from it this semester. On the surface my project appears to be a blog posting a series of article that I had stated where “an interesting perspective on… whatever topic the article may have been about”, however I feel that I have accomplished a lot more than just reposting articles that I did not write. If I were to do this project over again I would not have used tumblr mainly because I have no prior experience with this platform; But specifically because I do not believe that (based on what I have experienced thus far) it does not allow adequate room to sufficiently expound and post an in depth analysis on each article. However, this blog assignment had prompted me to constantly search for news on Latin America and find different trends. Through looking at current Latin American events and articles, this blog has been a solid augment for the Intro to Latin America class in exposing as well as educating my uninformed and almost ignorant perspective on Latin America. Also the blog has been an enhancement on the class because it has connected trends in Latin American history that we have learned in class to the modern state of Latin America. I hope that viewers of my blog will read about current news in Latin America and gain a more informed opinion just as I have.
Prior to taking the class and creating the blog I used to view Latin America as a series of countries which were less productive due to the social and political corruption that the Latin American people had induced through a series of poor choices. However, now this perspective could not be further from the truth, after learning about the history and structure of Latin America in class, which have explained current Latin American news posted in my blog. My main takeaway from the class is how the tremendous foreign influence in Latin America (specifically from the United States) has mostly negatively impacted Latin American countries and has left them in the state they are today. The blog has supported this notion, and has also shown that despite what many believe, foreign influence does not appear to be weakening any time soon.
A very clear but small scale example of foreign influence in Latin America is in reproductive rights. As we have learned in class, reproductive rights and eugenics have notoriously been an issue in Latin America, and some of the articles I have found have pointed to foreign influence occurring recently. It is apparent that conservative religious based organizations in the United States have attempted to promote pro-life policy in Latin American countries. Also liberal organizations some of which are funded by George Soros have attempted to use money to promote pro-choice policy in Latin America. As we learned in class, eugenics policies in Mexico during the early 1900’s had poor effects on the country's social climate. Considering that Latin American countries have historically struggled with eugenics and reproductive rights, it is foolish to think that outside involvement would make the situation any better.
The main book we have been reading in class Born in Blood and Fire by John Charles Chasteen, which constantly emphasizes how there has been foreign influence in Latin America which has led to multiple negative outcomes for Latin American countries. United States involvement Latin America has notoriously been because of foreign trade. Ever since countries have held the capacity for foreign trade, the geographical location of Latin American countries has made them hotspots of foreign trade. This can be traced back in history to the slave trade, as well as the trading of sugar and spices, which have led to the construction of trading ports. There are few examples as good at explaining the geographical importance of Latin America as when Theodore Roosevelt decided to construct the Panama Canal. Theodore Roosevelt had the vision that dominance in international trade would heavily rely on having control over trading posts in Latin America. Trading apparatuses such as this have emphasized how so much of international has depended on involvement in Latin America. Achieving dominance over international trade has prompted American, European, and Asian countries to attempt to exploit Latin American countries.
Over the course of the past hundreds of years, many military coups in Latin American countries have been instigated by foreign powers. An article I recently posted in my blog shows how the CIA, which was intended to be an intelligence organization has historically played a large role in the destabilization of foreign governments, many of which are Latin American. Although attempting to overthrow Latin American governments has become a far less overt practice for outside nations, economic pressure to influence in Latin American countries is now a regular occurrence. Through researching articles for my blog, I have learned that countries such as China have made extensive efforts in investing millions of dollars in Latin American regimes in order to fortify their economic interests. The election of Donald Trump has also changed the future of Chinese influence in Latin America. With President Trump making efforts to pull out of trade agreements involving Latin America, a situation has been created where America will no longer be the economic leader in Latin America, and will cause China to fill the gap. The election of President Trump has had other negative consequences for Latin America.
As it is such a popular topic, one of the main goals I had when working on my blog was to gain a better understanding on President Trumps interaction with Latin America. Prior to even taking office, Donald Trump set back US Latin American relations when he made derogatory remarks about Mexican people. From researching news for my blog I have learned that while in office, the President has not improved the situation in Latin America. A very clear example of the Trump administration failing in Latin America, was the failure of the administration to take action in Puerto Rico after the Island was devastated by a hurricane. Multiple high ranking Puerto Rican officials have made statements highlighting the Trump administration's shortcomings. Although it is disheartening to hear about the administration inadequatly providing aid to Puerto Rico, it is just one of the numerous problems that the current administration has had in Latin America.
From all of the readings in class, one of the main concepts which I have learned is that outside influence in Latin America (namely from the United States), is almost always malevolent, intended for exploitation, and produce political, economic, and social instability, for personal benefit. These effects are especially clear when looking at foreign military involvement in Latin America. Things I have learned about in class have made me realize that military interventions in Latin America are horribly brutal and violent, but are an excellent guide for what not to do in foreign policy going forward. Which is why it is particularly alarming to hear about President Trump expressing his support for military involvement in Latin American countries such as Venezuela. I have also learned that is seems that the overwhelming majority of the Venezuelan people reject such outside involvement. History has shown that actions such as military interventions do not work, and will at best lead to the formation of corrupt political regimes that will further exacerbate things in Latin America going forward. Over the course of this project I have tried my best to remain as objective as possible, but I have found it very difficult to ignore very obvious connections.
Although I have really struggled with this assignment, I have still learned a great deal. Through looking at current Latin American events and articles, this blog has been a solid augment for the Intro to Latin America class in exposing as well as educating my uninformed and almost ignorant perspective on Latin America. I hope that viewers of my blog will read about current news in Latin America and gain a more informed opinion just as I have.
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Article explaining how Latin American Countries are often filled with corruption
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President Trump creating an opportunity for China to become the primary economic leader in Latin America
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Will the Trump administration attempt to Economically cripple Latin America
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American Government organizations involvement in destabilizing Latin American Governments
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An article describing how the United States is using economic power to pressure Latin America
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Second to international trade, drugs are a principal reason for United States involvement in Latin America
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United States involvement in Latin America is largely due to trade. But are there tangible benefits from such involvement
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Very good article highlighting how Latin America truly is the battleground in a war of trade with foreign countries
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United States Military Involvement in Latin America
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Another article describing the negative ramifications of the Trump presidency for United States relations with Latin American Countries.
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Essentially if the United States and China are thought of as chess players, Latin America is the chess board
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Chinese influence in Latin America
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Additional information on Russian influence in Latin America
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An interesting article explaining how the United States is not the only world superpower to have influence in Latin America
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Reproductive rights in Latin America experiencing further influence from outside groups
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Following up on my previous post. Another good article speaking about President Trump’s stance on US military intervention in Venezuela. The article also has a solid video showing some of the Venezuelan people’s reaction.
#thepeoplehavespoken #trump #venzuela #dontberude #realnews
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