The Spread of Communism

Flashcards about the spread of communism during the interwar period focusing on China and Latin America.

Communism

For many people it means tyranny, rejection of basic human liberties, and dependency on government giveaways; however, for millions of European workers at the time, communism meant hope against exploitation.

Karl Marx

predicted that communism would arise in fully industrialized states and that industrial workers would fight a class war against factory owners.

Guomindang (GMD)

The Chinese Nationalist Party that replaced the Qing Dynasty with the pro-democracy Republic of China in 1911.

Mao Zedong

Recognized that Chinese peasants, not the workers, could bring about a communist revolution and redistributed landlords’ lands to peasants to attract peasant support.

Long March

A 6,000-mile-long roundabout to the north led by Mao Zedong after Chiang Kai-Shek successfully encircled the communists in the south; Mao turned it into a story of determination and resilience.

PLA (People's Liberation Army)

Mao’s guerrillas, who allied with the GMD against Japan; their hit-and-run tactics were more effective and they took fewer casualties, gaining popularity and organization after World War II.

Gunboat diplomacy

The US used this to invade anywhere they considered American lives—or interests—to be at risk in the Caribbean and Central America, systematically taking control of national economies and politics.

Agustín Farabundo Martí

A devoted communist in El Salvador who resisted American intrusion.

Maximiliano Hernández Martínez

Dictator of El Salvador who ordered the massacre of anyone involved in a peaceful pro-communist demonstration in 1932, known as La Matanza.

José Carlos Mariátegui

A Peruvian Marxist intellectual who adapted Marxism to Latin America’s social reality, suggesting a gradual return to pre-Columbian collectivism instead of a violent revolution.

Populism

The closest Latin America got to communist rule in this era; populist leaders benefited from a surge in democratic activism and the US Good Neighbor Policy, aiming to help peasants and workers through progressive policies.